Why daisyUI is the simple, minimal alternative to heavy component libraries and complex CSS frameworks
Building modern UIs often means dealing with a lot of bloat. Many component libraries are tied to a specific framework, come with a pile of dependencies, and add a lot of weight to your project. You end up with:
All of this makes your project harder to manage and slows down your workflow.
daisyUI is a minimal CSS framework built on top of Tailwind CSS. It gives you the building blocks you need—like buttons, cards, and alerts—without the baggage:
Here's what a real-world button with dark mode support looks like with plain Tailwind CSS:
<button
class="bg-zinc-100 border font-semibold text-zinc-900
text-sm px-4 duration-200 py-2.5 transition-all hover:border-zinc-300
hover:bg-zinc-200 focus-visible:outline-2 focus-visible:outline-offset-2
focus-visible:outline-zinc-900 active:translate-y-[0.5px] inline-flex gap-2
rounded-sm active:border-zinc-300 active:bg-zinc-200 active:shadow-none
text-center align-middle cursor-pointer border-zinc-200 dark:border-zinc-700
dark:bg-neutral-700 dark:text-zinc-300 dark:hover:border-zinc-950
dark:hover:bg-zinc-950 dark:focus-visible:outline-zinc-200
dark:active:border-zinc-950 dark:active:bg-zinc-900"
>
Click Me
</button>
And here's the same button with daisyUI:
<button class="btn">Click Me</button>
With daisyUI, you get the same features—hover, focus, disabled states, and more—without the wall of class names. Your code is easier to read and maintain.
If you want a minimal, practical way to build UIs—without the headaches—daisyUI is a great choice.
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