What is virtual-raf?

yoshuawuyts/virtual-raf — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-07-18 · repo last pushed 2016-01-21

★ 19JavaScriptAudience · developerComplexity · 2/5DormantSetup · easy

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((repo))
    What it does
      Sync virtual-dom updates
      Use requestAnimationFrame
      Render UI from state
      Update on data change
    Tech stack
      JavaScript
      Virtual-dom
    Use cases
      Live counters
      Real-time feeds
      Interactive dashboards
    Audience
      Frontend developers
      Single-page app builders
    API
      render method
      update method
    Notes
      Small focused tool
      Pairs with virtual-dom

mindmap root((repo)) What it does Sync virtual-dom updates Use requestAnimationFrame Render UI from state Update on data change Tech stack JavaScript Virtual-dom Use cases Live counters Real-time feeds Interactive dashboards Audience Frontend developers Single-page app builders API render method update method Notes Small focused tool Pairs with virtual-dom

What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Build a live counter or real-time feed that updates the DOM efficiently in sync with the browser's animation frame.

USE CASE 2

Wire virtual-dom to requestAnimationFrame without writing that coordination logic yourself.

USE CASE 3

Add smooth, performance-friendly updates to an interactive dashboard that changes data frequently.

What is it built with?

JavaScript

How does it compare?

	yoshuawuyts/virtual-raf	aburousan/typsteditor	deedy/glacial-valley
Stars	19	19	19
Language	JavaScript	JavaScript	JavaScript
Last pushed	2016-01-21	—	—
Maintenance	Dormant	—	—
Setup difficulty	easy	moderate	easy
Complexity	2/5	3/5	2/5
Audience	developer	researcher	developer

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 30min

Requires the virtual-dom library alongside it, this package only handles the requestAnimationFrame coordination.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1

Show me how to set up virtual-raf with an initial state, a render function, and virtual-dom.

Prompt 2

Build a live counter component using virtual-raf that calls update() whenever the count changes.

Prompt 3

Explain how virtual-raf's requestAnimationFrame timing improves performance over calling virtual-dom updates directly.

Prompt 4

Help me integrate virtual-raf into an existing single-page app that already uses virtual-dom.

Frequently asked questions