Lightning CSS
MPL-2.0 CSS parser, transformer, and minifier in Rust
Libraries / Tooling · MPL-2.0 · 7.7k
Reviewed 2026-09-09 · last push 2026-10-08 · repo checked 2026-10-19
What's Good
MPL-2.0. Standalone CSS transforms at build-tool speed — vendor prefixing, nesting, custom media, minification, and CSS modules with a single library. Plugs into Vite, Parcel, or your own toolchain. Written in Rust with WASM and Node bindings. Replaces Autoprefixer + cssnano pipelines.
The Catch
MPL-2.0 is not MIT — modifications to Lightning CSS itself must be disclosed. Vs Biome (linter/formatter), Vite/esbuild (bundlers with built-in CSS), and PostCSS (plugin ecosystem): Lightning CSS is the *CSS transform engine*, not a general bundler and not a design-time linter. No PostCSS plugin compat — you migrate config, not plugins.
Verdict
MPL-2.0 CSS engine. Free forever; use when you want one fast Rust library instead of a PostCSS plugin chain.
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