HTMX vs React: The Pendulum Keeps Swinging

A post about removing React from a codebase and replacing it with HTMX generated a predictably heated thread. The criticism was direct: 'HTMX is basically a solution in search of a problem. It is the new hype.' The defense was equally direct: HTMX is a great fit for server rendering, which is what most applications should be doing anyway, and you can always drop a small Vue or React component in for the parts that actually need client-side interactivity.

The practical counterargument against HTMX was that you lose the ability to offload your frontend to a CDN, which is a real architectural tradeoff for high-traffic applications. This is not a trivial objection.

The pattern here is that every few years the frontend pendulum swings back toward simplicity, and HTMX is the current vehicle for that impulse. The difference this time is that server-side rendering is genuinely being rehabilitated by the mainstream, with Next.js server components and similar patterns moving in the same direction from the React side.