Svelte Starter

NOTE: This uses Svelte 5 and is under active migration (not all features will work). For the less adventurous, use the previous version (with Svelte 4).

This starter template aims to quickly scaffold a SvelteKit project, designed around data-driven, visual stories at The Pudding.

Notes

• Do not use or reproduce The Pudding logos or fonts without written permission.
• Prettier Formatting: Disable any text editor Prettier extensions to take advantage of the built-in rules.

Features

• Lucide Icons for simple/easy svg icons
• ArchieML for micro-CMS powered by Google Docs and Sheets
• Style Dictionary for CSS/JS style parity
• CSV, JSON, and SVG imports
• SSR static-hosted builds by default

Quickstart

From Scratch

• Click the green Use this template button above.
• Alternatively: npx degit the-pudding/svelte-starter my-project

Pre-existing Project

• clone the repo

Installation

• In your local repo run pnpm install or npm install

Development

npm run dev

Change the script in package.json to "dev": "svelte-kit dev --host" to test on your local network on a different device.

Deploy

npm run build

This generates a directory called build with the statically rendered app.

A shortcut for github pages:

make github

Deploying to Pudding AWS:

make pudding

Style

There are a few stylesheets included by default in src/styles. Refer to them in app.css, the place for applying global styles.

For variable parity in both CSS and JS, modify files in the properties folder using the Style Dictionary API.

Run npm run style to regenerate the style dictionary.

Some css utility classes in reset.css

• .sr-only: makes content invisible available for screen reader
• .text-outline: adds a psuedo stroke to text element

Custom Fonts

For locally hosted fonts, simply add the font to the static/assets folder and include a reference in src/styles/font.css, making sure the url starts with "assets/...".

Google Docs and Sheets

• Create a Google Doc or Sheet
• Click Share -> Advanced -> Change... -> Anyone with this link
• In the address bar, grab the ID - eg. "...com/document/d/1IiA5a5iCjbjOYvZVgPcjGzMy5PyfCzpPF-LnQdCdFI0/edit"
• paste in the ID above into google.config.js, and set the filepath to where you want the file saved
• If you want to do a Google Sheet, be sure to include the gid value in the url as well

Running npm run gdoc at any point (even in new tab while server is running) will fetch the latest from all Docs and Sheets.

Structural Overview

Pages

The src/routes directory contains pages for your app. For a single-page app (most cases) you don't have to modify anything in here. +page.svelte represents the root page, think of it as the index.html file. It is prepopulated with a few things like metadata and font preloading. It also includes a reference to a blank slate component src/components/Index.svelte. This is the file you want to really start in for your app.

Embedding Data

For smaller datasets, it is often great to embed the data into the HTML file. If you want to use data as-is, you can use normal import syntax (e.g., import data from "$data/file.csv"). If you are working with data but you want to preserve the original or clean/parse just what you need to use in the browser to optimize the front-end payload, you can load it via +page.server.js, do some work on it, and return just what you need. This is passed automatically to +page.svelte and accessible in any component with getContext("data").

Pre-loaded helpers

Components

Located in src/components.

// Usage
import Example from "$components/Example.svelte";

• Footer.svelte: Pudding recirculation and social links.
• Header.svelte: Pudding masthead.

Helper Components

Located in src/components/helpers.

// Usage
import Example from "$components/helpers/Example.svelte";

Available

• Scrolly.svelte: Scrollytelling.

Need to migrate

• ButtonSet.svelte: Accessible button group inputs.
• Chunk.svelte: Split text into smaller dom element chunks.
• Countdown.svelte: Countdown timer text.
• DarkModeToggle.svelte: A toggle button for dark mode.
• Figure.svelte: A barebones chart figure component to handle slots.
• MotionToggle.svelte: A toggle button to enable/disable front-end user motion preference.
• Range.svelte: Customizable range slider.
• ShareLink.svelte: Button to share link natively/copy to clipboard.
• SortTable.svelte: Sortable semantic table with customizable props.
• Slider.svelte (and Slider.Slide.svelte): A slider widget, especially useful for swipe/slide stories.
• Tap.svelte: Edge-of-screen tapping library, designed to integrate with slider.
• Tip.svelte: Button that links to Strip payment link.
• Toggle.svelte: Accessible toggle inputs.

Headless Components

bits UI comes pre-installed. It is recommended to use these for any UI components.

Layercake Chart Components

Starter templates for various chart types to be used with LayerCake. Located in src/components/layercake.

Note: You must install the module layercake first.

// Usage
import Example from "$components/layercake/Example.svelte";

Actions

Located in src/actions.

// Usage
import example from "$actions/action.js";

• canTab.js: enable/disable tabbing on child elements.
• checkOverlap.js: Label overlapping detection. Loops through selection of nodes and adds a class to the ones that are overlapping. Once one is hidden it ignores it.
• focusTrap.js: Enable a keyboard focus trap for modals and menus.
• keepWithinBox.js: Offsets and element left/right to stay within parent.
• inView.js: detect when an element enters or exits the viewport.
• resize.js: detect when an element is resized.

Runes

These are located in src/runes. You can put custom ones in src/runes/misc.js or create unique files for more complex ones.

// Usage
import example from "$runes/example.js";
import { example } from "$runes/misc.js";

Available

• viewport: returns an object { width, height } of the viewport dimensions. It is debounced for performance.

Need to migrate

• mq: returns an object of media queries booleans if they are enabled or not. You can modify them in the js file.
• previous: returns the previous value of another value.
• scrollY: returns a number of window vertical scroll position. It is throttled using rAF for performance.
• timer: returns an object { timer, elapsed }. timer has 5 methods (start, stop, toggle, set, reset) and elapsed is a value that is the number of ms.

Utils

Located in src/utils/.

// Usage
import example from "$utils/example.js";

• checkScrollDir.js: Gets the user's scroll direction ("up" or "down")
• csvDownload.js: Converts a flat array of data to CSV content ready to be used as an href value for download.
• generateId.js: Generate an alphanumeric id.
• loadCsv.js: Loads and parses a CSV file.
• loadImage.js: Loads an image.
• loadJson.js: Loads and parses a JSON file.
• loadPixels.js: Loads the pixel data of an image via an offscreen canvas.
• localStorage.js: Read and write to local storage.
• mapToArray.js: Convenience function to convert a map to an array.
• move.js: transform translate function shorthand.
• transformSvg.js: Custom transition lets you apply an svg transform property with the in/out svelte transition. Parameters (with defaults):
• translate.js: Convenience function for transform translate css.
• urlParams.js: Get and set url parameters.

Tips

Image asset paths

For img tags, use relative paths:

<img src="assets/demo/test.jpg" alt="cat" />

For CSS background images, use absolute paths:

background: url("/assets/demo/test.jpg");

View example code in the preloaded demo.