# headjs/headjs

The only script in your HEAD.

Repository: https://github.com/headjs/headjs
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/headjs
Homepage: https://headjs.github.io/
Language: JavaScript
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Archived: true
Last push: 2023-04-20T20:28:14+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 10/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 5756, "days_push": 1231, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases, archived
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 4118, forks 339 (observed 2026-08-28T04:08:35.894499+00:00)

## What it is
HeadJS is a tiny JavaScript library that loads scripts and stylesheets asynchronously in parallel while executing them in order, and provides browser/feature detection with CSS class generation. It also offers pseudo media-queries for responsive design in legacy browsers like IE6.

## Use cases
- load javascript and css files asynchronously in parallel but execute in order
- detect browser versions and html5/css3 feature support
- apply responsive design css classes for different screen resolutions
- manage script dependencies and run callbacks when scripts are loaded
- support html5 elements in old browsers like ie6
- detect landscape vs portrait orientation or mobile vs desktop device

## When to choose
- maintaining a legacy site that must support old browsers like IE6-IE9
- you need a tiny all-in-one script loader and feature detection shim for an old codebase

## When to avoid
- starting a new modern project - use native module loading, modern CSS media queries, and feature detection libraries instead
- you need actively maintained software with security updates

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: abandoned
- function: http-client, ui-components, middleware
- domain: web-development, frontend
- platform: browser
- tags: script-loader, feature-detection, responsive-design, polyfill, asset-loading, unmaintained, javascript

## Member repositories
- headjs/headjs (main) score 10

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:35.894499+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T18:23:08.392854+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/headjs/headjs (fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:35.894499+00:00, sha c41638036069)
  - homepage: https://headjs.github.io/ (fetched 2026-08-29T09:14:39.432038+00:00, sha d7a23db9beb9)
  - registry_npm: https://registry.npmjs.org/headjs (fetched 2026-08-29T09:14:39.441624+00:00, sha 0478078bae8f)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.