# picocss/pico

Minimal CSS Framework for semantic HTML

Repository: https://github.com/picocss/pico
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/pico
Homepage: https://picocss.com
Language: CSS
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: css, css-framework, dark-theme, dark-mode, semantic, minimal, lightweight, scss-framework, native-html, minimalist, minimalistic, scss
Last push: 2026-05-09T18:16:06+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 70/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 81, release rhythm 40, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 2483, "days_push": 116, "days_rel": 536, "gap_med": 0, "n_releases_24m": 2}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 16815, forks 505 (observed 2026-08-28T04:11:17.329622+00:00)

## What it is
Pico CSS is a minimal, lightweight CSS framework that styles semantic HTML elements directly, requiring almost no classes or JavaScript. It provides responsive defaults, light/dark color schemes, and SASS/CSS-variable customization.

## Use cases
- style a landing page without writing css
- add dark mode to a plain html site
- quickly make semantic html look polished
- lightweight css reset for a design system
- prototype forms and pages with no classes
- customize a css framework with sass variables

## When to choose
- you want elegant defaults with minimal markup and no JavaScript
- you prefer semantic, class-light HTML
- you need a small, fast, dependency-free stylesheet
- you want built-in light/dark mode and easy theming

## When to avoid
- you need complex, component-heavy UI layouts
- your team relies on utility-class workflows like Tailwind
- you need extensive prebuilt components like modals, carousels, or data grids

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: stable
- function: css-framework, ui-components, theme
- domain: web-development, frontend, web-design
- platform: browser
- tags: classless-css, dark-mode, scss, semantic-html, minimalist, responsive, web-server

## Member repositories
- picocss/pico (main) score 70

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:11:17.329622+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 2026-08-29T17:03:49.412889+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/picocss/pico (fetched 2026-08-28T04:11:17.329622+00:00, sha 6f368d0c8e59)
  - homepage: https://picocss.com (fetched 2026-08-29T08:01:54.616734+00:00, sha 5eca8f8d12ae)
  - site_page: https://picocss.com/docs/v2 (fetched 2026-08-29T08:01:54.639058+00:00, sha a8b4be34e8ff)
  - site_page: https://picocss.com/docs (fetched 2026-08-29T08:01:54.626720+00:00, sha 1050896d9a5e)
  - site_page: https://picocss.com/docs/classless (fetched 2026-08-29T08:01:54.629158+00:00, sha 07ca76b75db5)
  - site_page: https://picocss.com/docs/typography (fetched 2026-08-29T08:01:54.631274+00:00, sha 03d8eefa58d1)
  - site_page: https://picocss.com/docs/color-schemes (fetched 2026-08-29T08:01:54.633394+00:00, sha 90093b9e08ff)
  - site_page: https://picocss.com/docs/css-variables (fetched 2026-08-29T08:01:54.635978+00:00, sha 2e7190fd8f80)
  - site_page: https://picocss.com/docs/brand (fetched 2026-08-29T08:01:54.641231+00:00, sha 4041eefe654c)
  - site_page: https://picocss.com/docs/mission (fetched 2026-08-29T08:01:54.643208+00:00, sha 6e8f0dbd9c27)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.