# prototypejs/prototype

Prototype JavaScript framework

Repository: https://github.com/prototypejs/prototype
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/prototype
Homepage: http://prototypejs.org/
Language: JavaScript
License: NOASSERTION
License Family: other
Last push: 2024-08-13T10:53:04+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 32/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 6734, "days_push": 750, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases, no_license
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 3536, forks 640 (observed 2026-08-28T04:08:09.077865+00:00)

## What it is
Prototype is an object-oriented JavaScript framework that eases development of dynamic web applications with class-style OO, Ajax support, and DOM manipulation helpers. It was historically influential but is now in maintenance mode with its last major release in 2015.

## Use cases
- simplify ajax requests in legacy web apps
- manipulate the dom with a cleaner api
- write class-based object-oriented javascript
- support old browsers like ie6
- maintain an older rails-era web application

## When to choose
- maintaining a legacy codebase already built on Prototype
- needing to support very old browsers
- learning the historical foundations of modern JS frameworks

## When to avoid
- starting a new modern web project
- needing a component-based ui framework
- requiring active community support and modern tooling

## Facets
- artifact type: framework
- maturity: maintenance
- function: frontend-framework, http-client, middleware
- domain: web-development, frontend, developer-tools
- platform: browser
- tags: ajax, dom-manipulation, class-based-oop, legacy-javascript, cross-browser, javascript

## Member repositories
- prototypejs/prototype (main) score 32

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:09.077865+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 2026-08-29T18:35:02.822112+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/prototypejs/prototype (fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:09.077865+00:00, sha 26151a9efbdb)
  - homepage: http://prototypejs.org/ (fetched 2026-08-29T09:29:09.419827+00:00, sha 1dd6a3a63ca1)
  - site_page: http://prototypejs.org/learn (fetched 2026-08-29T09:29:09.428846+00:00, sha a5aa14d85508)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.