# stealjs/steal

Gets JavaScript

Repository: https://github.com/stealjs/steal
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/steal
Homepage: https://stealjs.com
Language: JavaScript
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: javascript, stealjs, module-loader, amd, build-tool, commonjs, module-bundler, plugins, web
Last push: 2023-08-24T10:15:36+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 23/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 6051, "days_push": 1105, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1359, forks 510 (observed 2026-08-28T04:04:29.715571+00:00)

## What it is
StealJS is an extensible JavaScript module loader that supports ES6, AMD, and CommonJS formats simultaneously, with a plugin system for loading other asset types like CSS and Less. It is paired with steal-tools, a builder for bundling and progressively loading applications.

## Use cases
- load ES6, AMD, and CommonJS modules in the same project
- bundle a JavaScript app for faster production load times
- load CSS and Less files as modules
- load npm modules without configuration
- write custom loader plugins for transpiling or caching
- progressively load a large application to balance caching and requests

## When to choose
- you maintain a legacy codebase mixing AMD, CommonJS, and ES6 modules
- you need a loader with a flexible plugin hook API
- you want progressive loading with fine-grained bundle control

## When to avoid
- you are starting a new project where native ES modules or modern bundlers like Vite, webpack, or esbuild fit better
- you need a large active community and frequent updates

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: maintenance
- function: build-tool, developer-tools
- domain: web-development, frontend, developer-tools
- platform: browser
- tags: module-loader, module-bundler, amd, commonjs, es6-modules, plugins, javascript, nodejs, web-server

## Member repositories
- stealjs/steal (main) score 23

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:29.715571+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 2026-08-30T04:41:43.700669+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/stealjs/steal (fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:29.715571+00:00, sha 2449b0361fe8)
  - homepage: https://stealjs.com (fetched 2026-08-29T12:00:05.020820+00:00, sha 82c64865c54c)
  - site_page: https://stealjs.com/docs/index.html (fetched 2026-08-29T12:00:05.031079+00:00, sha 21f0b776bd38)
  - site_page: https://stealjs.com/docs/syntax.es6.html (fetched 2026-08-29T12:00:05.033678+00:00, sha e10e2e1f8ec6)
  - site_page: https://stealjs.com/docs/steal-css.html (fetched 2026-08-29T12:00:05.035973+00:00, sha 216d511c890f)
  - site_page: https://stealjs.com/docs/StealJS.writing-plugins.html (fetched 2026-08-29T12:00:05.038037+00:00, sha 08fa1397f9a3)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.