cdnjs

What cdnjs is

cdnjs serves JavaScript, CSS, and font resources for web projects. Developers can add a library with a script or link tag, without a build step or npm install. Files are delivered through Cloudflare's global network, which cdnjs lists as having more than 330 edge locations. The service supports HTTP/3, HTTP/2, QUIC, Brotli, and GZIP compression. It is HSTS preloaded and provides Subresource Integrity hashes for script and link tags.

The catalog contains 4,616 libraries. Libraries are added by the community; once a library is approved and included, automation regularly checks npm or GitHub for new versions, then handles minification, compression, SRI hash generation, and publishing. The service does not provide on-demand pull-through access to arbitrary libraries. Its API is available at https://api.cdnjs.com and requires no authentication. The site credits Cloudflare for CDN infrastructure and maintenance, Algolia for library search, and DigitalOcean for infrastructure, along with Statuspage, Sentry, and UptimeRobot for incident communication, error monitoring, and uptime monitoring. Users can contribute through GitHub and support maintenance through GitHub Sponsors, Open Collective, or Patreon. cdnjs is free to use.

Who it suits

cdnjs suits web developers who want to include community-curated JavaScript, CSS, or font libraries through script and link tags. It is also relevant to developers who want a no-authentication API or library delivery with SRI hashes and common web protocols and compression formats.

Limits

cdnjs serves libraries added by the community and does not provide on-demand pull-through access to arbitrary libraries.

Getting started

1. Open the cdnjs website and browse its library catalog.
2. Choose an available library for the web project.
3. Include its resource with a script or link tag.
4. Use the API at https://api.cdnjs.com if needed; no authentication is required.
5. Contribute through GitHub or support maintenance through GitHub Sponsors, Open Collective, or Patreon.

Verdict

Choose cdnjs if a library you need is in its community catalog and you want to include it with a script or link tag. Its free access, SRI hashes, and unauthenticated API are useful for web projects. Look elsewhere if your project needs arbitrary libraries that are not part of the curated catalog.