Building Lit Components

Lit is a lightweight (~5KB) library for building fast Web Components with reactive state, scoped styles, and declarative templates.

Use this skill when creating web components with Lit, optimizing rendering, implementing reactive properties, using directives, or building component libraries.

Supporting files: COMPONENTS.md for component patterns, DIRECTIVES.md for built-in directives, STYLING.md for styling best practices, ADVANCED.md for Context, Task, SSR.

Quick Start

import {LitElement, html, css} from 'lit';
import {customElement, property} from 'lit/decorators.js';

@customElement('my-element')
export class MyElement extends LitElement {
  static styles = css`
    :host { display: block; }
    .greeting { color: blue; }
  `;

  @property() name = 'World';

  render() {
    return html`<p class="greeting">Hello, ${this.name}!</p>`;
  }
}

Core Concepts

Component Structure

Reactive Properties

// Public property (reflects to attribute)
@property({type: String, reflect: true})
name?: string;

// Internal state (no attribute)
@state()
private _count = 0;

// Complex objects
@property({type: Object, attribute: false})
data?: { id: number; name: string };

Property Options:

• type: Converter type (String, Number, Boolean, Array, Object)
• reflect: Sync to attribute (default: false)
• attribute: Custom attribute name or false
• state: Mark as internal state

Lifecycle Methods

class MyElement extends LitElement {
  // Called when added to DOM
  connectedCallback() {
    super.connectedCallback();
    // Add external event listeners
  }

  // Called before render when props change
  willUpdate(changedProperties: PropertyValues) {
    // Compute derived values
  }

  // Called after first render
  firstUpdated() {
    // DOM is available, focus inputs, etc.
  }

  // Called after every render
  updated(changedProperties: PropertyValues) {
    // React to specific prop changes
  }

  // Called when removed from DOM
  disconnectedCallback() {
    super.disconnectedCallback();
    // Clean up listeners
  }
}

Templates & Events

render() {
  return html`
    <!-- Property binding -->
    <input .value=${this.inputValue}>

    <!-- Attribute binding -->
    <div id=${this.elementId}></div>

    <!-- Boolean attribute -->
    <button ?disabled=${this.isDisabled}>Click</button>

    <!-- Event listener -->
    <button @click=${this._handleClick}>Submit</button>

    <!-- Event with options -->
    <div @scroll=${this._onScroll} @scroll=${(e) => this._onScroll(e)}></div>
  `;
}

private _handleClick(e: Event) {
  this.dispatchEvent(new CustomEvent('item-selected', {
    detail: { id: this.itemId },
    bubbles: true,
    composed: true
  }));
}

Essential Decorators

@customElement('my-element')
class MyElement extends LitElement {
  @property({type: Number}) count = 0;
  @state() private _active = false;

  @query('#input') input!: HTMLInputElement;
  @queryAll('.item') items!: NodeListOf<HTMLElement>;

  @eventOptions({passive: true})
  private _onScroll(e: Event) { /* ... */ }
}

Common Directives

import {repeat} from 'lit/directives/repeat.js';
import {classMap} from 'lit/directives/class-map.js';
import {live} from 'lit/directives/live.js';

render() {
  return html`
    <!-- Efficient list -->
    ${repeat(this.items, (i) => i.id, (i) => html`<li>${i.name}</li>`)}

    <!-- Dynamic classes -->
    <div class=${classMap({active: this.isActive, error: this.hasError})}></div>

    <!-- Sync with user input -->
    <input .value=${live(this.inputValue)}>
  `;
}

Key Best Practices

1. Keep render() pure: Don't modify state in render
2. Use @state for internal data: Prevents attribute exposure
3. Prefer property over attribute for objects: attribute: false
4. Use live() for form inputs: Keeps DOM in sync
5. Clean up in disconnectedCallback: Remove external listeners
6. Use CSS custom properties for theming: Enables external customization

Common Anti-Patterns

Detailed Guides

• Component patterns & composition: See COMPONENTS.md
• All built-in directives: See DIRECTIVES.md
• Styling & theming: See STYLING.md
• Context, Task, SSR, Controllers: See ADVANCED.md

Resources

• Documentation: https://lit.dev/docs/
• Playground: https://lit.dev/playground/
• GitHub: https://github.com/lit/lit