[1123581321]

I would look around more. You might like one of the small reactive frameworks if you find the large ecosystem of React and Vue off-putting. My last jQuery app was several years ago, when I realized I was just maintaining a slower reimplementation of a reactive framework. These are mature technologies now that quickly save time and prevent headaches down the road. jQuery's best lessons have been absorbed into both the reactive frameworks and native JS and you can alias the handful of selectors you're used to.

For development, browsers and version managers/containers are stable enough that you won't be on a deprecation treadmill. Any pressure would come from including other people on the project, which you'd get even more of with jQuery.

I appreciate the 'do what works' mindset quite a bit but I hope you'll give a modern reactive framework or library a try; I'm glad I made the change.

[PaulRobinson]

What would you recommend?

[1123581321]

Vue with Vite (the builder/runner) is a stable, open source option. It is really a lightweight start where you're mostly writing HTML with interpolated data, and Vue is updating values correctly and performantly. Just build your reactive HTML app in one file and break into separate components as you're feeling the spirit. https://vuejs.org/guide/quick-start

Mithril if you just want to drop in want a tiny, complete reactive library that doesn't require a build step--this one is most like what you might end up creating in a large jQuery app. You can understand everything from the homepage. https://mithril.js.org/

HTMX if you really like HTML conventions. This doesn't feel jQuery-like and depends on your approach to your server app. https://htmx.org/

If you were to pick just one, I think Vue would be the most rewarding.