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20 Most Popular Open-Source JavaScript Libraries & Plugins

The most-used open-source JavaScript libraries and plugins — with GitHub links, authors, star counts and what each one does best.

By The DevFixPro Editorial Team · independent editorial research project

Star counts retrieved from the GitHub API on 2026-08-17. Open-source projects grow daily, so treat the numbers as a snapshot — always check the linked repository for the latest figures, license, and activity.

JavaScript's ecosystem is its superpower. The libraries below handle the work developers least want to write by hand: charts, HTTP, 3D, animation, dates, and parsing. We ranked 20 of the most popular open-source JS libraries and plugins by GitHub stars (fetched 2026-08-17). Follow each link to the GitHub repo for source, license and release activity.

Pick by need, not by hype: a 60KB date library and a 600KB 3D engine solve very different problems.

  1. 1D3.js on GitHub
    D3.js★ 113,481
    By Mike Bostock

    Data-Driven Documents — powerful library for custom, dynamic data visualizations.

    View on GitHub →
  2. 2Chart.js on GitHub
    Chart.js★ 67,643
    By Chart.js Team

    Simple, flexible JavaScript charting for designers and developers.

    View on GitHub →
  3. 3Axios on GitHub
    Axios★ 109,205
    By Matt Zabriskie & contributors

    Promise-based HTTP client for the browser and Node.js.

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  4. 4Three.js on GitHub
    Three.js★ 114,567
    By Ricardo Cabello (mrdoob)

    Cross-browser 3D graphics via WebGL with a friendly, high-level API.

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  5. 5GSAP on GitHub
    GSAP★ 27,778
    By GreenSock

    Professional-grade JavaScript animation library for high-performance motion.

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  6. 6Lodash on GitHub
    Lodash★ 61,292
    By John-David Dalton

    Utility library delivering modular, consistent helper functions.

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  7. 7jQuery on GitHub
    jQuery★ 59,781
    By OpenJS Foundation (John Resig)

    Fast, small, feature-rich library that simplified DOM manipulation.

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  8. 8Anime.js on GitHub
    Anime.js★ 72,207
    By Julian Garnier

    Lightweight JavaScript animation engine for CSS, SVG and DOM.

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  9. 9SortableJS on GitHub
    SortableJS★ 31,166
    By David Kuridza (RubaXa)

    Drag-and-drop sorting library for modern browsers and touch devices.

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  10. 10Swiper on GitHub
    Swiper★ 41,880
    By Vladimir Kharlampidi

    Modern mobile touch slider with hardware-accelerated transitions.

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  11. 11Floating UI (Popper) on GitHub
    Floating UI (Popper)★ 32,699
    By Atif Ali & contributors

    Toolkit to position floating elements such as tooltips and popovers smartly.

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  12. 12Day.js on GitHub
    Day.js★ 48,664
    By iamkun

    Minimalist JavaScript date library with a Moment.js-compatible API.

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  13. 13Luxon on GitHub
    Luxon★ 16,441
    By Isaac Cambron (Moment Team)

    Modern, immutable date and time library with time-zone support.

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  14. 14PapaParse on GitHub
    PapaParse★ 13,542
    By Matt Holt

    Robust in-browser CSV parser with streaming and web-worker support.

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  15. 15SheetJS on GitHub
    SheetJS★ 36,321
    By SheetJS Team

    Parser and writer for spreadsheets (xlsx, csv and many formats) in the browser.

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  16. 16marked on GitHub
    marked★ 37,054
    By Marked.js Team

    Full-featured Markdown parser and compiler written in JavaScript.

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  17. 17Prism.js on GitHub
    Prism.js★ 13,035
    By Lea Verou & contributors

    Lightweight, extensible syntax highlighter for code blocks.

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  18. 18highlight.js on GitHub
    highlight.js★ 24,980
    By Ivan Sagalaev

    Easy-to-use syntax highlighter supporting many languages and themes.

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  19. 19fullPage.js on GitHub
    fullPage.js★ 35,411
    By Alvaro Trigo

    JavaScript library to create fullscreen scrolling websites.

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  20. 20Hammer.js on GitHub
    Hammer.js★ 24,342
    By Jorik Tangelder

    Add touch gestures (tap, swipe, pinch) to web applications.

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