Charts.css, ProvChart, FSCSS: Three CSS-native charting tools without JS libraries

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Three open-source tools — Charts.css, ProvChart, and FSCSS (st-core) — offer ways to render charts without shipping heavyweight JavaScript chart libraries, which typically add 40–150 KB to page load. Charts.css converts semantic HTML tables into visual charts using CSS classes, making it well-suited for accessible, content-driven pages like blogs and static sites. ProvChart compiles JSON data into scoped HTML, CSS, or SVG at build time, targeting performance-sensitive pages where first-paint speed and zero chart-runtime hydration are priorities. FSCSS (st-core) uses a dedicated .fscss syntax that compiles to native CSS, designed for design systems and component libraries shared across multiple frameworks. The three tools are not interchangeable but complementary, and organizations may use all three depending on whether charts appear in documentation, API-fed dashboards, or shared UI kits.

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