NitroUI Skill Guide

A zero-dependency Python 3.8+ library for programmatic HTML generation. Build HTML with Python classes instead of string templates.

from nitro_ui import Div, H1, Paragraph

page = Div(
    H1("Welcome"),
    Paragraph("Built with NitroUI"),
    cls="container"
)
print(page.render())
# <div class="container"><h1>Welcome</h1><p>Built with NitroUI</p></div>

Imports

Standard Import

from nitro_ui import Div, H1, Paragraph, UnorderedList, ListItem, Image

Core Classes

from nitro_ui import HTMLElement, Fragment, Component, Slot, Partial, from_html

Styling System

from nitro_ui.styles import CSSStyle, StyleSheet, Theme

Lowercase HTML-like aliases (div, p, a, etc.) are also available via from nitro_ui.html import *.

All Tags

Document Structure

Layout

Text

Lists

Forms

Tables

Table.from_json(path) and Table.from_csv(path) create tables from files (first row = headers in <thead>, rest in <tbody>).

Media

HTMLElement Constructor

HTMLElement(
    *children,                  # HTMLElement, str, or nested lists (auto-flattened)
    tag: str,                   # Required HTML tag name
    self_closing: bool = False,
    **attributes                # HTML attributes as keyword arguments
)

Special attribute mappings:

• cls or class_name → renders as class
• class_ → also maps to class_name
• for_element or for_ → renders as for
• data_* → data-* (other underscores become hyphens)

div = Div(
    H1("Title"),
    "Some text",
    id="main",
    cls="container",
    data_value="123"
)
# <div id="main" class="container" data-value="123"><h1>Title</h1>Some text</div>

Properties

All Methods

Children

Children can be HTMLElement, str, or nested lists. None is silently ignored. Other types raise ValueError.

Attributes

Inline Styles

CSS values are validated against injection patterns (javascript:, expression(), url(data:), etc.).

Rendering

Serialization

from_html is also available as a standalone function: from nitro_ui import from_html

When fragment=True, returns List[HTMLElement]. When False, returns single element or None.

Event Callbacks (Override in Subclasses)

Utility

Fragment (No Wrapper Tag)

Renders children without a wrapper element.

from nitro_ui import Fragment, H1, Paragraph

frag = Fragment(H1("Title"), Paragraph("Content"))
print(frag.render())
# <h1>Title</h1><p>Content</p>

Use cases: conditional rendering without wrapper divs, returning multiple elements from functions, list composition.

Partial (Raw HTML)

Embed raw HTML for trusted content. Bypasses escaping.

from nitro_ui import Head, Meta, Title, Partial

# Inline raw HTML
Head(
    Meta(charset="utf-8"),
    Partial("""
        <!-- Google Analytics -->
        <script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=GA_ID"></script>
        <script>gtag('config', 'GA_ID');</script>
    """),
    Title("My Page")
)

# Or load from file (lazy-loaded at render time)
Partial(file="partials/analytics.html")

Warning: Only use with trusted content – bypasses XSS protections.

Component (Reusable Components)

Build reusable components with declarative templates and named slots.

from nitro_ui import Component, Slot, H3, Paragraph, Div, Button

class Card(Component):
    tag = "div"
    class_name = "card"

    def template(self, title: str):
        return [
            H3(title, cls="card-title"),
            Slot()  # children go here
        ]

# Usage
card = Card("My Title",
    Paragraph("Content goes here"),
    id="card-1",
    cls="featured"
)
# <div class="card featured" id="card-1">
#     <h3 class="card-title">My Title</h3>
#     <p>Content goes here</p>
# </div>

Class Attributes

Template Method

Override template() to define the component structure. Parameters become props.

def template(self, title: str, level: str = "info"):
    return [
        Span(f"[{level.upper()}]"),
        Span(title),
        Slot()
    ]

Slots

Use Slot() for the default slot (receives *children), Slot("name") for named slots.

class Modal(Component):
    tag = "div"
    class_name = "modal"

    def template(self, title: str):
        return [
            Div(H2(title), Slot("actions"), cls="header"),
            Div(Slot(), cls="body"),
            Div(Slot("footer", default=Button("Close")), cls="footer")
        ]

# Usage - named slots via kwargs
Modal("Confirm",
    Paragraph("Are you sure?"),              # default slot
    actions=Button("X"),                     # named slot
    footer=[Button("Cancel"), Button("OK")]  # named slot (list)
)

Slot rules:

• Slot() — default slot, receives positional *children
• Slot("name") — named slot, receives name= kwarg
• Slot("name", default=element) — fallback content if slot not provided
• Named slot kwargs accept single element or list
• Empty slots render nothing

Props vs Attributes

Arguments are separated automatically:

1. HTMLElement args → default slot children
2. Non-HTMLElement positional args → props (matched to template() params)
3. Kwargs matching template params → props
4. Kwargs matching slot names → slot content
5. Other kwargs → HTML attributes on root element

class Alert(Component):
    def template(self, message: str, level: str = "info"):
        return [Slot("icon"), Span(message)]

Alert("Hello",                    # prop: message
    level="warning",              # prop (template param)
    icon=Icon("warning"),         # slot
    id="alert-1",                 # HTML attr
    role="alert"                  # HTML attr
)

Class Name Merging

User-provided cls merges with the Component’s default class_name (appends):

class Card(Component):
    class_name = "card"

Card("Title", cls="featured")
# → <div class="card featured">...</div>

Lifecycle Hooks

Components inherit HTMLElement lifecycle hooks:

class MyComponent(Component):
    def on_load(self): ...           # After construction
    def on_before_render(self): ...  # Before render()
    def on_after_render(self): ...   # After render()

Styling System

CSSStyle

Represents CSS styles with pseudo-selectors and responsive breakpoints.

from nitro_ui.styles import CSSStyle

style = CSSStyle(
    background_color="#007bff",    # snake_case -> kebab-case
    color="white",
    padding="10px 20px",
    border_radius="5px",
    _hover=CSSStyle(background_color="#0056b3"),   # pseudo-selector
    _md=CSSStyle(padding="15px 30px")              # breakpoint
)

Pseudo-selectors (prefix _): _hover, _active, _focus, _visited, _link, _first_child, _last_child, _nth_child, _before, _after

Breakpoints (prefix _): _xs (0px), _sm (640px), _md (768px), _lg (1024px), _xl (1280px), _2xl (1536px)

StyleSheet

Manages CSS classes and generates <style> tag content.

from nitro_ui.styles import StyleSheet, CSSStyle, Theme

# Optional theme for CSS variables
stylesheet = StyleSheet(theme=Theme.modern())

# Register classes
btn = stylesheet.register("btn-primary", CSSStyle(
    background_color="#007bff",
    color="white",
    _hover=CSSStyle(background_color="#0056b3")
))

# BEM naming
card = stylesheet.register_bem("card", style=CSSStyle(padding="20px"))
# "card"
card_header = stylesheet.register_bem("card", element="header",
    style=CSSStyle(font_weight="bold"))
# "card__header"
card_featured = stylesheet.register_bem("card", modifier="featured",
    style=CSSStyle(border="2px solid blue"))
# "card--featured"

# Use in elements
Button("Click", cls=btn)
Div(cls=f"{card} {card_featured}")

# Generate output
css = stylesheet.render()                  # CSS string
tag = stylesheet.to_style_tag()            # <style>...</style>

Theme

Preset design systems with CSS variables.

from nitro_ui.styles import Theme

theme = Theme.modern()    # Blue primary, Inter font, modern components
theme = Theme.classic()   # Traditional blue, Georgia serif
theme = Theme.minimal()   # Black/white, system fonts

# Custom
theme = Theme(
    name="Custom",
    colors={"primary": "#007bff", "secondary": "#6c757d"},
    typography={"font_family": "Inter, sans-serif"},
    spacing={"sm": "8px", "md": "16px", "lg": "24px"},
    components={"button": {"primary": CSSStyle(...)}}
)

Common Patterns

Complete Page

from nitro_ui import HTML, Head, Body, Title, Meta, Div, H1, Paragraph

page = HTML(
    Head(
        Title("My Page"),
        Meta(charset="utf-8"),
        Meta(name="viewport", content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1")
    ),
    Body(
        Div(
            H1("Welcome"),
            Paragraph("Hello, world!"),
            cls="container"
        )
    )
)
html = page.render(pretty=True)

Navigation

from nitro_ui import Nav, UnorderedList, ListItem, Href

navbar = Nav(
    UnorderedList(
        ListItem(Href("Home", href="/")),
        ListItem(Href("About", href="/about")),
        ListItem(Href("Contact", href="/contact")),
    ),
    cls="navbar"
)

Form

from nitro_ui import Form, Label, Input, Button

login_form = Form(
    Label("Email:", for_element="email"),
    Input(type="email", id="email", name="email", required=True),
    Label("Password:", for_element="password"),
    Input(type="password", id="password", name="password", required=True),
    Button("Log In", type="submit"),
    action="/login",
    method="post"
)

Table from Data

from nitro_ui import Table, TableHeader, TableBody, TableRow, TableHeaderCell, TableDataCell

data = [{"name": "Alice", "age": 30}, {"name": "Bob", "age": 25}]

t = Table(
    TableHeader(TableRow(TableHeaderCell("Name"), TableHeaderCell("Age"))),
    TableBody(*[
        TableRow(TableDataCell(row["name"]), TableDataCell(str(row["age"])))
        for row in data
    ])
)

Dynamic List

from nitro_ui import UnorderedList, ListItem

items = ["Apple", "Banana", "Orange"]
list_element = UnorderedList(*[ListItem(item) for item in items])

Method Chaining

container = (Div()
    .add_attribute("id", "hero")
    .add_styles({"background": "#f0f0f0", "padding": "2rem"})
    .append(H1("Welcome"))
    .append(Paragraph("Get started today.")))

Custom Component (Recommended)

from nitro_ui import Component, Slot, Div, H2, Paragraph

class Card(Component):
    tag = "div"
    class_name = "card"

    def template(self, title: str):
        return [
            H2(title, cls="card-title"),
            Div(Slot(), cls="card-body")
        ]

card = Card("My Card", Paragraph("Card content here"), id="card-1")

Custom Component (Alternative – Direct Subclass)

from nitro_ui import HTMLElement, H2, Paragraph

class Card(HTMLElement):
    def __init__(self, title, content, **kwargs):
        super().__init__(tag="div", cls="card", **kwargs)
        self.append(
            H2(title, cls="card-title"),
            Paragraph(content, cls="card-body")
        )

card = Card("My Card", "Card content here", id="card-1")

Parsing and Modifying HTML

from nitro_ui import from_html, Paragraph

element = from_html('<div class="old"><h1>Title</h1></div>')
element.add_attribute("class", "new")
element.add_style("padding", "20px")
element.append(Paragraph("New content"))
html = element.render()

Serialization Round-Trip

from nitro_ui import Div, H1, HTMLElement

page = Div(H1("Title"), id="page")
json_str = page.to_json(indent=2)
loaded = HTMLElement.from_json(json_str)
html = loaded.render()

Page with StyleSheet

from nitro_ui import HTML, Head, Body, Button, Style
from nitro_ui.styles import CSSStyle, StyleSheet, Theme

theme = Theme.modern()
stylesheet = StyleSheet(theme=theme)

btn = stylesheet.register("btn", CSSStyle(
    background_color="var(--color-primary)",
    color="white",
    padding="10px 20px",
    _hover=CSSStyle(background_color="var(--color-primary-dark)")
))

page = HTML(
    Head(Style(stylesheet.render())),
    Body(Button("Click Me", cls=btn))
)

Framework Integration

FastAPI

from fastapi import FastAPI
from fastapi.responses import HTMLResponse
from nitro_ui import HTML, Head, Body, Title, H1

app = FastAPI()

@app.get("/", response_class=HTMLResponse)
async def home():
    return HTML(
        Head(Title("FastAPI + NitroUI")),
        Body(H1("Hello!"))
    ).render()

Flask

from flask import Flask
from nitro_ui import HTML, Head, Body, Title, H1

app = Flask(__name__)

@app.route("/")
def home():
    return HTML(
        Head(Title("Flask + NitroUI")),
        Body(H1("Hello!"))
    ).render()

Django

from django.http import HttpResponse
from nitro_ui import HTML, Head, Body, Title, H1

def home(request):
    page = HTML(
        Head(Title("Django + NitroUI")),
        Body(H1("Hello!"))
    )
    return HttpResponse(page.render())

Form Builder

Generate HTML5 form fields with validation attributes using the Field class.

from nitro_ui import Form, Button, Field

form = Form(
    Field.email("email", label="Email", required=True, placeholder="you@example.com"),
    Field.password("password", label="Password", min_length=8),
    Field.checkbox("remember", label="Remember me"),
    Button("Log In", type="submit"),
    action="/login",
    method="post"
)

Text Fields

Field.text(name, label=None, required=False, min_length=None, max_length=None, pattern=None, placeholder=None, value=None, wrapper=None, **attrs)
Field.email(name, label=None, required=False, placeholder=None, value=None, wrapper=None, **attrs)
Field.password(name, label=None, required=False, min_length=None, max_length=None, placeholder=None, wrapper=None, **attrs)
Field.url(name, label=None, required=False, placeholder=None, value=None, wrapper=None, **attrs)
Field.tel(name, label=None, required=False, pattern=None, placeholder=None, value=None, wrapper=None, **attrs)
Field.search(name, label=None, required=False, placeholder=None, value=None, wrapper=None, **attrs)
Field.textarea(name, label=None, required=False, rows=None, cols=None, min_length=None, max_length=None, placeholder=None, value=None, wrapper=None, **attrs)

Numeric & Date Fields

Field.number(name, label=None, required=False, min=None, max=None, step=None, value=None, wrapper=None, **attrs)
Field.range(name, label=None, min=0, max=100, step=None, value=None, wrapper=None, **attrs)
Field.date(name, label=None, required=False, min=None, max=None, value=None, wrapper=None, **attrs)
Field.time(name, label=None, required=False, min=None, max=None, value=None, wrapper=None, **attrs)
Field.datetime_local(name, label=None, required=False, min=None, max=None, value=None, wrapper=None, **attrs)

Selection Fields

# Select with different option formats
Field.select("country", ["USA", "Canada", "Mexico"])  # strings
Field.select("status", [("active", "Active"), ("inactive", "Inactive")])  # tuples
Field.select("priority", [{"value": "1", "label": "Low", "disabled": True}])  # dicts

# Pre-selected value
Field.select("country", ["USA", "Canada"], value="Canada", label="Country")

# Checkbox (label wraps input)
Field.checkbox("terms", label="I agree to the Terms", required=True)

# Radio buttons (wrapped in fieldset)
Field.radio("plan", [("free", "Free"), ("pro", "Pro")], label="Select Plan", value="free")

Other Fields

Field.file(name, label=None, required=False, accept=None, multiple=False, wrapper=None, **attrs)
Field.hidden(name, value, **attrs)
Field.color(name, label=None, value=None, wrapper=None, **attrs)

Labels and Wrappers

# No label - just input
Field.text("username")

# With label
Field.text("username", label="Username")
# → <label for="username">Username</label><input ...>

# With wrapper div
Field.text("username", label="Username", wrapper="form-field")
# → <div class="form-field"><label>...</label><input ...></div>

# Wrapper with attributes
Field.text("username", label="Username", wrapper={"cls": "form-group", "id": "field-1"})

With HTMX

Field.text("search",
    placeholder="Search...",
    hx_get="/search",
    hx_trigger="keyup changed delay:300ms",
    hx_target="#results"
)

HTMX Integration

NitroUI works seamlessly with HTMX. Use hx_* kwargs — underscores convert to hyphens automatically.

Basic Usage

from nitro_ui import Button, Div, Input, Script

# Include HTMX
Script(src="https://unpkg.com/htmx.org@2.0.4")

# hx_get → hx-get, hx_target → hx-target, etc.
Button("Load More", hx_get="/items", hx_target="#list", hx_swap="beforeend")

Common Patterns

# Click to load
Button("Load", hx_get="/content", hx_target="#result")

# Delete with confirmation
Button("Delete", hx_delete="/items/1", hx_confirm="Are you sure?", hx_swap="outerHTML")

# Live search
Input(
    type="text",
    name="q",
    hx_get="/search",
    hx_trigger="keyup changed delay:300ms",
    hx_target="#results"
)

# Form submission
Form(
    Input(type="text", name="email"),
    Button("Subscribe"),
    hx_post="/subscribe",
    hx_swap="outerHTML"
)

# Infinite scroll
Div(
    hx_get="/items?page=2",
    hx_trigger="revealed",
    hx_swap="afterend"
)

# Polling
Div(id="notifications", hx_get="/notifications", hx_trigger="every 30s")

All HTMX Attributes

HTMX Extensions

# Server-Sent Events
Div(hx_ext="sse", sse_connect="/events", sse_swap="message")

# WebSockets
Div(hx_ext="ws", ws_connect="/ws")

# JSON encoding
Form(hx_ext="json-enc", hx_post="/api/submit")

Security

• Automatic HTML escaping: All text content and attribute values are escaped
• CSS value validation: add_style/add_styles reject javascript:, expression(), url(data:), etc. (raises ValueError)
• CSS class name validation: StyleSheet rejects class names containing injection patterns
• No raw HTML injection: Cannot inject unescaped HTML (use Partial for trusted raw HTML)
• Recursion protection: render(), filter(), find_by_attribute() have max_depth parameter (default 1000) to prevent stack overflow from circular references
• Child type validation: Only HTMLElement and str accepted as children. None silently ignored, other types raise ValueError.

Gotchas

• Package name mismatch: PyPI is nitro-ui, import is nitro_ui
• HtmlLink vs Href: Href is for <a> links. HtmlLink is for <link> tags.
• get_attributes() returns a copy: Mutating the returned dict does not affect the element. Use add_attribute() to modify.
• replace_child() and generate_id() return None: Not chainable, unlike other methods.
• from_dict() expects normalized keys: Designed for round-tripping with to_dict(). Attribute keys should already be in their final form (e.g. data-value, not data_value).

Quick Checklist

When generating NitroUI code:

• Use PascalCase imports: from nitro_ui import Div, H1, Paragraph
• Use cls for CSS classes (e.g., Div(cls="container"))
• Use for_element not for (Python keyword)
• Children go as positional args, attributes as keyword args
• Call .render() to get HTML string
• Use pretty=True for readable output during development
• All manipulation methods return self for chaining (except replace_child, generate_id)
• Use Fragment when you need multiple elements without a wrapper
• Use Partial for raw HTML (analytics, embeds) – bypasses escaping
• Use Component + Slot for reusable components with declarative templates
• Use Field.xyz() for form fields with HTML5 validation attributes