datastar

name	datastar
description	Datastar framework guidance for adding data-* attributes, frontend actions, reactive signals, and backend SSE/SDK usage (including Clojure). Use when modifying HTML/Hiccup with Datastar attributes, handling Datastar requests, patching elements/signals, or tracing signal updates.

Datastar

Overview

Provide Datastar-specific guidance for UI wiring, server updates, and debugging.

Signals are Datastar's reactive state values. They are created with data-signals, data-bind, or data-computed and referenced in expressions with the $ prefix (for example $name). Expressions inside data-* attributes are JavaScript expressions.

Workflow Selector

• For HTML/Hiccup attribute wiring and actions, read references/attributes.md.
• For Clojure SDK SSE handlers, backend signal updates, and request parsing, read references/clj-sdk.md.
• For debugging signal flow or inspecting patches, read references/signal-tracing.md.

Subworkflow: Frontend attributes

1. Identify the signals and UI elements to bind.
2. Apply the smallest set of data-* attributes needed for binding, display, or events.
3. Use Datastar actions (@get, @post, etc.) for server calls and add indicators for loading.
4. Ensure morph targets have stable ids/selectors for patching.

Subworkflow: Backend SSE + Clojure SDK

1. Use ->sse-response with on-open to establish SSE.
2. Read incoming signals using parsed request data (see references/clj-sdk.md).
3. Set backend signals with d*/patch-signals! and update HTML with d*/patch-elements!.
4. Close the SSE for one-shot responses, or store the generator for streaming.

Subworkflow: Signal tracing

1. Add data-on-signal-patch handlers to log or forward patch data.
2. Use data-json-signals with include/exclude filters for on-screen inspection.
3. Remove tracing attributes once the behavior is verified.

Resources

• references/attributes.md
• references/clj-sdk.md
• references/signal-tracing.md