Bootstrap 5 is the first Bootstrap version that no longer has a dependency on jQuery. Of course some plugins and components still require vanilla JavaScript to function but none of them require jQuery.
The Bootstrap framework, originally developed and open-sourced by Twitter, has been an indispensable tool for web developers. It provides a ready-to-use set of UI components and a grid system essential for adaptive web pages that need to display well across PC and mobile browsers. Since its inception, Bootstrap has always had a dependency on the jQuery framework. The jQuery framework, originally created in 2006, is one of the most popular JavaScript frameworks of all time. It provides powerful language features and cross-browser compatibility in an era when web technologies are going through many challenges and experimentations to support a variety of use cases ranging from interactive web pages, single-page apps, AJAX requests, and mobile web apps.
With JavaScript standards and dominant web browsers supporting most of the features in jQuery, the Bootstrap team decided to move on. The Bootstrap 5 framework has removed jQuery as a requirement which saves 85KB of minified JavaScript.
Remark: Dropdowns, popovers, and tooltips depend on Popper.
Do notice that it is still possible to use the available components with jQuery. By default Bootstrap will check if jQuery
in the window
object. If that is the case the components are added to the jQuery’s plugin system. If you don’t want this behavior, you can disable it by setting the data-bs-no-jquery
attribute on the <body>
element.