Introduction
Sparke turns an ordinary multi-page site into an instant SPA – with one script tag, no build step, and no framework.
Sparke turns a standard multi-page app into an instantly snappy SPA. It aggressively preloads content while the browser is idle, then atomically swaps pages in from memory when you click a link – no build step, no config, no framework.
It's pure progressive enhancement, so it fails safely: if JavaScript is unavailable, the browser just behaves as a normal MPA.
One script tag. No package, no bundler. Add it, and your existing site is instant.
The one-liner
Drop a single tag into your <head>. Use
defer so it runs after the document parses.
<script src="/js/sparke.min.js" defer></script><script
src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/benshawuk/sparke@1/sparke.min.js"
defer
></script>
Sparke works with any server-rendered multi-page site - plain
HTML, Astro, or HTML enhanced
with Alpine, or
HTMX etc.
Just use
defer and put it in the <head>.
It's not for client-rendered SPA frameworks like React, Vue, Svelte or Solid - those already own rendering and routing, which is exactly the job Sparke does for server-rendered HTML. Astro is a perfect fit, though: every route it ships is a real HTML page.
Why it's instant
HTMX, Turbo and Livewire only hit the network after you click, so every navigation is gated on a round trip. Sparke flips the order: it preloads reachable same-origin pages into memory while the browser is idle, before you click. So the click is an instant in-memory swap with no request on the critical path.
| Network work happens | A click feels like | |
|---|---|---|
| HTMX / Turbo / Livewire | After the click | Delay = round trip |
| Sparke (true SPA) | Before the click, while idle | Instant swap from memory |
Those libraries solve a different problem (server-driven partials, reactivity, no-reload forms) and run happily alongside Sparke. Every page Sparke serves is still a complete, server-rendered document – so you keep the SEO, the no-JS fallback, and the progressive enhancement of an MPA.
What Sparke handles
Sparke intercepts same-origin http/https
<a href> links. It lets the browser handle
everything else: a target other than
_self, download,
rel="external", hash-only links,
mailto:/tel:/javascript:,
and any route you exclude with data-ignore.