rework-vars

A Rework plugin to add support for the W3C-style CSS variables syntax.

N.B. This is not a polyfill. This plugin aims to provide a future-proof way of using a limited subset of the features provided by native CSS variables.

Installation

npm install rework-vars

Use

As a Rework plugin:

// dependencies
var fs = require('fs');
var rework = require('rework');
var vars = require('rework-vars');
 
// css to be processed
var css = fs.readFileSync('build/build.css', 'utf8').toString();
 
// process css using rework-vars
var options = {};
var out = rework(css).use(vars(options)).toString();

Options

map

Optionally, you may pass an object of variables - map - to the JavaScript function.

var map = {
  'app-bg-color': 'white'
}
 
var out = rework(css).use(vars({map: map})).toString();

preserve (default: false)

Setting preserve to true will preserve the variable definitions and references in the output, so that they can be used by supporting browsers.

var out = rework(css).use(vars({preserve: true})).toString();

Supported features

Variables can be declared as custom CSS properties on the :root element, prefixed with --:

:root {
  --my-color: red;
}

Variables are applied using the var() function, taking the name of a variable as the first argument:

:root {
  --my-color: red;
}
 
div {
  color: var(--my-color);
}

Fallback values are supported and are applied if a variable has not been declared:

:root {
  --my-color: red;
}
 
div {
  color: var(--other-color, green);
}

Fallbacks can be "complex". Anything after the first comma in the var() function will act as the fallback value – var(name, fallback). Nested variables are also supported:

:root {
  --my-color: red;
}
 
div {
  background: var(--my-other-color, linear-gradient(var(--my-color), rgba(255,0,0,0.5)));
}

What to expect

Variables can only be declared for, and scoped to the :root element. All other variable declarations are left untouched. Any known variables used as values are replaced.

:root {
  --color-one: red;
  --color-two: green;
}
 
:root,
div {
  --color-two: purple;
  color: var(--color-two);
}
 
div {
  --color-three: blue;
}
 
span {
  --color-four: yellow;
}

yields:

:root,
div {
  --color-two: purple;
  color: green;
}
 
div {
  --color-three: blue;
}
 
span {
  --color-four: yellow;
}

Variables are not dynamic; they are replaced with normal CSS values. The value of a defined variable is determined by the last declaration of that variable for :root.

:root {
  --brand-color: green;
}
 
.brand {
  color: var(--brand-color);
}
 
:root {
  --brand-color: red;
}

yields:

.brand {
  color: red;
}

Variables declared within @media or @supports are not currently supported and will also be ignored.

@media (min-width: 320px) {
  :root {
    --brand-color: red;
  }
}

yields:

@media (min-width: 320px) {
  :root {
    --brand-color: red;
  }
}

License

MIT