# cssnano

Modular CSS minifier, built on the PostCSS ecosystem, that compresses stylesheets with a set of optimizations and presets.


Source: https://findsoftware.frbit.cloud/cssnano/
Last reviewed: 2026-10-28
Listed since: 2026-10-28

## Record

### Links

- home: https://cssnano.github.io/cssnano/
- repository: https://github.com/cssnano/cssnano
- docs: https://cssnano.github.io/cssnano/docs/getting-started/

### Identity

- status: active
- maintainer: Ben Briggs
- maintainerType: unknown
- parent: unknown
- firstRelease: 2015
- hqCountry: unknown

### Kind

- category: build-tool
- hosting: not applicable
- language: javascript
- runtime: node
- runtimeMin: node 22
- basedOn: postcss

### Content

- contentStore: not applicable
- databases: not applicable
- adminUi: not applicable
- headlessApi: not applicable
- templating: not applicable
- i18n: not applicable

### Rendering and deploy

- runsAs: local
- renderingModes: not applicable
- installMethod: npm install cssnano postcss --save-dev

### License

- licenseModel: open-source
- license: MIT

### Releases

- currentMajor: 9
- latestReleaseDate: 2026-10-16

### Adoption

- githubStargazers: 4981
- packagistDownloads: not applicable
- npmWeeklyDownloads: 21890437
- contributors: 117
- pluginCount: unknown
- packagistMonthlyDownloads: unknown
- ecosystemsMonthlyDownloads: unknown
- httpArchiveSites: unknown
- wordpressActiveInstalls: unknown
- dependentRepos: 2638841
- dependentPackages: 13557

### Sources

- urls: https://cssnano.github.io/cssnano/ (read 2026-10-28)
- urls: https://api.github.com/repos/cssnano/cssnano (read 2026-10-28)
- urls: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cssnano/cssnano/main/README.md (read 2026-10-28)
- maintainer: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cssnano/cssnano/main/LICENSE-MIT (read 2026-10-28)
- language: https://api.github.com/repos/cssnano/cssnano (read 2026-10-28)
- category: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cssnano/cssnano/main/README.md (read 2026-10-28)
- runtime: https://cssnano.github.io/cssnano/docs/getting-started/ (read 2026-10-28)
- runtimeMin: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/cssnano/cssnano/cssnano@9.9.0/packages/cssnano/package.json (read 2026-10-28)
- runsAs: https://cssnano.github.io/cssnano/docs/getting-started/ (read 2026-10-28)
- installMethod: https://cssnano.github.io/cssnano/docs/getting-started/ (read 2026-10-28)
- license: https://api.github.com/repos/cssnano/cssnano (read 2026-10-28)
- firstRelease: https://api.github.com/repos/cssnano/cssnano/releases (read 2026-10-28)
- currentMajor: https://api.github.com/repos/cssnano/cssnano/releases (read 2026-10-28)
- latestReleaseDate: https://api.github.com/repos/cssnano/cssnano/releases (read 2026-10-28)
- githubStargazers: https://api.github.com/repos/cssnano/cssnano (read 2026-10-28)
- contributors: https://api.github.com/repos/cssnano/cssnano/contributors?per_page=1 (read 2026-10-28)
- npmWeeklyDownloads: https://api.npmjs.org/downloads/range/2026-09-28:2026-10-04/cssnano (read 2026-10-28)
- dependentPackages: https://packages.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/registries/npmjs.org/packages/cssnano (read 2026-10-28)
- dependentRepos: https://packages.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/registries/npmjs.org/packages/cssnano (read 2026-10-28)
- basedOn: https://github.com/cssnano/cssnano/blob/main/README.md (read 2026-10-28)

## Notes

cssnano is a CSS minifier built on the PostCSS ecosystem. It runs as a PostCSS plugin, so it is installed with npm alongside PostCSS. Its default preset applies safe transforms, and its advanced preset applies more aggressive ones. The [getting-started guide](https://cssnano.github.io/cssnano/docs/getting-started/) recommends running the minifier in the deployment step, so the compressed files are the ones that reach the server or content delivery network.

## Worth knowing

The guide says that in most cases cssnano is not needed on the web server.

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Data licensed CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Attributes are recorded, never scored; absent means unknown.
Credit, in full: FindSoftware, CC BY 4.0