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what is backbone-history fr?

gskinnerteam/backbone-history — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-07-20 · repo last pushed 2015-11-06

2JavaScriptAudience · developerComplexity · 2/5DormantSetup · moderate

tl;dr

A starter template for Backbone.js web apps that uses the HTML5 History API to create clean, shareable URLs without the # symbol old single-page apps used. It gives you a working example to study and build on.

vibe map

mindmap
  root((repo))
    What it does
      Clean URLs
      No hash symbols
      Page navigation
    Tech stack
      Backbone.js
      HTML5 History API
      GruntJS
      NPM
    Use cases
      Portfolio sites
      Marketing pages
      Interactive tools
    Audience
      Single-page app builders
      Front-end developers
    Examples
      gskinner.com
      createjs.com

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filefunction / class

what do people make with this?

VIBE 1

Build a portfolio site with clean, shareable URLs like yoursite.com/contact instead of yoursite.com/#contact.

VIBE 2

Create a marketing page where navigation updates the address bar without full page reloads.

VIBE 3

Study a working Backbone.js example app to learn how the HTML5 History API handles clean URL routing.

VIBE 4

Start a small interactive web tool with professional, search-engine-friendly URLs already wired up.

what's the stack?

JavaScriptBackbone.jsHTML5 History APIGruntJSNPM

how it stacks up fr

gskinnerteam/backbone-history3imed-jaberi/cryptography-si-isamm3imed-jaberi/koa-isomorphic-router
Stars222
LanguageJavaScriptJavaScriptJavaScript
Last pushed2015-11-062021-09-252021-02-06
MaintenanceDormantDormantDormant
Setup difficultymoderateeasyeasy
Complexity2/51/52/5
Audiencedeveloperresearcherdeveloper

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

how do i run it?

Difficulty · moderate time til it works · 30min

The README is sparse on setup steps, so you need to be comfortable exploring the code and installing NPM dependencies on your own.

The explanation does not mention a license, so it is unclear what permissions apply to using this code.

in plain english

This is a starter template for building a web application that uses clean, modern web addresses without the messy "#" symbols that older single-page apps relied on. It's built on a tool called Backbone.js, which helps organize JavaScript code, and it specifically demonstrates the HTML5 History API, the browser feature that lets a web app update the address bar as you navigate between pages, without doing a full page reload. The practical benefit is that your app's URLs look clean and shareable, like example.com/about instead of example.com/#/about. At a high level, the project gives you a pre-configured starting point so you don't have to set everything up from scratch. It uses GruntJS to handle routine development tasks and NPM to manage the JavaScript packages the project depends on. You get a working example app out of the box that you can study, modify, and build on. There's a live demo linked in the README so you can see the clean-URL navigation in action before diving into the code. This would appeal to someone building a single-page web application who wants URLs to look professional and search-engine friendly. For instance, if you're creating a portfolio site, a marketing page, or a small interactive tool, you probably want yoursite.com/contact rather than yoursite.com/#contact. This template gets you started with that pattern already wired up. The README links to a couple of live production sites, gskinner.com and createjs.com, as examples of this approach in the wild. The README is quite sparse and doesn't go into detail on setup steps, customization, or limitations, so you'd need to be comfortable exploring the code yourself or referring to Backbone.js documentation. It's a lightweight, no-frills starting point rather than a full-featured framework.

prompts (copy fr)

prompt 1
I cloned the backbone-history starter template. Help me understand how the HTML5 History API is wired into the Backbone.js router so I can add a new route like /projects that updates the address bar without a page reload.
prompt 2
I'm using the backbone-history template for my single-page app. How do I customize the existing routes and add new clean URL paths like /services and /portfolio using Backbone.js routing?
prompt 3
Help me set up GruntJS tasks for this Backbone.js project so I can run a local dev server and see the clean-URL navigation work as I make changes to the code.
prompt 4
I want to adapt this backbone-history template into a portfolio site. Walk me through the project structure and show me where to replace the example views and routes with my own pages.

Frequently asked questions

what is backbone-history fr?

A starter template for Backbone.js web apps that uses the HTML5 History API to create clean, shareable URLs without the # symbol old single-page apps used. It gives you a working example to study and build on.

What language is backbone-history written in?

Mainly JavaScript. The stack also includes JavaScript, Backbone.js, HTML5 History API.

Is backbone-history actively maintained?

Dormant — no commits in 2+ years (last push 2015-11-06).

What license does backbone-history use?

The explanation does not mention a license, so it is unclear what permissions apply to using this code.

How hard is backbone-history to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated moderate, with roughly 30min to a first successful run.

Who is backbone-history for?

Mainly developer.

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