Gatsby

Judgement

What it is

Framework or platform

What it does

A React framework that builds sites from data pulled through a GraphQL layer, with a large plugin and starter ecosystem.

Adopt it when

You maintain an existing Gatsby site; new projects are better served by Astro or Next.js.

Watch out

Since Netlify acquired Gatsby in 2023 development has slowed sharply, and many plugins are unmaintained.

Ready for

Production-ready

Runs as

Library and command line

Built with

JavaScript, React, GraphQL and Node.js

How established

Established: started 11 years ago, latest release gatsby@5.16.1.

What the license allows

You can build it into a product you sell, as long as you keep its copyright notice.

Judged on 2026-11-03 from the project's README and GitHub data. The license and age lines are worked out directly.

Built from

Follow it down: Gatsby → V8 → LLVM project → runs on a microchip

How compilers were built, back to punched paper tape

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