In my opinion, the biggest complicator there is in javascript land is Webpack and similar loaders. They do absolutely everything in the name of optimizing performance in production, things which even the "development mode" don't simplify.

I developed my own custom scaffolding for Vue projects[0], which is a lot simpler and customizable. It even allows you to develop Vue projects without a build step/tool, you save and reload. Yes, there are tools that reload the page when you save, but I don't think they're worth the complexity.

It could be further improved to actually compile/build when you actually want to deploy, I hadn't the time or a strong need for it yet. But when you are developing, things need to be simple, I think you need to know everything that is happening in the browser so you can resolve any bug with much more speed and confidence.

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20270816

I try to know just enough of the $cool_kids front end stack to pass an interview, but I’m very honest - I don’t like front end development and that’s not my forte. Besides, front end developers are a dime a dozen. Your typical software as a service CRUD company, is looking for mere competence and pays at that rate. I have no interest in competing in a commodity market.