You can build single-page applications with React, you cannot with HTMX.
Irrelevant to the conversation.
GP said:
HTMX is not a replacement for React -- HTMX + a backend is
So if you think that's not true because React can build SPAs and HTMX cannot, take it up with them (maybe you replied to the wrong comment?).
You stated: "Most React apps need a backend too."
But in reality this is irrelevant to the conversation, because the top post was asking if comparing HTMX to React is like apples to oranges, which it is, because both tools accomplish different things with completely different feature-sets.
A good example of this is the implementation of TodoMVC. [1] React's implementation can live completely in the browser, and even be stateful. [2] An implementation with HTMX requires a server to handle templating/rendering. [3]
[2] https://github.com/tastejs/todomvc/tree/master/examples/reac...
htmx-powered applications can be local-only via service workers[1]
i think there is a sense in which htmx vs. react is apples to apples, in that in the common case they are used to build web applications that talk in some manner to a back-end system. On the other hand, it is true that react does require additional support code in order to do that communication.
Regardless of that latter fact, and the fact that htmx does not require a server, there is a large overlap in practical applications that might be built with either, so it is good to know the strengths and weaknesses of both for comparison.
[1] - https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Service_Wor...
