Introducing Backlit: Lit SSR for Drupal, Hold the Node

Two years ago I wrote about server rendering Lit web components with Drupal. The approach worked, but it required a Node.js HTTP service running alongside Drupal in a container. That meant Docker/Podman, networking between containers, and an extra process to manage. It was a proof of concept, and it felt like one. Well, introducing Backlit -- a Drupal module that server-renders Lit web components with Declarative Shadow DOM. No Node.js, no containers, no external services. Two lines to install, zero infrastructure to maintain. What Backlit does If your Drupal site uses Lit web components (from a design system, a custom theme, or anywhere else), those components normally render client-side: the browser downloads JavaScript, defines the custom elements, and paints the shadow DOM. Until that happens, users see a flash of unstyled content or an empty box. Backlit moves that rendering to the server. When Drupal finishes building a page, Backlit pipes the HTML through a binary that injects e