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Telegram team has a long history of using vanilla javascript as optimal as possible. It all started at VK.

"vanilla javascript" usually refers to something like manipulating the DOM directly, without using frameworks, transpiled languages and similar. Both of them seems to be using a bunch of different tech, from typescript to wasm, jsx and more, not sure I'd call that vanilla javascript.

On a second note, I'm surprised that both the new web versions are so similar. Seems just a couple of margins changed and other minor changes (profile picture filling the background vs being a centered circle for example), but built differently. Wonder if they both worked towards the same design maybe?

Edit: found explanations to the multiple-codebases behavior further down: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26943653

They had a contest with requirements to the codebase: https://contest.com/javascript-web-3

this is gold. thank you!

Wow and each submission can be opened..

i think both of them are not using any framework, one of them uses an inhouse library which resembles react but overall i would say it's pretty vanilla (as in no frontend frameworks)

You might be right in the first half, but TypeScript (which they seem to be built in mostly) is not vanilla JavaScript, no matter what library or frameworks you use.

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