🏛️ classic.css

Classic CSS Demo

classic.css is a single-file CSS library for semantic HTML with an old desktop interface feel. It aims for a fixed-light, OS 9 / Windows 95 inspired style: platinum surfaces, visible bevels, sunken inputs, simple physical buttons, and page layouts that work without a build step.

Goals

• Style semantic HTML reasonably well by default.
• Keep the core visual library to one CSS file.
• Make forms, buttons, panels, tables, nav, and common document elements usable without heavy class markup.
• Provide ARIA-friendly state hooks such as aria-current, aria-invalid, aria-pressed, and aria-busy.
• Support three-page shells: topbar, sidebar, and mobile-style vertical scroll.

Markup Philosophy

Start with semantic HTML. Reach for classes only when HTML does not already have the concept you need, or when you are choosing a visual variant.

Good default markup:

<article>
  <header>
    <h2>Lesson Notes</h2>
  </header>
  <p>Classic CSS styles the document structure directly.</p>
</article>

<form>
  <label for="name">Name</label>
  <input id="name" name="name">
</form>

Opt-in classes are for extras:

<div class="notice" data-variant="warning">Check the required fields.</div>
<button class="secondary">Save Draft</button>

Files

• classic.css: the library stylesheet.
• classic.enhance.js: optional progressive-enhancement helpers for semantic markup.
• classic.commands.js: optional command palette for semantic landmark navigation.
• assets/github-mark.svg: documentation/demo GitHub navigation mark.
• demo/base.html: base styles demo for prose, tables, figures, lists, code, document structure, and component examples.
• demo/forms.html: form fixture for bare text/input pairs, label/input pairs, fieldsets, validation states, and native controls.

Usage

Link the stylesheet directly. This is the whole visual baseline:

<link rel="stylesheet" href="classic.css">

Optional scripts add behavior, not the core look:

<script src="classic.enhance.js"></script>
<script src="classic.commands.js"></script>

CSS and JS Boundary

classic.css owns presentation:

• semantic element styling
• layouts and responsive collapse
• form table alignment
• button/input/panel chrome
• ARIA and data-attribute visual states

classic.enhance.js owns optional markup repair:

• converts bare form text before controls into real labels
• gives generated labels a matching input id
• adds a hamburger toggle to layout header navigation on narrow screens
• adds a collapsible section toggle to sidebar navigation on narrow screens
• closes mobile navigation on link selection, Escape, or outside tap
• can be disabled per form with data-classic-no-autolabels

classic.commands.js owns optional command-palette behavior:

• opens with Ctrl+K or Cmd+K
• jumps to semantic landmarks such as nav, main, forms, search, footer, and top
• adds explicit section jumps from data-jumpable
• accepts custom commands through window.ClassicCommands.register(...)

The CSS should still be useful if neither script is loaded.

Theming

Theming is done by overriding CSS custom properties. There is no config file and no build step.

:root {
  --primary: #215a9c;
  --primary-hover: #194779;
  --primary-active: #102f55;
  --surface: #ffffff;
  --background: #f7f7f7;
  --button-face: #d9d9d9;
  --radius-3: 5px;
}

Prefer overriding tokens over restyling component internals. The most useful groups are typography (--font-*, --line-height), color (--background, --surface, --text, --primary), spacing (--space-*), radii (--radius-*), and button chrome (--button-*).

Responsive Behavior

Without JavaScript, topbar and sidebar layouts collapse into normal vertical document flow on narrow screens. With classic.enhance.js, header navigation becomes a hamburger menu and sidebar section navigation becomes a Sections disclosure. Both mobile menus close when a link is selected, Escape is pressed, or the user taps outside the menu.

The sidebar scrollspy is opt-in by structure: put same-page hash links in body.layout-sidebar > .sidebar, and make sure each link points at a real id in the document.

Forms and Labels

The stylesheet can visually place bare form text in the left column:

<form>
  Name
  <input name="name">
</form>

For actual click-to-focus label behavior, use real labels:

<label for="name">Name</label>
<input id="name" name="name">

Or load classic.enhance.js, which converts bare text/control pairs into labels by default:

<script src="classic.enhance.js"></script>
<form>
  Name
  <input name="name">
</form>

To opt out for a specific form, use data-classic-no-autolabels:

<form data-classic-no-autolabels>
  Name
  <input name="name">
</form>

Command Palette

The command palette opens with Ctrl+K or Cmd+K. Type commands like nav, main, forms, search, footer, or top to jump to semantic landmarks.

Command palette section jumps are explicit. Mark a destination with data-jumpable.

<section
  id="billing"
  data-jumpable
  data-jump-label="Billing"
  data-jump-aliases="invoices payments"
  data-jump-description="Jump to billing section">
  ...
</section>

Jump attributes:

• data-jumpable: opt this element into the command palette.
• data-jump-label: command text shown in the palette.
• data-jump-aliases: extra search terms.
• data-jump-description: right-side context text in the palette.

If data-jump-label is omitted, the command palette falls back to aria-label, then aria-labelledby, then id. Unlabeled jump targets are skipped.

You can also register custom commands in script:

<script>
  window.ClassicCommands.register({
    name: "billing",
    aliases: ["invoice", "payments"],
    description: "Jump to billing section",
    run() {
      document.querySelector("#billing")?.scrollIntoView({ behavior: "smooth", block: "start" });
    }
  });
</script>

Accessibility Notes

• Prefer real labels for forms. Bare form text is only visual until classic.enhance.js upgrades it.
• Keep visible focus states intact. The stylesheet uses :focus-visible for keyboard navigation.
• Use ARIA states only for state, not decoration: aria-current, aria-invalid, aria-pressed, aria-busy, and aria-expanded should reflect real UI state.
• Use aria-current="page" for the current top-level page or current in-page section link.
• Use aria-invalid="true" only after validation has failed, and pair it with useful help or error text in application markup.
• Use aria-pressed="true" only for toggle buttons, not ordinary links.
• Use data-jumpable only on meaningful destinations with a label, ARIA label, or stable id.
• Mobile header and sidebar menus close on Escape and return focus to their toggle.
• The command palette restores focus to the element that opened it and exposes results as a combobox/listbox pair.
• Motion is reduced when the user has prefers-reduced-motion: reduce.

Layouts

Apply one of these classes to body:

• layout-topbar: top navigation with a centered main content area.
• layout-sidebar: top navigation, left sidebar, and main content area.
• layout-scroll: narrow vertical scrolling layout for mobile-style forms and focused flows.

All three layouts use a menu-bar header. On narrow screens, topbar and sidebar layouts collapse into a vertical scroll flow. With classic.enhance.js loaded, header navigation collapses behind a hamburger toggle, and sidebar section navigation collapses behind a Sections button.

Class Reference

Most plain HTML elements are styled directly. These classes are available when you need a specific layout, variant, or component.

Navigation

Header navigation links in topbar, sidebar, and scroll layouts render as compact menu-bar items. Use brand on the site or package identity link to keep it visually separate from page navigation. Load classic.enhance.js to collapse layout header navigation into a hamburger menu on narrow screens.

Button Variants

Buttons style automatically on button, button-like inputs, [role="button"], and .button.

• secondary: cool-gray command button.
• outline: pale blue alternate button.
• contrast: dark high-contrast button.
• ghost: link-like button without bevel chrome.

Useful states:

• aria-pressed="true": pressed/toggled button state.
• aria-busy="true": busy state with spinner.
• disabled or aria-disabled="true": disabled styling.

<button>Default</button>
<button class="secondary">Save Draft</button>
<button class="outline" aria-pressed="true">Pinned</button>
<a href="#" role="button" class="ghost">Cancel</a>

Layout Helpers

• grid: responsive card/content grid.
• stack: vertical flow with consistent spacing.
• cluster: horizontal wrapping group.

Forms

Forms default to a two-column table layout. The left column is right-aligned and the right column holds controls.

• field: explicit label/control row.
• field-row: compatibility helper for grouping field markup; currently behaves as contents so rows align with the form table.
• check: checkbox/radio label row.
• switch: custom switch row.

Validation states support both ARIA and native HTML validity:

<input aria-invalid="true">
<input aria-invalid="false">
<input type="email" required>
<input pattern="[a-z0-9-]+" required>

Optional Component Classes

These are not automatic semantic defaults. Add the class when you want the component treatment.

• notice: inset message block. Use data-variant="info|success|warning|danger".
• badge: small inline status label. Use data-variant for color.
• status: inline status with a dot. Use data-variant for color.
• toolbar: compact command group.
• menu: command list.
• pagination: pagination list.
• avatar: circular-initials marker.
• stat: compact metric panel.
• window: window chrome container.
• window-titlebar: title row for window containers.
• window-pane: padded body pane for window containers.
• window-statusbar: status/footer row for window containers.
• dialog-preview: displays a dialog inline for demos.

Text Utilities

• lead: larger introductory paragraph.
• muted: subdued text.
• compact: reduce bottom margin.
• text-center: center text.
• nowrap: prevent wrapping.
• visually-hidden: accessible hidden text.

Demo

Open demo/base.html in a browser, or serve the folder from the repository root:

python -m http.server

Then visit http://localhost:8000/demo/.