For years, developers voiced a common frustration: Storybook felt bloated. While its expansive feature set supports all major JavaScript frameworks, the platform’s comprehensive nature also brought with it large install sizes, dependency tangles, and slow performance. With the release of Storybook 9, these pain points were directly addressed, resulting in a streamlined, more efficient toolset that’s easier to install, upgrade, and maintain.

The Roots of the Bloat Challenge

Bloat in open source tools often goes beyond any single problem—it encompasses everything from oversized node_modules folders and conflicting dependencies to noisy command-line output. Storybook, with its broad capabilities, became synonymous with heft in many projects. Developers began to expect hefty installs, complicated lockfiles, and upgrade headaches.

The challenge for Storybook’s maintainers was clear: Deliver a powerful, flexible platform that doesn’t burden teams with unnecessary weight.

Four Core Strategies for Tackling Bloat

Storybook 9’s overhaul relied on key principles designed to enhance both the developer and end-user experience:

Major Reduction in Packages

The team set out to simplify the package structure. While maintaining package boundaries is important for modularity, it often leads to duplication—both in dependencies and unnecessary clutter in package.json. Storybook 9 dramatically reduces the number of required packages. Now, all that’s necessary for most users is a single core package, storybook, along with a framework-specific package like @storybook/nextjs-vite, @storybook/angular, or @storybook/sveltekit.

Additionally, features that were previously scattered across several addon packages—such as Controls for prop editing—have been merged into Storybook’s core. Only specialized functionality, such as MDX support and auto-generated documentation, remains in dedicated addons. This consolidation means fewer points of failure, simpler upgrades, and a more intuitive starting point for new projects.

Aggressive Prebundling of Dependencies

Storybook 9 now prebundles vital dependencies inside the core storybook package. Instead of installing dependencies at runtime, the platform ships with vetted, compatible versions baked in. This approach minimizes installation errors, prevents conflicts, and ensures consistent behavior across different environments.

Prebundling also flattens the dependency tree, allowing package managers to discard unused code, resulting in a dramatically reduced overall install size—over 50% smaller. For developers, this means cleaner lockfiles, faster installs, and fewer upgrade issues.

Switching to Lightweight Dependencies

Beyond restructuring, Storybook’s maintainers scoured internal dependencies for heavyweight packages, replacing them with smaller, faster alternatives wherever possible. Resources like e18e Ecosystem Performance were instrumental in surfacing candidates for replacement.

A prime example: swapping out Express (2.2MB) for Polka (67KB) in server-related tooling resulted in nearly 2MB of instant savings and speedier performance. Such decisions were multiplied throughout the codebase, leading to a significantly leaner distribution.

Introducing a Minimal, Dev-Only Install

For teams and individuals who just need the basics—writing and viewing component stories without extra features—Storybook 9 offers an optional minimal installation. This “dev-only” mode delivers the lightest experience yet, cutting install size and reducing the number of dependencies in package.json to the bare essentials.

Real-World Benefits for Developers

By dramatically cutting bundle size, flattening dependencies, and improving install speeds, Storybook 9 directly addresses long-standing criticisms. Developers now enjoy:

• Over 50% Reduction in Install Size: Projects become lighter, start faster, and consume less disk space.
• Simpler Dependency Management: Fewer conflicts, cleaner lockfiles, and straightforward upgrades for any project.
• Faster and Smoother Upgrades: Streamlined package landscape results in fewer migration headaches and less technical debt.
• Flexible Install Options: Choose between full-featured or minimal setups based on your project’s needs.

Getting Started with Storybook 9

For new projects, installation is as easy as running:

textnpm create storybook@latest

Existing projects can leverage the automated migration wizard for a smooth upgrade:

textnpx storybook@latest upgrade

A detailed migration guide is also available to address any questions along the way.

Looking Ahead: The Leanest Frontend Workshop

Storybook’s renewed focus on performance, simplicity, and the evolving needs of the JavaScript ecosystem ensures it will remain the go-to tool for UI development. Storybook 9 isn’t just lighter—it sets a new standard for developer experience, proving that feature-rich platforms don’t have to come with a heavy footprint.

Teams looking to upgrade their workflow—or finally shed the burden of frontend tooling bloat—now have every reason to embrace the latest version of Storybook and enjoy a faster path from idea to user interface.

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