[matthew-dean]

What

Ships a single-file browser build of Less v5 (jess) as dist/less-browser-dev.js — an esbuild IIFE exposing global lessV5 with .render / .renderString. A thin entry drives @jesscss/compiler renderToResult with inline source and no filePath, so the Node config-discovery layer never runs; Node file/config built-ins (fs/module/url/cosmiconfig) are aliased to browser stubs, path → path-browserify.

Not an advertised production feature

Per owner decision, this is an opt-in dev file loaded only by explicit path:

• Baked-in banner (esbuild banner:js, survives minify) leads the file:

  /*! Less v5 (alpha) browser build. For live styling in the browser, follow the Less browser guide. Compiling Less in the browser is not intended for production — compile ahead of time (Node "less") for production builds. */

• package.json browser / unpkg / jsdelivr / module are intentionally not set, and there is no ./browser export condition. less@5's primary surface stays Node-only.
• The file rides the existing "dist" files glob into the published tarball, so a CDN can serve it by full path.

Publish flow builds it

build:browser is wired into the less package prepublishOnly (typecheck && build && build:browser && test:lessc), so the publish path (bump-and-publish.js → npm publish → prepublishOnly) produces dist/less-browser-dev.js before pack.

Once an alpha publishes, the file is served at:

https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/less@<version>/dist/less-browser-dev.js

Verification

• Rebased onto alpha @ jess @jesscss/core@2.0.0-alpha.15; rebuilt clean (2.70 MB).
• Browser bundle smoke-tested against alpha.15: renderString(".a{ .b{color:red} }") compiles to nested CSS (v5 collapseNesting:false default); parse errors surface.
• dist/ is gitignored; the artifact is produced at prepublishOnly, not committed.
• Additive only — new browser entry + stubs + package.json/lockfile; the Node CLI path is unchanged.

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[greptile-apps]

Greptile Summary

Adds an opt-in Less v5 development browser bundle powered by Jess and includes it in the package publication build.

• Adds a browser API exposing render, renderString, Compiler, and version information.
• Adds browser substitutes for Node filesystem, module, URL, path, and configuration dependencies.
• Adds an esbuild-based IIFE build with an alpha-use banner and lessV5 browser global.
• Runs the new browser build during prepublishOnly and locks the esbuild dependency.

Confidence Score: 5/5

The PR appears safe to merge with no concrete blocking or independently actionable issue identified.

The new bundle is generated during publication, remains opt-in, uses inline source without a file path, and the investigated runtime, diagnostic, packaging, and dependency paths did not establish an observable defect.

_{Reviews (1): Last reviewed commit: "feat(less5): experimental dev browser bu..." | Re-trigger Greptile}