#149: A Quick Intro to Pattern Lab Node with Brian Muenzenmeyer

Avatar of Chris Coyier
Chris Coyier on

In this screencast I pair up with Brian Muenzenmeyer who, among other things, works on Pattern Lab. Specifically, the Node version of Pattern Lab, along with Geoff Pursell.

I should point out: this screencast barely scratched the surface of what Pattern Lab offers. It’s not a comprehensive overview. Brian said a recent 8 hour workshop couldn’t even cover it all. The topics covered in this screencast are:

  1. What is Pattern Lab?
  2. Why would I use it?
  3. Getting it installed and seeing how it works

We start from absolutely nothing and get Pattern Lab installed and start playing with it. Brian helps me along the way as I drive.

Pattern Lab Node comes in Grunt and Gulp versions. We use the Gulp version for this screencast, but I believe they are developed in parallel. The Gulp version is running Gulp 4, which my machine wasn’t upgraded to yet, so we covered how to do that without needing to upgrade and potentially screw up other projects.

More Stuff to Know About Pattern Lab

  • Pattern Lab also has a more mature PHP version which is built by Dave Olsen, which has more robust Twig and Drupal support.
  • A good overview of Pattern Lab from a conceptual level was recently published on Smashing Magazine. Brian says: “Pattern Lab is well-suited for teams and companies of any size, and can plug into most any workflow. At least two fortune 50 companies are using it to help power their web products.”
  • In addition to Mustache, Pattern Lab Node can build templates for Handlebars, Underscore, and Twig, with various levels of support.