How can I minimize reflows and repaints when dynamically updating a list of items in the DOM?

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How can I minimize reflows and repaints when dynamically updating a list of items in the DOM?

Asked on Jan 13, 2026

Answer

Minimizing reflows and repaints in the DOM when updating a list of items can significantly improve performance. One effective method is to use DocumentFragment to batch updates before appending them to the DOM.

<!-- BEGIN COPY / PASTE -->
        const items = ["Item 1", "Item 2", "Item 3"];
        const listContainer = document.getElementById("list");

        const fragment = document.createDocumentFragment();

        items.forEach(item => {
            const listItem = document.createElement("li");
            listItem.textContent = item;
            fragment.appendChild(listItem);
        });

        listContainer.appendChild(fragment);
        <!-- END COPY / PASTE -->

Additional Comment:

Use "document.createDocumentFragment()" to create a temporary container for DOM elements.
Append new elements to the fragment, not directly to the DOM.
Once all elements are added to the fragment, append the fragment to the DOM in one operation.
This technique reduces the number of reflows and repaints, enhancing performance.

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How can I minimize reflows and repaints when dynamically updating a list of items in the DOM?

Asked on Jan 13, 2026

Answer

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