c15t 2.0

Product Introduction

1. Definition: c15t 2.0 is an open-source, developer-first cookie consent management platform (CMP). It is a lightweight, headless JavaScript library designed to be embedded directly into modern web applications, functioning as a self-hosted or edge-hosted solution for managing user consent for cookies and tracking scripts in compliance with global privacy regulations like GDPR and CCPA.
2. Core Value Proposition: c15t 2.0 exists to provide developers with a high-performance, fully controllable alternative to traditional, bloated third-party consent banners. Its primary value lies in offering a minimal-footprint, jurisdiction-aware consent logic engine that runs client-side or on the edge, ensuring compliance without sacrificing website speed or developer autonomy.

Main Features

1. Performance-First Architecture: c15t's core logic is designed for minimal impact on page load performance. With a bundle size of just 1.7kb gzipped, it is tree-shakable and executes with near-zero overhead. It blocks tracking requests at the source within the application logic, rather than relying on heavy external scripts, making it significantly faster than traditional CMPs like OneTrust or Usercentrics, as demonstrated by its sub-100ms execution time in benchmarks.
2. Headless & Framework Agnostic: The c15t core is a headless library, meaning it provides the consent logic and state management without imposing a UI. This allows for seamless integration with any frontend framework including React, Vue, Svelte, Angular, Next.js, Nuxt, and Astro. Developers can use pre-built, native UI components (like ConsentBanner for React) or build completely custom user interfaces using their own design system and CSS.
3. Jurisdiction-Aware Logic & Geo-Location: c15t 2.0 includes built-in logic for over 15 global privacy law jurisdictions (e.g., GDPR, CCPA/CPRA, LGPD, PIPEDA). It can determine a user's location and automatically apply the correct legal requirements, such as showing or hiding the banner, presenting specific consent categories, and managing implied consent rules, enabling "magically compliant" deployments without manual configuration per region.
4. Developer-Centric Tooling & CLI: The product includes a Command Line Interface (CLI) tool (@c15t/cli) that allows developers to scaffold a complete consent management setup in seconds by running npx @c15t/cli. This accelerates integration by generating framework-specific configuration and boilerplate code, streamlining the initial implementation process.

Problems Solved

1. Pain Point: Traditional cookie consent banners are notoriously bloated, often adding hundreds of milliseconds to page load times and negatively impacting Core Web Vitals scores like Largest Contentful Paint (LCP). They also lock developers into rigid, non-customizable UIs that clash with site design.
2. Target Audience: The primary audience is performance-conscious Frontend Developers, Engineering Leads, and CTOs building modern web applications (JAMstack, React, Vue, etc.) who need GDPR/CCPA compliance. A secondary audience includes Marketing Operations teams who require reliable tracking script management without degrading site performance.
3. Use Cases: Essential for any website serving users in privacy-regulated regions that uses marketing or analytics scripts (e.g., Meta Pixel, Google Analytics). It is particularly critical for high-traffic marketing sites, SaaS platforms, and e-commerce stores where every millisecond of load time impacts conversion rates and SEO rankings.

Unique Advantages

1. Differentiation: Unlike monolithic SaaS CMPs (OneTrust, Cookiebot), c15t is open-source and runs inside the application stack. This eliminates external network dependencies, reduces third-party script bloat, and gives developers full control over data flow and UI. Compared to other lightweight solutions, c15t offers deeper framework integration and a more sophisticated, automated geo-location and jurisdiction engine.
2. Key Innovation: c15t's primary innovation is its "hosted" or "edge" mode architecture. The consent logic and configuration can be managed from a central backend, but the execution happens locally within the user's application. This decouples configuration from delivery, allowing for real-time updates to consent rules without requiring code deploys, while maintaining the performance benefits of a first-party script.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. Is c15t 2.0 fully compliant with GDPR and CCPA? Yes, c15t 2.0 is built with jurisdiction-aware logic that automatically applies the correct consent requirements for over 15 global privacy laws, including the EU's GDPR and California's CCPA/CPRA, ensuring compliant cookie banner behavior and consent recording.
2. How does c15t improve my website's performance compared to other cookie consent tools? c15t reduces consent management overhead to under 100ms by using a tiny 1.7kb core library that runs natively in your app, unlike traditional tools that load large third-party scripts, which can block page rendering and add 400-700ms of latency.
3. Can I fully customize the look and feel of the c15t consent banner? Absolutely. As a headless consent management platform, c15t provides complete control over the UI. You can use its unstyled components and apply your own CSS, or build a custom banner from scratch while leveraging its core consent state management and logic.
4. Do I need a backend server to use c15t? Not necessarily. c15t can operate in a standalone mode with configuration defined at build time. For dynamic, centralized management of consent rules across multiple sites, you can use its optional "hosted" mode with a backend URL, which still executes the lightweight logic locally on the client or edge.
5. Which JavaScript frameworks are supported by c15t 2.0? c15t is framework-agnostic. It offers first-party SDKs and UI components for popular frameworks like React/Next.js and provides a headless core that can be integrated with Vue, Svelte, Angular, Nuxt, SvelteKit, Astro, Solid, and Qwik.