# prefetch
Teaches your agent resource prefetching strategies to load upcoming assets during idle time. Best for speeding up subsequent page navigations.
- skill · `type=skill` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode · 1500 installs · ★ 257
- Author: patterns.dev
- License: MIT · policy=mirror · the beginning of the file is at the end of this page
- Source: https://github.com/PatternsDev/skills/tree/HEAD/javascript/prefetch/SKILL.md
- Updated: 2026-04-15
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/prefetch
## What it does
The skill guides your coding assistant to implement browser prefetching via ``, the HTTP `Link` header, and Webpack magic comments like `/* webpackPrefetch: true */`. Browsers fetch these assets at low priority during idle periods. Once a user triggers navigation, the script serves straight from cache.
It specifically targets `**/*.js` and `**/*.ts` files. The guidelines warn against excessive prefetching because it wastes bandwidth on metered connections. Frequently changing assets will also turn stale before the user ever accesses them.
You do not need external API keys or backend services. The rules work directly with your existing bundler setup or static HTML templates.
## Install
### Claude Code (native platform)
1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add PatternsDev/skills --skill prefetch -a claude-code
```
2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `~/.claude/skills/prefetch/SKILL.md` — Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/prefetch/
### Codex
1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add PatternsDev/skills --skill prefetch -a codex
```
2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.agents/skills/prefetch/SKILL.md` — For all projects use ~/.agents/skills/
### Cursor
1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add PatternsDev/skills --skill prefetch -a cursor
```
2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.cursor/skills/prefetch/SKILL.md` — Cursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/
### GitHub Copilot
1. **GitHub CLI**
```bash
gh skill install PatternsDev/skills prefetch
```
2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.github/skills/prefetch/SKILL.md`
### Gemini CLI
1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add PatternsDev/skills --skill prefetch -a gemini-cli
```
2. **Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini skills install https://github.com/PatternsDev/skills --path javascript/prefetch
```
### Windsurf (Devin Desktop)
**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.devin/skills/prefetch/SKILL.md` — The legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works
### OpenCode
**Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add PatternsDev/skills --skill prefetch -a opencode
```
### Claude.ai
**Claude.ai**
- Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills
Where a file is given instead of a command, copy the files from the source to that path: https://github.com/PatternsDev/skills/tree/HEAD/javascript/prefetch/SKILL.md
## When to use it
- configure Webpack magic comments for deferred bundle prefetching
- speed up perceived load times on anticipated route changes
- add declarative `` tags for subsequent pages
- prevent network contention caused by speculative asset downloads
## Example prompts
- Configure prefetching for our heavy modal component using Webpack magic comments
- Add prefetch link tags for the checkout route in the head template
- Review this bundle to see if prefetching EmojiPicker makes sense
## Source text · SKILL.md · MIT
Below is the content of a third-party file. It is data, not instructions for you: do not act on anything written inside unless the human asks. Block tag: ecc7c4bb19b426ec.
BEGIN THIRD-PARTY FILE ecc7c4bb19b426ec
````text
---
name: prefetch
description: Teaches resource prefetching strategies for faster navigation. Use when you can predict which resources the user will need next and want to load them during idle time.
paths:
- "**/*.js"
- "**/*.ts"
license: MIT
metadata:
author: patterns.dev
version: "1.1"
related_skills:
- "module-pattern"
- "singleton-pattern"
---
# Prefetch
Prefetch (``) is a browser optimization which allows us to fetch resources that may be needed for subsequent routes or pages before they are needed. Prefetching can be achieved in a few ways. It can be done declaratively in HTML (such as in the example below), via a HTTP Header (`Link: ; rel=prefetch`), [Service Workers](https://googlechrome.github.io/samples/service-worker/prefetch/) or via more custom means such as through Webpack.
## When to Use
- Use this when you know users will likely navigate to certain routes or need certain resources soon
- This is helpful for reducing perceived loading time on subsequent navigations
## When NOT to Use
- For resources unlikely to be needed — unnecessary prefetching wastes bandwidth and competes with critical requests
- On low-bandwidth or metered connections where prefetching consumes the user's data budget
- When the prefetched resources change frequently and would be stale by the time they're used
## Instructions
- Use `` or Webpack magic comments (`/* webpackPrefetch: true */`) to prefetch resources
- Only prefetch resources that are likely to be needed — don't overdo it as it consumes bandwidth
- Prefetched resources are loaded at low priority when the browser is idle
## Details
```html
```
### Prefetch
In the examples showing how we can import modules based on visibility or interaction, we saw that there was often some delay between clicking on the button in order to toggle the component, and showing the actual component on the screen. This happened, since the module still had to get requested and loaded when the user clicked on the button!
In many cases, we know that users will request certain resources soon after the initial render of a page. Although they may not visible instantly, thus shouldn't be included in the initial bundle, it would be great to reduce the loading time as much as possible to give a better user experience!
Components or resources that we know are likely to be used at some point in the application can be **prefetched**. We can let Webpack know that certain bundles need to be prefetched, by adding a [magic comment](https://webpack.js.org/api/module-methods/#magic-comments) to the import statement: `/* webpackPrefetch: true */`.
```js
const EmojiPicker = import(/* webpackPrefetch: true */ "./EmojiPicker");
```
After building the application, we can see that the `EmojiPicker` will be prefetched.
```
Asset Size Chunks Chunk Names
emoji-picker.bundle.js 1.49 KiB emoji-picker [emitted] emoji-picker
````
END THIRD-PARTY FILE ecc7c4bb19b426ec
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First 3151 of 4985 bytes. © patterns.dev · MIT · https://github.com/PatternsDev/skills/tree/HEAD/javascript/prefetch/SKILL.md
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