LESS to Stylus Converter Online

Translate LESS into indented Stylus — @variables become $variables, braces and semicolons stripped, nesting preserved. 100% in your browser.

Input LESS

Stylus Output

What is a LESS to Stylus Converter?

A LESS to Stylus converter rewrites a .less file into the indented Stylus syntax. Two main changes: every @variable becomes $variable (Stylus prefers $ like Sass), and braces and semicolons are stripped because Stylus uses indentation. CSS at-rules like @media stay intact. The output is a compile-ready .styl file.

Stylus is the most concise CSS preprocessor — even colons are optional. Migrating from LESS to Stylus is the right call when keystroke economy matters and your team is comfortable with indented syntax.

How to convert LESS to Stylus — 4 steps

Paste your LESS. Drop a .less file into the Input panel, or click Load Sample.
Click Convert. Variables are renamed (@primary to $primary), braces and semicolons are stripped, and indentation defines structure.
Review the Stylus. Confirm variables, selectors, nested rules, and pseudo-classes look right. Mixins need a manual rewrite.
Save as .styl. Compile with stylus -p input.styl or wire it into webpack via stylus-loader.

Sample LESS in, Stylus out

Input — LESS

@primary: #66ccff;
@padding: 12px;

.nav {
  display: flex;
  align-items: center;
  padding: @padding 24px;
  background: #1a1a1a;

  a {
    color: #fff;
    margin-right: 16px;

    &:hover {
      color: @primary;
    }
  }
}

Output — Stylus

$primary = #66ccff
$padding = 12px

.nav
  display: flex
  align-items: center
  padding: $padding 24px
  background: #1a1a1a
  a
    color: #fff
    margin-right: 16px
    &:hover
      color: $primary

@ to $ Variables

Every LESS @variable becomes a Stylus $variable. CSS at-rules (@media, @keyframes) are correctly excluded from the rename.

Indent-Based Output

Braces and semicolons are stripped. Stylus is the most concise preprocessor — even colons are optional in the .styl format.

Client-Side Only

Translation runs in JavaScript inside your browser. .less source never leaves your machine.

Common use cases

check_circleMigrating a LESS codebase to Stylus for use in a Vue.js + Pug stack
check_circleStandardising a Vue project on Stylus rather than mixing LESS and Stylus
check_circlePorting Bootstrap 3 LESS themes into a Stylus-based design system
check_circleConverting LESS components to .styl for Express + Pug applications
check_circleProducing .styl partials from existing LESS component files
check_circleBootstrapping a Stylus-based design system from LESS source
check_circleSide-by-side compare LESS vs Stylus on a real component
check_circleModernising a LESS codebase to the most concise preprocessor

LESS vs Stylus — when to switch

LESS keeps the brace-and-semicolon syntax familiar to CSS developers and has wider IDE support. Stylus is dramatically more concise but its ecosystem has shrunk; it is most common in Vue.js and Express + Pug stacks. Pick Stylus if your team values keystroke economy and works in those ecosystems. Pick LESS if you need the broadest editor support or you are working with Bootstrap 3. For most modern projects, Sass (SCSS) is the safer default — see LESS to SASS if you want the dominant preprocessor.

Need to go further?

Convert between every CSS preprocessor — all browser-side.

Stylus to LESS LESS to SASS LESS to CSS

Frequently Asked Questions

Why convert LESS to Stylus?

Stylus is the most concise CSS preprocessor — no braces, no semicolons, even colons are optional. Teams who prize keystroke economy or work in Vue.js / Pug ecosystems often migrate to Stylus from LESS for the visual cleanliness. The conversion is mechanical and the converter handles 90% of stylesheets without manual cleanup.

How do LESS variables map to Stylus variables?

LESS uses @ (e.g. @primary: #66ccff;); Stylus uses $ or no sigil at all. The converter rewrites @primary to $primary and switches the assignment from colon to equals (=). The @ remains untouched on CSS at-rules like @media and @keyframes.

Is Stylus actively maintained?

Stylus receives occasional updates but development has slowed compared with Sass. It still works fine for new projects and integrates with stylus-loader for webpack and Vue-CLI. Pick Stylus if you value the syntax aesthetic and your team is willing to accept slower ecosystem evolution.

How are LESS mixins translated?

LESS mixin definitions look like .name() { ... } and are called as .name(); Stylus mixins are called like properties: border-radius 4px. The converter handles syntax for variables and structure; mixin definitions and call sites need a manual rewrite — usually a few minutes per component.

Will the Stylus output compile with the stylus CLI?

Yes. Save with a .styl extension and run stylus -p input.styl to print the compiled CSS, or stylus input.styl to write a .css file alongside the source. stylus-loader and Vue-CLI work the same way.

Are nested selectors preserved?

Yes. Stylus uses indentation for nesting just like SASS — the converter preserves the structure by removing braces and using indent levels. The & parent reference works identically in both languages.

Does the converter handle @media queries?

Yes. The converter recognises @media as a CSS at-rule, not a LESS variable, and leaves the @ prefix intact. The braces are stripped and the structure becomes indent-based — the same way Stylus represents media queries.

Is my source uploaded?

No. Conversion runs entirely in your browser as JavaScript. .less source never leaves the device. Verify in DevTools — Network tab stays empty when you click Convert.