Stylus to LESS Converter Online

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

Input Stylus

LESS Output

What is a Stylus to LESS Converter?

A Stylus to LESS converter translates the indented Stylus preprocessor syntax into LESS. Stylus uses $ (or no prefix) for variables and indentation for blocks; LESS uses @ for variables and braces with semicolons. The converter handles both substitutions and produces a valid .less file that compiles with less.js or lessc.

LESS and Stylus share the same conceptual model — variables, mixins, nesting — which makes Stylus the easiest preprocessor to migrate from. Most projects can be ported with no manual cleanup beyond mixin call-site syntax.

How to convert Stylus to LESS — 4 steps

Paste your Stylus. Drop a .styl file into the Input panel, or click Load Sample to try an example with $variables.
Click Convert. The tool replaces $ with @, swaps = for :, and wraps each block in braces with semicolons.
Review the LESS. Confirm variables, nested rules, and pseudo-classes look right. Mixin definitions and call sites may need light edits.
Save as .less. Copy the output, save it as .less, and compile with lessc or load it via less.js in the browser.

Sample Stylus in, LESS out

Input — 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

Output — 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;
    }
  }
}

$ to @ Variables

Every $name becomes @name in both declarations and references — the only sigil change between Stylus and LESS variables.

Nesting Preserved

LESS uses the same nested-rule model as Stylus, so indented children become brace-wrapped child rules with no manual restructuring.

Client-Side Only

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

Common use cases

check_circleMigrating a Vue or Express codebase from Stylus to LESS
check_circleStandardising a multi-app codebase on a single LESS preprocessor
check_circlePorting Stylus snippets into a Bootstrap 3/4 project (Bootstrap uses LESS in v3)
check_circleConverting design-system tokens from Stylus $vars to LESS @vars
check_circleProducing LESS partials from existing .styl component files
check_circleBootstrapping a LESS module from a Stylus framework example
check_circlePorting tutorial Stylus to LESS for projects standardised on less.js
check_circleSide-by-side comparison of Stylus vs LESS for evaluation

Stylus vs LESS — when to pick each

Stylus is more concise (optional braces, semicolons, even colons) but its ecosystem has shrunk. LESS keeps braces and semicolons — making it more familiar to CSS developers — and powers Bootstrap 3, Ant Design (until v4), and many enterprise design systems. If your team values minimal syntax and Vue-style indentation, stay on Stylus. If you want the broadest IDE support and a stable ecosystem, LESS is the safer modern choice. SCSS, however, is the dominant preprocessor today — consider Stylus to SCSS if you want maximum tooling.

Need to go further?

Convert between every CSS preprocessor — all browser-side.

Stylus to SCSS Stylus to CSS LESS to CSS

Frequently Asked Questions

How are Stylus variables converted to LESS?

Stylus variables use $ (e.g. $primary = #66ccff) or even no prefix. LESS variables use @ (e.g. @primary: #66ccff;). The converter rewrites every $name to @name in both declarations and references, and switches the assignment operator from = to a colon.

Are nested selectors preserved?

Yes. LESS supports the same nested-selector syntax as SCSS, so the indent-based nesting in Stylus translates one-to-one. Each nested block becomes a brace-wrapped child rule. The & parent reference works identically in both languages.

What about Stylus mixins?

Mixin definitions are syntactic but their bodies need light editing in LESS. Stylus mixins are called like properties (border-radius 4px); LESS mixins are called as .mixin-name(). After conversion, rename mixin definitions with a leading dot (.mixin) and add parentheses to call sites.

Why convert Stylus to LESS?

LESS has wider editor and IDE support, runs in the browser via less.js (no Node required), and integrates cleanly with Bootstrap 3 / 4 ecosystems. Teams migrating off Stylus often choose LESS as the lowest-friction destination because both share the same conceptual model: variables, mixins, nesting.

Does the converter handle @media queries?

Yes. @media (min-width: 768px) blocks become brace-wrapped media rules in the LESS output. Nested @media inside selectors works in LESS too — the converter preserves the structure.

Can I use the LESS output with less.js in the browser?

Yes. The output is standard LESS that compiles with less.js, the lessc CLI, or webpack less-loader. Save with a .less extension and link via <link rel="stylesheet/less"> with less.js, or build to .css with lessc input.less output.css.

Are colons required in LESS declarations?

Yes. Unlike Stylus, LESS requires a colon between property and value and a semicolon at the end of every declaration. The converter inserts both automatically when translating from the more permissive Stylus syntax.

Is my source uploaded anywhere?

No. The conversion runs entirely in your browser as JavaScript. Stylus files containing internal class names or design tokens never leave your device. Verify in DevTools — the Network tab stays empty when you click Convert.