CSS to Stylus Converter
Convert plain CSS to Stylus indented syntax instantly. No curly braces, no semicolons — clean, expressive Stylus output.
Input CSS
Converted Stylus
Example
Here's a quick before-and-after so you can see exactly what the converter does. Paste your CSS on the left, get clean Stylus on the right.
Navigation menu styles
CSS input
Stylus output
Click Sample in the toolbar to load this example directly into the editor and try it yourself.
What Is CSS to Stylus Conversion?
Stylus is a dynamic CSS preprocessor that strips away a lot of the ceremony from standard CSS. Where CSS requires curly braces and semicolons on every declaration, Stylus lets you write the same rules using clean indentation — similar in spirit to how Python handles code blocks. The result is noticeably more compact and, once you get used to it, easier to scan.
This converter handles the structural transformation for you: it removes the {} delimiters, strips trailing ; from every declaration, and replaces brace-based nesting with whitespace indentation. It's a solid starting point for migrating an existing CSS codebase to Stylus, or just for learning how the two syntaxes relate. For the full Stylus language reference — variables, mixins, functions — check the official docs.
How to Use
Paste or upload your CSS
Type or paste your CSS directly into the left editor, or click Upload to load a .css file from disk. The conversion runs automatically as you type.
Review the Stylus output
The right panel updates in real time. Each CSS rule becomes an indented Stylus block — braces gone, semicolons gone. Check that nested selectors and at-rules look right.
Copy or download
Click Copy to copy the Stylus output to your clipboard, or Download to save it as a .styl file ready to drop into your project.
When Is This Tool Useful?
The most common scenario is migrating a legacy CSS file into a Stylus project. Instead of manually reformatting every rule, you paste your CSS here and get a structurally correct Stylus file in seconds. It's also handy when you're learning Stylus and want to see the equivalent of something you already know in CSS — a quick way to build intuition for the indented syntax.
Keep in mind that this tool handles syntax conversion only. Stylus features like variables, mixins, and functions won't be auto-generated from plain CSS — those are Stylus-specific enhancements you'd add by hand after the initial conversion. Think of this as step one of a migration, not the whole process.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Stylus?
Stylus is a CSS preprocessor that compiles down to regular CSS. It was created by TJ Holowaychuk and runs on Node.js. Its defining feature is optional syntax — you can omit braces, semicolons, and even colons. It also supports variables, mixins, functions, and selector inheritance, making stylesheets much more maintainable at scale.
How is Stylus different from SASS/SCSS?
Both are CSS preprocessors, but they have different philosophies. SASS/SCSS has two syntaxes — the indented SASS syntax and the CSS-like SCSS syntax. Stylus takes flexibility further: almost all syntax elements are optional. Stylus also runs natively on Node.js, while SASS originally ran on Ruby (now Dart). For a deeper comparison, CSS-Tricks has good breakdowns of preprocessor trade-offs.
How do I install Stylus?
Stylus runs on Node.js. Install it globally with npm: npm install -g stylus. Then compile a file with stylus input.styl, which outputs input.css. For build tool integration, there are plugins for webpack (stylus-loader), Vite, and Gulp. The Stylus CLI docs cover all the options.
Does Stylus work in the browser directly?
No — like all CSS preprocessors, Stylus needs a compilation step. You write .styl files, run the Stylus compiler (or a build tool plugin), and it outputs plain .css that browsers understand. There is a client-side JS build, but it's not recommended for production. The right workflow is to compile during development and serve the resulting CSS.
Will this converter handle @media and @keyframes?
Yes, for the structural transformation. The converter strips braces and semicolons from @media blocks and @keyframes rules just like it does for regular selectors. However, Stylus has its own enhanced syntax for these — for example, you can use Stylus media query variables — and that kind of refactoring is beyond what an automated converter can do.
Is the output valid Stylus?
For standard CSS input, yes. The output uses Stylus indented syntax with colons retained for readability (Stylus allows colons to be optional, but keeping them makes the output easier to read and diff). If your CSS uses non-standard syntax or browser hacks, review the output carefully. Always run stylus --check yourfile.styl to validate before using in production.
Related Tools
Need to go the other direction? Try Stylus to CSS. Working with other preprocessors? We also have CSS to SCSS, CSS to SASS, and CSS to Less.