shiki-stream Deep Dive: Let LLM-Generated Code Highlight in Real Time, Like a Typewriter

Core idea: "Code arrives progressively, so syntax highlighting must work progressively too." When an LLM spits out code one character at a time — just like a typist — the traditional "wait for the full code before highlighting" approach breaks down. shiki-stream answers elegantly with Web Streams API: it turns a text stream into a token stream on the fly, coloring code the moment it's produced, and introduces a recall-token mechanism to solve the trickiest problem of streaming syntax highlighting — the fact that syntax depends on context.

1. Project Overview

1.1 What Is It?

shiki-stream is a streaming syntax-highlighting library open-sourced by Anthony Fu (antfu) — a streaming/incremental-highlighting wrapper built around the Shiki syntax-highlighting engine.

The official one-line description:

• "Streaming highlighting with Shiki. Useful for highlighting text streams like LLM outputs."

Key facts:

• Repository: https://github.com/antfu/shiki-stream
• Stars: ~594
• Author: Anthony Fu (antfu) — Vue core team member, Vite core contributor, author of UnoCSS, Slidev, Vitesse
• License: MIT
• Language: TypeScript / JavaScript
• Created: February 2025
• Status: Archived — because the implementation moved to Shiki's official @shikijs/stream
• Live demo: https://shiki-stream.netlify.app/

1.2 What Problem Does It Solve?

Imagine using ChatGPT or Claude to generate code: the AI does not output a whole blob at once — it goes character by character, token by token, like a typewriter. Traditional syntax highlighters — including native Shiki — assume "you have the complete code," which breaks in streaming scenarios:

• Code arrives progressively — at each moment you only have a fragment;
• Parsing depends on context — earlier characters can change the meaning of later ones (e.g. a line starting // swallows everything after it; an unclosed string/bracket affects what follows);
• Rendering must be instant — users don't want to wait for the whole stream before seeing highlights.

shiki-stream's answer: use the standard Web Streams API to convert a string stream into a highlighting token stream in real time, so highlighting runs in parallel with generation.

2. Core Philosophy

2.1 From "Bulk Highlighting" to "Streaming Highlighting"

The traditional pipeline was:

Full code → tokenize once → color once

shiki-stream's pipeline is the opposite:

String stream → tokenize on the fly → publish tokens → render incrementally

It replaces the "static input" assumption with "dynamic input," so highlighting can genuinely apply to streaming output.

2.2 The Core API: CodeToTokenTransformStream

At the heart of shiki-stream is a standard Web TransformStream that converts ReadableStream<string> into ReadableStream<ThemedToken | RecallToken>:

import { CodeToTokenScrollStream, ... } from '@shikijs/stream'
import { createHighlighter } from 'shiki'

// 1. Create the Shiki highlighter
const highlighter = await createHighlighter({
  langs: ['javascript'],
  themes: ['nord'],
})

// 2. The text stream you want to highlight (e.g. an LLM output)
const textStream = getTextStreamFromSomewhere()

// 3. Pipe the text stream into a token stream
const tokensStream = textStream
  .pipeThrough(new CodeToTokenTransformStream({
    highlighter,
    lang: 'javascript',
    theme: 'nord',
    allowRecalls: true, // see explanation below
  }))

2.3 Recall Tokens

Because highlighting depends on code context, previously emitted tokens can change as the stream moves forward. But streams are one-directional — you can't rewrite history. So shiki-stream introduces a special recall token that tells the receiver to discard the last N already-emitted tokens that have changed:

const receivedTokens: ThemedToken[] = []

tokensStream.pipeTo(new WritableStream({
  async write(token) {
    if ('recall' in token) {
      // discard the last token.recall tokens
      receivedTokens.length -= token.recall
    }
    else {
      receivedTokens.push(token)
    }
  },
}))

The key knob: allowRecalls:

• By default allowRecalls: false — only stable tokens are emitted, at a coarser granularity (usually line-by-line), for simple consumers;
• allowRecalls: true — finer-grained tokens are emitted, and the framework component handles "recall-redraw," for Vue / React / Solid components.

In one sentence: recall is an elegant engineering answer to "the stream can't go back — so tell the consumer to redraw."

3. Technical Architecture

3.1 Built on the Standard Web Streams API

The whole core is built on the browser/Node-native Web Streams API, no extra stream library required:

• ReadableStream
• WritableStream
• TransformStream

This is the basis of composability — any text stream can be .pipeThrough() a CodeToTokenTransformStream to become a token stream, and then consumed by .pipeTo().

3.2 Framework Renderers (Out of the Box)

Besides consuming the token stream manually, shiki-stream ships a ready ShikiStreamRenderer component for four major frontend frameworks — just pass in the stream:

• Vue — @shikijs/stream/vue
• React — @shikijs/stream/react
• Solid — @shikijs/stream/solid
• Svelte — @shikijs/stream/svelte

<script setup lang="ts">
import { ShikiStreamRenderer } from '@shikijs/stream/vue'
// get the token stream
</script>

<template>
  <ShikiStreamRenderer :stream="tokensStream" />
</template>

3.3 CachedRenderer (Experimental)

shiki-stream also provides a simpler renderer API, ShikiCachedRenderer, for rendering incrementally-updated code strings — you keep a ref('') code and append to it; no manual token handling needed:

<script setup lang="ts">
import { ShikiCachedRenderer } from '@shikijs/stream/vue'
import { createHighlighter } from 'shiki'

const highlighter = await createHighlighter({
  langs: ['javascript'],
  themes: ['vitesse-light'],
})

const code = ref('') // code should only be updated incrementally

// For demo purposes
onMounted(() => {
  setInterval(() => {
    code.value += '\nconsole.log("Hello");'
  }, 1000)
})
</script>

<template>
  <ShikiCachedRenderer
    :highlighter="highlighter"
    :code="code"
    lang="js"
    theme="vitesse-light"
  />
</template>

3.4 Core Tech Stack

• Shiki: the underlying syntax-highlighting engine (~14K main repo)
• Vue ≥ 3.2 (optional)
• React ≥ 19 (optional)
• Solid-js ≥ 1.9 (optional)
• Web Streams API — zero extra stream dependencies

4. Design Philosophy

4.1 "Built for a real need, not over-engineering"

In the PR that ported shiki-stream and related community packages into the Shiki official monorepo, Anthony Fu wrote:

"Ports two community packages — antfu/shiki-stream and shikijs/shiki-magic-move — into this monorepo as official @shikijs/* packages."

This confirms streaming highlights is a real pain point — lexical in the LLM era, code streams are everywhere, and the classic full-code highlighting fails — so it's not over-engineering but spot-on.

4.2 Offer a Choice, Don't Decide for You

The allowRecalls design reflects a clear trade-off philosophy:

• Stable mode (default): coarser granularity (line-by-line), simple and fast — fits most consumers;
• Recall mode: finer granularity (per-token), needs downstream "recall-redraw" — more elegant.

Don't force one solution on all scenarios; leave the trade-off to the user.

4.3 Framework-Agnostic Abstraction + Framework-Specific Adapters

The core CodeToTokenTransformStream is totally framework-agnostic (pure Web Streams API); the framework-specific parts (Vue/React/Solid/Svelte renderers) live in separate optional adapters. Core logic has zero framework dependency; adapters live independently — matching Shiki's "separate core from integrations" philosophy.

5. Full Tutorial: Getting Started with shiki-stream

Note: per the latest official guidance, import from @shikijs/stream (since v4.2.0 / v0.1.5, shiki-stream is a thin re-export — swap the package name to keep existing imports working).

5.1 Install

# npm
npm i -D @shikijs/stream

# yarn
yarn add -D @shikijs/stream

# pnpm
pnpm add -D @shikijs/stream

# bun
bun add -D @shikijs/stream

5.2 Migrate from the old package

- import { CodeToTokenTransformStream } from 'shiki-stream'
- import { ShikiStreamRenderer } from 'shiki-stream/vue'
- import { ShikiStreamRenderer } from 'shiki-stream/react'
- import { ShikiStreamRenderer } from 'shiki-stream/solid'
+ import { CodeToTokenTransformStream } from '@shikijs/stream'
+ import { ShikiStreamRenderer } from '@shikijs/stream/vue'
+ import { ShikiStreamRenderer } from '@shikijs/stream/react'
+ import { ShikiStreamRenderer } from '@shikijs/stream/solid'

5.3 Basic Streaming Highlight (Complete Example)

import { CodeToTokenTransformStream } from '@shikijs/stream'
import { createHighlighter, createJavaScriptRegexEngine } from 'shiki'

// 1. Create the highlighter
const highlighter = await createHighlighter({
  langs: ['javascript', 'typescript', 'python'],
  themes: ['nord', 'vitesse-dark'],
  engine: createJavaScriptRegexEngine(),
})

// 2. Make a mock LLM output stream
function createLLMStream(): ReadableStream<string> {
  return new ReadableStream({
    async start(controller) {
      const code = `function hello() {\n  console.log("world")\n}`
      for (const char of code) {
        controller.enqueue(char)
        await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, 50)) // simulate typing
      }
      controller.close()
    },
  })
}

// 3. Pipe it: text stream → token stream
const tokensStream = createLLMStream()
  .pipeThrough(new CodeToTokenTransformStream({
    highlighter,
    lang: 'javascript',
    theme: 'nord',
    allowRecalls: true,
  }))

// 4. Consume the token stream
for await (const token of tokensStream) {
  console.log(token)
}

5.4 Consume the Token Stream Manually

tokensStream.pipeTo(new WritableStream({
  async write(token) {
    console.log(token)
  },
}))

5.5 Integrate into Frontend Frameworks with Renderers

React:

import { ShikiStreamRenderer } from '@shikijs/stream/react'

export function MyComponent() {
  return <ShikiStreamRenderer stream={tokensStream} />
}

Vue:

<template>
  <ShikiStreamRenderer :stream="tokensStream" />
</template>

Solid:

import { ShikiStreamRenderer } from '@shikijs/stream/solid'

export function MyComponent() {
  return <ShikiStreamRenderer stream={tokensStream} />
}

5.6 Render Incremental Code with ShikiCachedRenderer

For "don't manage tokens, just want to render a code string that keeps growing":

<script setup lang="ts">
import { ShikiCachedRenderer } from '@shikijs/stream/vue'
import { createHighlighter } from 'shiki'

const highlighter = await createHighlighter({
  langs: ['javascript'],
  themes: ['vitesse-light'],
})
const code = ref('')
</script>

<template>
  <ShikiCachedRenderer
    :highlighter="highlighter"
    :code="code"
    lang="js"
    theme="vitesse-light"
  />
</template>

6. Feature Checklist

• Streaming highlight: converts a text stream into a token stream in real time (Web Streams API)
• CodeToTokenTransformStream: a standard TransformStream, pipes against any text stream
• Recall-token mechanism: controlled by allowRecalls, solves context-dependent token changes
• Stable-token mode: by default coarser granularity (line-by-line), stable tokens only
• Four framework renderers: ShikiStreamRenderer for Vue / React / Solid / Svelte
• CachedRenderer: simpler rendering API for incrementally-updated code strings (experimental, fully implemented for Vue)
• Framework-agnostic core: pure stream-processing logic, zero framework dependency
• Manual consumption: .pipeTo() + WritableStream, or for await iteration
• Official ecosystem: adopted into the Shiki official repo as @shikijs/stream

7. Summary: Viewpoints and Conclusions

7.1 Core Viewpoints

1. "Waiting for the full code to highlight" is a dead paradigm in the LLM era. When code is generated as a stream, classic bulk highlighting stalls the render and delays the experience; shiki-stream cascades a progressive token stream so highlighting comes alive along with the code — a mental upgrade from batch processing to stream processing.
2. The recall token is the key abstraction of streaming highlighting. Since one-directional streams can't rewrite history, shiki-stream lets the consumer accept a "redraw" recall signal — an elegant protocol that works around the fundamental limit of one-directional streams.
3. The standard Web Streams API is the right foundation. It doesn't invent a new streaming protocol — it reuses the browser's native TransformStream, making shiki-stream composable, pipeable, and reusable with any spec-compliant stream — first-class interoperability.
4. A framework-agnostic core plus framework-specific adapters is a textbook pattern for multi-framework libraries. Pure logic with zero dependencies; Vue/React/Solid/Svelte each adapt independently without interfering.
5. From community package to official package is the best proof that a need is real. Being adopted into Shiki's official monorepo (PR #1283) validates its value to the ecosystem — and the archive of the original repo is the strongest proof of its success.

7.2 Where It Stands in the Shiki Ecosystem

• Shiki main repo (~14K stars) — the core engine;
• @shikijs/stream (streaming highlight, formerly shiki-stream) — subject of this article;
• shiki-magic-move (code-block animation) — a similar community package;
• Used across the Shiki ecosystem / antfu ecosystem products such as Slidev and Vitesse.

7.3 Takeaways for Developers

• Building an LLM product? Want AI-generated code highlighted in real time? Streaming token rendering is the answer — don't wait for the whole code;
• Learning the "pipeline mindset" of Web Streams lets you chain "text stream → token stream → render stream" into one capable line;
• When "object state keeps changing," the recall "redraw" model is a broadly usable model worth borrowing.

7.4 Conclusion

In 2026, when "LLM + code generation" has become mainstream, shiki-stream looks like a small tool — yet it precisely solves one of the frontend's biggest everyday pains of the AI era: real-time code display. With an elegant "one-directional stream + recall" design, it stitches together the two otherwise-conflicting needs of "streaming" and "highlighting."

As AI starts writing code one character at a time, the frontend must learn to highlight one character at a time. shiki-stream is the answer to "catching up asynchronously."

References

• shiki-stream official repo: https://github.com/antfu/shiki-stream
• Official docs (@shikijs/stream): https://shiki.style/packages/stream
• Live demo: https://shiki-stream.netlify.app/
• npm package: https://www.npmjs.com/package/shiki-stream
• Shiki main repo: https://github.com/shikijs/shiki
• Shiki's streaming implementation: https://github.com/shikijs/shiki/tree/main/packages/stream