DataTables 3 release

Tuesday 21st July, 2026

By Allan Jardine

Tagging up a major software release and making it available for download is, at the same time, a massive release of pent up energy, but also very stressful. That's where I am today - utterly delighted to release the cumulation of nine months of work on DataTables, its extensions and web-site to you all, while also apprehensive about how smoothly the release will go and how it will be received.

I'm sure every software engineer knows this mix of feelings on release day, and today it is my turn as DataTables 3.0.0 is now available! DataTables 3 marks a significant step forward for DataTables:

It has no dependencies (no jQuery requirement any more)
Core and all the extensions are now Typescript
Modernisation of the DataTables internals
DataTables Plus launches today (more on that shortly).

As you will gather from the highlights above, the focus has been on developer experience and modernising DataTables, rather than making significant changes to the UI it presents to end users. The UI is already strong, particularly with its integration with various styling frameworks - that said there have been a number of tweaks, performance enhancements and additions to enhance the tables, particularly the new CardView extension.

DataTables 3 is available now on the download builder, via NPM and the CDN. Please note that if you use any extensions for DataTables you must update them as well to ensure compatibility.

There are more details about upgrading to DataTables 3 at the following links:

DataTables Plus

DataTables Plus is a new direction for DataTables' commercialisation. The core software is free open-source software, but that alone isn't a business plan, and supporting, maintaining and developing DataTables needs to be funded somehow. Since its release in 2012 Editor has been the sole commercial extension for DataTables, but I want to make more premium extensions available. Rather than selling extensions individually (which would be a nightmare for everyone!), I wanted to harmonise the commercial aspect to make it as seamless as possible.

To that end, today sees DataTables Plus being introduced as a suite of premium extensions for DataTables, including Editor and the brand new CardView. Additional extensions will be coming soon.

DataTables Plus extensions are all available via the CDN and NPM (as always, use the download builder) and makes use of a license key which is registered in your install with the new DataTable.key() function. If you have a DataTables Plus license (or an Editor license purchased in the last year), you will find your license key in your account page.

To learn more about DataTables Plus, please see its section of the site.

New web-site

As part of the DataTables Plus release, today sees the launch of a redesigned web-site for DataTables, which is much more integrated and streamlined. While it isn't a significant departure from the previous site, if you've visited this site before, you'll immediately notice the new look and feel.

The top level sections are now accessed via the tabs at the top of the page, with the left sidebar offering context-specific navigation. The site also has increased interlinking between the manual, reference and examples. Please let me know what you think of the new design (and if you spot any hiccups!).

Editor 3

As indicated above, Editor is now part of the DataTables Plus suite of extensions, which for the first time means that Editor is now available via both the CDN and the regular NPM repository! You no longer have to have a special channel setup just for Editor - it fully and seamlessly integrates into your existing workflows.

When upgrading to Editor 3, you will now need a license key, and register it with DataTable.key(). As noted above, if you have a DataTables Plus license, or have purchased an Editor license in the last year, your license key will be available on your account page, and is also shown in the download builder.

Aside from joining DataTables core and the other extensions from no longer requiring jQuery, there are a number of other new features:

static display controller which can be used to display the Editor form in a pre-defined element
Improved standalone editing, with a new dataSrc option to trigger data fetch via Ajax for individual rows. An example is available here.
Support for client-side HTML5 validation attributes
Python server-side libraries (beta).

For further information about Editor 3, please see:

What's next?

One of the hardest things about making a product is shipping it! Knowing when to draw the line and say, "this is ready" rather than constantly making tweaks and changes that never see the light of day, or constantly cause other items to be held up.

The case in point here are the two extensions StateRestore and SearchPanes. They have not yet been ported to DataTables 3 (as such, if you do require these extensions, please do not upgrade yet - the old versions are not compatible with the new release). Both pieces of software will be rewritten to improve performance, end user and developer experience. So once the dust settles from this release, both extensions will be updated as the first priority. Please note, that both of them will be DataTables Plus extensions.

Software libraries are rarely "finished", and I have a wide range of plans for DataTables beyond that, including column resizing, advanced renderers, improved React and Vue integration, Tailwind integration and more.

That release feeling? It is often tempered by the knowledge that there is still a lot more to do!