HTMX is amazing for simpler web apps. If you have a ton of complexity, need to manage a lot of state, etc., I can see how it would be frustrating trying to get everything to fit into HTMX's patterns. In fact, it might actually increase complexity. But, if you have something smaller and want to make it more interactive, React is way overkill and HTMX is a breath of fresh air.

I think a lot of the arguments over HTMX come down to this difference. The people that love it see how much better it is for their use case than something like React, while the critics are finding it can't replace bigger frameworks for more demanding projects.

(Here's an example interface made with HTMX. IMO React would have been overkill for this compared to how simple it was with HTMX. https://www.bulletyn.co )