Search, install and pull code from the 21st.dev catalog with the `21st` CLI (`@21st-dev/cli`): find React/shadcn components, themes and templates, print a component's code or a theme's CSS, install an item into the project, or generate a new component with 21st AI. Use whenever the user says "search

21st CLI — find, install & generate from the terminal The 21st CLI ( npx @21st dev/cli , bin 21st ) is the command line surface for the 21st.dev catalog. Search first, install what fits, and only hand write UI when nothing matches. To publish your own components/themes/templates, use the 21st registry skill; to publish a project's design as a theme, use 21st design sync . Auth (do this once) Two interchangeable credentials, both sent as the API key: 1. Login session — npx @21st dev/cli login opens the browser and saves a token to ~/.config/21st/auth.json . Best for interactive/dev machines. 2. API key — 21st sk … from https://21st.dev/mcp (or https://21st.dev/settings/api keys ). Pass via api key <key or the TWENTYFIRST TOKEN / API KEY 21ST env var. Best for CI. 21st whoami shows the signed in account; 21st usage shows retrieval tier/quota and the 21st AI generation status, not an AI credit balance. For structured status, use MCP get usage.aiGenerationEnabled or CLI 1.17.1+ 21st usage json . Missing or unknown status does not grant AI access. 21st logout clears the saved login. Metering Metadata (search, previews, a theme's CSS) is free . Retrieving component code ( 21st get , install) has a free daily quota; Builder includes unlimited retrieval. Hosted 21st AI requires separate AI access and consumes AI credits. Base Builder has AI off. Check 21st usage before choosing generation: when AI is not explicitly enabled, search and retrieve code, then adapt it with your own coding agent. Do not retry a generation denied with ai subscription required until AI access is enabled. Find Always search before hand writing a component — a close match is usually faster to install and adapt than to build from scratch. Logos Prints each logo's name and SVG url(s) to curl straight into a project. Uses the open svgl.app library; free and unmetered on every plan. Pull code Install 21st add resolves the registry item, writes it to components/ui/<slug .tsx , and installs npm deps with the project's package manager. Public/unlisted items also work with stock shadcn: npx shadcn@latest add "https://21st.dev/r/<user /<slug " . Generate When nothing in the catalog fits and 21st usage explicitly reports AI generation enabled, sketch it with hosted 21st AI and iterate from the terminal. That loop ( 21st generate → generation → iterate → take ) lives in the 21st ai skill. With AI off, adapt catalog code locally instead: Opens a preview; from there you edit any variant and pull its code. See the 21st ai skill for the full generate/iterate/grab code flow and metering. Bookmarks, teams & MCP config

21st-cli-use