shadcn
Manages shadcn components and projects — adding, searching, fixing, debugging, styling, and composing UI, including chat interfaces. Provides project context, component docs, and usage examples. Applies when working with shadcn/ui, component registries, presets, --preset codes, or any project with a
By shadcn-ui · 55,595 installs
npx skills add shadcn-ui/ui --skill shadcn
Source repository · Upstream listing
shadcn/ui
A framework for building ui, components and design systems. Components are added as source code to the user's project via the CLI.
IMPORTANT: Run all CLI commands using the project's package runner: npx shadcn@latest , pnpm dlx shadcn@latest , or bunx bun shadcn@latest — based on the project's packageManager . Examples below use npx shadcn@latest but substitute the correct runner for the project.
Current Project Context
The JSON above contains the project config and installed components. Use npx shadcn@latest docs <component to get documentation and example URLs for any component.
Principles
1. Use existing components first. Use npx shadcn@latest search to check registries before writing custom UI. Check community registries too.
2. Compose, don't reinvent. Settings page = Tabs + Card + form controls. Dashboard = Sidebar + Card + Chart + Table.
3. Use built in variants before custom styles. variant="outline" , size="sm" , etc.
4. Use semantic colors. bg primary , text muted foreground — never raw values like bg blue 500 .
Critical Rules
These rules are always enforced . Each links to a file with Incorrect/Correct code pairs.
Styling & Tailwind → [styling.md](./rules/styling.md)
className for layout, not styling. Never override component colors or typography.
No space x or space y . Use flex with gap . For vertical stacks, flex flex col gap .
Use size when width and height are equal. size 10 not w 10 h 10 .
Use truncate shorthand. Not overflow hidden text ellipsis whitespace nowrap .
No manual dark: color overrides. Use semantic tokens ( bg background , text muted foreground ).
Use cn() for conditional classes. Don't write manual template literal ternaries.
No manual z index on overlay components. Dialog, Sheet, Popover, etc. handle their own stacking.
Forms & Inputs → [forms.md](./rules/forms.md)
Forms use FieldGroup + Field . Never use raw div with space y or grid gap for form layout.
InputGroup uses InputGroupInput / InputGroupTextarea . Never raw Input / Textarea inside InputGroup .
Buttons inside inputs use InputGroup + InputGroupAddon .
Option sets (2–7 choices) use ToggleGroup . Don't loop Button with manual active state.
FieldSet + FieldLegend for grouping related checkboxes/radios. Don't use a div with a heading.
Field validation uses data invalid + aria invalid . data invalid on Field , aria invalid on the control. For disabled: data disabled on Field , disabled on the control.
Component Structure → [composition.md](./rules/composition.md)
Items always inside their Group. SelectItem → SelectGroup . DropdownMenuItem → DropdownMenuGroup . CommandItem → CommandGroup .
Use asChild (radix) or render (base) for custom triggers. Check base field from npx shadcn@latest info . → [base vs radix.md](./rules/base vs radix.md)
Dialog, Sheet, and Drawer always need a Title. DialogTitle , SheetTitle , DrawerTitle required for accessibility. Use className="sr only" if visually hidden.
Use full Card composition. CardHeader / CardTitle / CardDescription / CardContent / CardFooter . Don't dump everything in CardContent .
Button has no isPending / isLoading . Compose with Spinner + data icon + disabled .
TabsTrigger must be inside TabsList . Never render triggers directly in Tabs .
Avatar always needs AvatarFallback . For when the image fails to load.
Use Components, Not Custom Markup → [composition.md](./rules/composition.md)
Use existing components before custom markup. Check if a component exists before writing a styled div .
Callouts use Alert . Don't build custom styled divs.
Empty states use Empty . Don't build custom empty state markup.
Toast follows the project base. Use toast from the toast component for
Base UI projects. Use toast() from sonner for Radix and React Aria
projects.
Use Separator instead of <hr or <div className="border t" .
Use Skeleton for loading placeholders. No custom animate pulse divs.
Use Badge instead of custom styled spans.
Icons → [icons.md](./rules/icons.md)
Icons in Button use data icon . data icon="inline start" or data icon="inline end" on the icon.
No sizing classes on icons inside components. Components handle icon sizing via CSS. No size 4 or w 4 h 4 .
Pass icons as objects, not string keys. icon={CheckIcon} , not a string lookup.
Chat & Messaging → [chat.md](./rules/chat.md)
Chat UI composes the chat primitives. Conversations use MessageScroller , rows use Message , surfaces use Bubble . Never hand rolled bubble div s or a raw scroll container.
MessageScroller owns scroll behavior. Streaming follow, anchoring, and jump to latest ( MessageScrollerButton ) are built in. Don't write a useStickToBottom / ResizeObserver hook.
Attachments use Attachment ; system notes and dividers use Marker . Not Item cards or Separator + a label.
CLI
Never decode preset codes or build preset URLs manually. Use npx shadcn@latest preset decode <code , preset url <code , or preset open <code . For project aware preset detection, use npx shadcn@latest preset resolve .
Apply preset codes directly with the CLI. Use npx shadcn@latest apply <code for existing projects, or npx shadcn@latest init preset <code when initializing.
Key Patterns
These are the most common patterns that differentiate correct shadcn/ui code. For edge cases, see the linked rule files above.
Component Selection
Need Use
Button/action Button with appropriate variant
Form inputs Input , Select , Combobox , Switch , Checkbox , RadioGroup , Textarea , InputOTP , Slider
Toggle between 2–5 options ToggleGroup + ToggleGroupItem
Data display Table , Card , Badge , Avatar
Navigation Sidebar , NavigationMenu , Breadcrumb , Tabs , Pagination
Overlays Dialog (modal), Sheet (side panel), Drawer (bottom sheet), AlertDialog (confirmation)
Feedback toast (Base UI), sonner (Radix/Aria), Alert , Progress , Skeleton , Spinner
Command palette Command inside Dialog
Charts Chart (wraps Recharts)
Layout Card , Separator , Resizable , ScrollArea , Accordion , Collapsible
Empty states Empty
Menus DropdownMenu , ContextMenu , Menubar
Tooltips/info Tooltip , HoverCard , Popover
Chat / conversation UI MessageScroller , Message , Bubble , Attachment , Marker
Key Fields
The injected project context contains these key fields:
aliases → use the actual alias prefix for imports (e.g. @/ , ~/ ), never hardcode.
isRSC → when true , components using useState , useEffect , event handlers, or browser APIs need "use client" at the top of the file. Always reference this field when advising on the directive.
tailwindVersion → "v4" uses @theme inline blocks; "v3" uses tailwind.config.js .
tailwindCssFile → the global CSS file where custom CSS variables are defined. Always edit this file, never create a new one.
style → component visual treatment (e.g. nova , vega ).
base → primitive library ( radix or base ). Affects component APIs and available props.
iconLibrary → determines icon imports. Use lucide react for lucide , @tabler/icons react for tabler , etc. Never assume lucide react .
resolvedPaths → exact file system destinations for components, utils, hooks, etc.
framework → routing and file conventions (e.g. Next.js App Router vs Vite SPA).
packageManager → use this for any non shadcn dependency installs (e.g. pnpm add date fns vs npm install date fns ).
preset → resolved preset code and values for the current project. Use npx shadcn@latest preset resolve json when you only need preset information.
See [cli.md — info command](./cli.md) for the full field reference.
Component Docs, Examples, and Usage
Run npx shadcn@latest docs <component to get the URLs for a component's documentation, examples, and API reference. Fetch these URLs to get the actual content.
When creating, fixing, debugging, or using a component, always run npx shadcn@latest docs and fetch the URLs first. This ensures you're working with the correct API and usage patterns rather than guessing.
Workflow
1. Get project context — already injected above. Run npx shadcn@latest info again if you need to refresh.
2. Check installed components first — before running add , always check the components list from project context or list the resolvedPaths.ui directory. Don't import components that haven't been added, and don't re add ones already installed.
3. Find components — npx shadcn@latest search .
4. Get docs and examples — run npx shadcn@latest docs <component to get URLs, then fetch them. Use npx shadcn@latest view to browse registry items you haven't installed. To preview changes to installed components, use npx shadcn@latest add diff .
5. Install or update — npx shadcn@latest add . When updating existing components, use dry run and diff to preview changes first (see [Updating Components]( updating components) below).
6. Fix imports in third party components — After adding components from community registries (e.g. @bundui , @magicui ), check the added non UI files for hardcoded import paths like @/components/ui/... . These won't match the project's actual aliases. Use npx shadcn@latest info to get the correct ui alias (e.g. @workspace/ui/components ) and rewrite the imports accordingly. The CLI rewrites imports for its own UI files, but third party registry components may use default paths that don't match the project.
7. Review added components — After adding a component or block from any registry, always read the added files and verify they are correct . Check for missing sub components (e.g. SelectItem without SelectGroup ), missing imports, incorrect composition, or violations of the [Critical Rules]( critical rules). Also replace any icon imports with the project's iconLibrary from the project context (e.g. if the registry item uses lucide react but the project uses hugeicons , swap the imports and icon names accordingly). Fix all issues before moving on.
8. Registry must be explicit — When the user asks to add a block or component, do not guess the registry . If no registry is specified (e.g. user says "add a login block" without specifying @shadcn , @tailark , owner/repo , etc.), ask which registry to use. Never default to a registry on behalf of the user.
9. Switching presets — Ask the user first: overwrite , partial , merge , or skip ?
Inspect current preset : npx shadcn@latest preset resolve . Use json when you need structured values.
Inspect incoming pre