Shadcn Svelte Skill

shadcn-svelte · SvelteKit 2 + Svelte 5 + Deno + Storybook

Guide for working with shadcn-svelte in a Deno-based SvelteKit 2 / Svelte 5 project with Storybook, Lucide icons, LayerChart, motion-sv, and Tailwind CSS v4.

All examples use Svelte 5 runes ($state, $props, $derived, $effect), Deno as the runtime, and Tailwind CSS v4 with @tailwindcss/vite.

Reference Files

This skill has detailed reference files. Read the relevant one before diving in:

When to Use

• Building component-based SvelteKit 2 applications with Svelte 5
• You need accessible, styled UI elements (buttons, forms, modals, dialogs, data tables, etc.)
• You want copy-paste components you fully own and customize
• You're running Deno (not Node) as your runtime
• You use Storybook for isolated component development
• You need charts/visualizations (→ see references/layerchart.md)
• You need icons (→ see references/lucide-icons.md)
• You need animations, gestures, or page transitions (→ see references/motion-sv.md)

Svelte Component Library Ecosystem

Core Concepts

shadcn-svelte is copy-paste component infrastructure. Components live in $lib/components/ui/ — you own and modify the code directly. Built on Bits UI for accessibility, Tailwind CSS v4 for styling, and Svelte 5 runes for reactivity.

Setup: SvelteKit 2 + Deno + Tailwind v4

1. Create Project

deno run -A npm:sv create my-app
cd my-app

2. Install Tailwind v4 + shadcn-svelte

deno add -D npm:tailwindcss npm:@tailwindcss/vite
deno run -A npm:shadcn-svelte@latest init

3. Configure Vite

// vite.config.ts
import { defineConfig } from "vite";
import { sveltekit } from "@sveltejs/kit/vite";
import tailwindcss from "@tailwindcss/vite";

export default defineConfig({
  plugins: [tailwindcss(), sveltekit()],
});

4. CSS Entry Point (src/app.css)

@import "tailwindcss";

No tailwind.config.js needed. See references/tailwind-v4.md for @theme, @utility, and advanced config.

5. Layout (src/routes/+layout.svelte)

<script>
  import '../app.css'
  let { children } = $props();
</script>

{@render children()}

6. Deno Configuration (deno.json)

{
  "tasks": {
    "dev": "deno run -A npm:vite dev",
    "build": "deno run -A npm:vite build",
    "preview": "deno run -A npm:vite preview",
    "storybook": "deno run -A npm:storybook dev -p 6006",
    "build-storybook": "deno run -A npm:storybook build"
  },
  "imports": { "$lib/": "./src/lib/" },
  "compilerOptions": { "verbatimModuleSyntax": true },
  "nodeModulesDir": "auto"
}

"nodeModulesDir": "auto" is required for shadcn-svelte and Storybook under Deno.

Add Components

deno run -A npm:shadcn-svelte@latest add button card dialog
deno run -A npm:shadcn-svelte@latest add --all    # or add everything
deno run -A npm:shadcn-svelte@latest list          # see available

Components install to: src/lib/components/ui/[component-name]/

Svelte 5 Migration Cheat Sheet

Snippets Replace Slots (Critical for shadcn-svelte)

<!-- Svelte 4 (old) -->
<Dialog.Trigger asChild let:builder>
  <Button builders={[builder]}>Open</Button>
</Dialog.Trigger>

<!-- Svelte 5 (current) -->
<Dialog.Trigger>
  {#snippet child({ props })}
    <Button {...props}>Open</Button>
  {/snippet}
</Dialog.Trigger>

Common Workflows

Basic Button

<script lang="ts">
  import { Button } from "$lib/components/ui/button";
</script>

<Button variant="default">Click me</Button>
<Button variant="destructive">Delete</Button>
<Button variant="outline">Outlined</Button>

Form with Validation

deno run -A npm:shadcn-svelte@latest add form input label
deno add npm:sveltekit-superforms npm:zod

<script lang="ts">
  import { superForm } from "sveltekit-superforms";
  import { zodClient } from "sveltekit-superforms/adapters";
  import { z } from "zod";
  import * as Form from "$lib/components/ui/form";
  import { Input } from "$lib/components/ui/input";
  import { Button } from "$lib/components/ui/button";

  let { data } = $props();

  const schema = z.object({
    email: z.string().email(),
    name: z.string().min(2),
  });

  const form = superForm(data.form, { validators: zodClient(schema) });
  const { form: formData, enhance } = form;
</script>

<form method="POST" use:enhance>
  <Form.Field {form} name="email">
    <Form.Control>
      {#snippet children({ props })}
        <Form.Label>Email</Form.Label>
        <Input {...props} type="email" bind:value={$formData.email} />
      {/snippet}
    </Form.Control>
    <Form.FieldErrors />
  </Form.Field>
  <Button type="submit">Submit</Button>
</form>

Dialog (Svelte 5)

<script lang="ts">
  import * as Dialog from "$lib/components/ui/dialog";
  import { Button } from "$lib/components/ui/button";
  let open = $state(false);
</script>

<Dialog.Root bind:open>
  <Dialog.Trigger>
    {#snippet child({ props })}
      <Button {...props}>Open</Button>
    {/snippet}
  </Dialog.Trigger>
  <Dialog.Content>
    <Dialog.Header>
      <Dialog.Title>Title</Dialog.Title>
      <Dialog.Description>Description</Dialog.Description>
    </Dialog.Header>
    <p>Content here</p>
    <Dialog.Footer>
      <Button => (open = false)}>Close</Button>
    </Dialog.Footer>
  </Dialog.Content>
</Dialog.Root>

Data Table with TanStack Table v8

deno run -A npm:shadcn-svelte@latest add table data-table button dropdown-menu checkbox input
deno add npm:@tanstack/table-core

Key patterns:

1. Svelte 5 state: $state + get accessors in createSvelteTable
2. State updater: (updater) => state = typeof updater === "function" ? updater(state) : updater
3. Cell rendering: createRawSnippet → renderSnippet for HTML; renderComponent for components
4. Row models: Add matching model per feature (getPaginationRowModel, getSortedRowModel, getFilteredRowModel)
5. Filter inputs: Bind both oninput and onchange

See the shadcn-svelte data table docs for complete examples.

Storybook Integration

For the full reference including SvelteKit mocking, play functions, shared templates, MDX docs, and configuration options, see references/storybook.md.

Setup

deno run -A npm:storybook@latest init --type sveltekit

Configure for Tailwind (.storybook/preview.ts)

import type { Preview } from "@storybook/svelte";
import "../src/app.css"; // Tailwind + theme variables

const preview: Preview = {
  parameters: {
    controls: { matchers: { color: /(background|color)$/i, date: /Date$/i } },
  },
};
export default preview;

Svelte CSF v5 Story Format (.stories.svelte)

<script module lang="ts">
  import { defineMeta } from '@storybook/addon-svelte-csf';
  import Button from './button.svelte';

  const { Story } = defineMeta({
    component: Button,
    tags: ['autodocs'],
    args: { children: 'Click me' as any },
    argTypes: {
      variant: { control: 'select', options: ['default', 'destructive', 'outline', 'ghost'] },
      size: { control: 'select', options: ['default', 'sm', 'lg', 'icon'] },
    },
    render: template,  // Default template for all stories
  });
</script>

{#snippet template(args)}
  <Button {...args}>{args.children}</Button>
{/snippet}

<!-- Uses default template from `render: template` above -->
<Story name="Default" args={{ variant: 'default' }} />

<Story name="Destructive" args={{ variant: 'destructive' }} />

<!-- Override with a per-story template -->
<Story name="With Icon">
  {#snippet template(args)}
    <Button {...args}>❤️ Save</Button>
  {/snippet}
</Story>

<!-- Static story (no args reactivity) -->
<Story name="Static" asChild>
  <Button>I'm static</Button>
</Story>

Key Svelte CSF v5 Patterns

• <script module lang="ts"> not <script context="module">
• defineMeta({ component, render: template }) — sets default template
• {#snippet template(args)} for dynamic stories (NOT {#snippet children(args)})
• Static content goes directly inside <Story> (no snippet needed)
• asChild for static stories that don't consume args
• tags: ['autodocs'] for auto-generated docs (replaces autodocs prop)
• onclick not on:click for Svelte 5 event handlers

Project Structure

src/
├── lib/
│   ├── components/
│   │   ├── ui/              # shadcn-svelte components
│   │   │   ├── button/
│   │   │   │   ├── index.ts
│   │   │   │   ├── button.svelte
│   │   │   │   └── Button.stories.svelte
│   │   │   ├── chart/       # Chart wrapper (from shadcn add chart)
│   │   │   ├── dialog/
│   │   │   └── [...]
│   │   └── custom/
│   └── utils/
│       └── cn.ts
├── routes/
└── app.css
.storybook/
├── main.ts
└── preview.ts
deno.json

Troubleshooting

Deno package resolution: Set "nodeModulesDir": "auto" in deno.json.

shadcn CLI not detecting project: deno run -A npm:shadcn-svelte@latest init --yes

Storybook can't find components: Verify "$lib/": "./src/lib/" in deno.json imports.

Styling not applying: Check @tailwindcss/vite is in vite.config.ts plugins and src/app.css has @import "tailwindcss". For Storybook, verify preview.ts imports ../src/app.css.

Resources

• shadcn-svelte: https://www.shadcn-svelte.com/docs
• Bits UI: https://bits-ui.com
• Svelte 5: https://svelte.dev/docs/svelte
• Tailwind CSS v4: https://tailwindcss.com/docs — see also references/tailwind-v4.md
• Lucide Icons: https://lucide.dev — see also references/lucide-icons.md
• LayerChart v2: https://next.layerchart.com — see also references/layerchart.md
• motion-sv: https://motion-sv.com — see also references/motion-sv.md
• Storybook Svelte: https://storybook.js.org/docs/svelte/get-started
• Deno: https://docs.deno.com