shadcn/ui Setup Guide

shadcn/ui Setup Guide

This guide walks you through setting up shadcn/ui in both new and existing projects.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have:

• Node.js 18+ installed
• React 18+ in your project
• Tailwind CSS 3.0+ configured
• A package manager: npm, yarn, pnpm, or bun

Quick Start (New Project)

Option 1: npx shadcn create (Recommended)

The easiest way to start a new project with shadcn/ui is using the create command, which allows you to customize everything (framework, library, style, font, etc.).

npx shadcn@latest create

This interactive command will guide you through:

1. Project Name: Directory for your app.
2. Visual Style: Choose from Vega, Nova, Maia, Lyra, Mira, or Classic.
3. Base Color: Select your primary theme color.
4. Framework: Next.js, Vite, Laravel, etc.
5. Component Library: Choose Radix UI or Base UI.
6. RTL Support: Enable Right-to-Left support if needed.

Option 2: Classic Manual Setup (Next.js)

# Create a new Next.js project
npx create-next-app@latest my-app
cd my-app

# Initialize shadcn/ui
npx shadcn@latest init

# Add your first component
npx shadcn@latest add button

Option 3: Classic Manual Setup (Vite + React)

# Create a new Vite project
npm create vite@latest my-app -- --template react-ts
cd my-app
npm install

# Install Tailwind CSS
npm install -D tailwindcss postcss autoprefixer
npx tailwindcss init -p

# Initialize shadcn/ui
npx shadcn@latest init

# Add your first component
npx shadcn@latest add button

Existing Project Setup

Step 1: Ensure Tailwind CSS is Installed

If Tailwind is not installed:

npm install -D tailwindcss postcss autoprefixer
npx tailwindcss init -p

Configure tailwind.config.js:

/** @type {import('tailwindcss').Config} */
export default {
  content: [
    "./index.html",
    "./src/**/*.{js,ts,jsx,tsx}",
  ],
  theme: {
    extend: {},
  },
  plugins: [],
}

Step 2: Initialize shadcn/ui

Run the initialization command:

npx shadcn@latest init

You'll be asked to configure:

1. Style: Choose between default, new-york, or one of the new styles (Vega, Nova, etc.)

   • default: Clean and minimal design
   • new-york: More refined with subtle details

2. Base Color: Choose your primary color palette

   • slate, gray, zinc, neutral, or stone

3. CSS Variables: Recommend yes for easier theming

4. TypeScript: Recommend yes for type safety

5. Import Alias: Default is @/components (recommended)

6. React Server Components: Choose based on your framework

   • yes for Next.js 13+ with app directory
   • no for Vite, CRA, or Next.js pages directory

7. RTL Support: Answer yes if you need Right-to-Left layout support (this will use logical properties like ms-4 instead of ml-4).

Advanced Features

Visual Styles

shadcn/ui now offers multiple visual styles beyond the defaults:

• Vega: The classic shadcn/ui look.
• Nova: Reduced padding/margins, compact.
• Maia: Soft, rounded, generous spacing.
• Lyra: Boxy, sharp, mono font friendly.
• Mira: Dense, compact.

Base UI Support

You can now choose between Radix UI and Base UI as the underlying primitive library. They share the same component API/abstraction, so your usage remains consistent.

Step 3: Verify Configuration

The init command creates/updates several files:

components.json (root of project):

{
  "$schema": "https://ui.shadcn.com/schema.json",
  "style": "default",
  "rsc": false,
  "tsx": true,
  "tailwind": {
    "config": "tailwind.config.js",
    "css": "src/index.css",
    "baseColor": "slate",
    "cssVariables": true
  },
  "aliases": {
    "components": "@/components",
    "utils": "@/lib"
  }
}

src/lib/utils.ts:

import { clsx, type ClassValue } from "clsx"
import { twMerge } from "tailwind-merge"

export function cn(...inputs: ClassValue[]) {
  return twMerge(clsx(inputs))
}

Updated tailwind.config.js:

/** @type {import('tailwindcss').Config} */
module.exports = {
  darkMode: ["class"],
  content: [
    './pages/**/*.{ts,tsx}',
    './components/**/*.{ts,tsx}',
    './app/**/*.{ts,tsx}',
    './src/**/*.{ts,tsx}',
  ],
  theme: {
    container: {
      center: true,
      padding: "2rem",
      screens: {
        "2xl": "1400px",
      },
    },
    extend: {
      colors: {
        border: "hsl(var(--border))",
        input: "hsl(var(--input))",
        ring: "hsl(var(--ring))",
        background: "hsl(var(--background))",
        foreground: "hsl(var(--foreground))",
        primary: {
          DEFAULT: "hsl(var(--primary))",
          foreground: "hsl(var(--primary-foreground))",
        },
        // ... more colors
      },
      borderRadius: {
        lg: "var(--radius)",
        md: "calc(var(--radius) - 2px)",
        sm: "calc(var(--radius) - 4px)",
      },
      keyframes: {
        "accordion-down": {
          from: { height: 0 },
          to: { height: "var(--radix-accordion-content-height)" },
        },
        "accordion-up": {
          from: { height: "var(--radix-accordion-content-height)" },
          to: { height: 0 },
        },
      },
      animation: {
        "accordion-down": "accordion-down 0.2s ease-out",
        "accordion-up": "accordion-up 0.2s ease-out",
      },
    },
  },
  plugins: [require("tailwindcss-animate")],
}

Updated globals.css (or equivalent):

@tailwind base;
@tailwind components;
@tailwind utilities;

@layer base {
  :root {
    --background: 0 0% 100%;
    --foreground: 222.2 84% 4.9%;
    --card: 0 0% 100%;
    --card-foreground: 222.2 84% 4.9%;
    --popover: 0 0% 100%;
    --popover-foreground: 222.2 84% 4.9%;
    --primary: 221.2 83.2% 53.3%;
    --primary-foreground: 210 40% 98%;
    --secondary: 210 40% 96.1%;
    --secondary-foreground: 222.2 47.4% 11.2%;
    --muted: 210 40% 96.1%;
    --muted-foreground: 215.4 16.3% 46.9%;
    --accent: 210 40% 96.1%;
    --accent-foreground: 222.2 47.4% 11.2%;
    --destructive: 0 84.2% 60.2%;
    --destructive-foreground: 210 40% 98%;
    --border: 214.3 31.8% 91.4%;
    --input: 214.3 31.8% 91.4%;
    --ring: 221.2 83.2% 53.3%;
    --radius: 0.5rem;
  }

  .dark {
    --background: 222.2 84% 4.9%;
    --foreground: 210 40% 98%;
    /* ... dark mode variables */
  }
}

@layer base {
  * {
    @apply border-border;
  }
  body {
    @apply bg-background text-foreground;
  }
}

Step 4: Configure Path Aliases

Ensure your tsconfig.json includes path aliases:

{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "baseUrl": ".",
    "paths": {
      "@/*": ["./src/*"]
    }
  }
}

For Vite, also update vite.config.ts:

import path from "path"
import { defineConfig } from "vite"
import react from "@vitejs/plugin-react"

export default defineConfig({
  plugins: [react()],
  resolve: {
    alias: {
      "@": path.resolve(__dirname, "./src"),
    },
  },
})

Step 5: Add Components

Now you can add components:

# Add individual components
npx shadcn@latest add button
npx shadcn@latest add card
npx shadcn@latest add dialog

# Add multiple components at once
npx shadcn@latest add button card dialog input label

Components will be added to src/components/ui/ by default.

Framework-Specific Considerations

Next.js App Router

• Set rsc: true in components.json
• Add "use client" to stateful components
• Import components work from server components by default

Next.js Pages Router

• Set rsc: false in components.json
• All components are client-side by default

Vite

• Ensure path aliases are configured in vite.config.ts
• Import globals.css in your main entry point (main.tsx)

Create React App

• Use craco or react-app-rewired for path alias support
• Or use relative imports instead of aliases

Verification Steps

1. Check file structure:

   src/
   ├── components/
   │   └── ui/
   ├── lib/
   │   └── utils.ts
   └── index.css (or globals.css)
   

2. Test a simple component:

   import { Button } from "@/components/ui/button"
   
   export default function App() {
     return <Button>Click me</Button>
   }
   

3. Verify Tailwind is working:

   • Component should render with proper styling
   • Check browser dev tools for applied classes

4. Test dark mode (if using CSS variables):

   <html className="dark">
   

Troubleshooting

"Cannot find module '@/components/ui/button'"

Solution: Check path alias configuration in tsconfig.json and framework config.

Styles not applying

Solution:

• Ensure globals.css is imported in your app entry point
• Verify Tailwind config content paths include your files
• Check CSS variables are defined in globals.css

TypeScript errors in components

Solution:

• Run npm install to ensure all dependencies are installed
• Check that @types/react is installed
• Restart TypeScript server in your editor

Components look broken

Solution:

• Verify tailwindcss-animate is installed: npm install tailwindcss-animate
• Check that CSS variables are properly defined
• Ensure you're not overriding component styles globally

Next Steps

1. Browse the component catalog
2. Read the customization guide
3. Check out example implementations in /examples
4. Join the shadcn/ui Discord

Additional Resources

• Official Documentation
• Component Examples
• GitHub Repository
• Tailwind CSS Docs