- Product teams that need a broad UI vocabulary quickly
- Dashboards, SaaS apps, admin tools, and form-heavy products
- Teams that value documented patterns over hand-rolled primitives
shadcn/ui
review file
Components you own. Not a dependency.
shadcn/ui is strongest when copy-paste components is the right foundation and the team values speed to a complete product interface over a generic UI grab bag.
- You need every component to be visually unique
- You do not want framework-specific dependencies
Decision dossier
FULL FILEAn open code collection you copy into your project. Accessible Radix primitives, themed with CSS variables, fully editable on day one.
Editorial note: outbound links may become affiliate or referral links. Rankings stay based on product fit, not commissions.
- Author
- shadcn
- Released
- 2023
- Pricing model
- Open-source library; paid templates/support vary by vendor
- Frameworks
- React
- Tags
- components / copy-paste components / mit
- Repository
- 71.2k stars
- Freshness
- Tracked from shadcn-ui/ui and docs
- Sponsorship
- Sponsor this category
AI coding fit
95/100AI-generated code you can own and customize. The copy-paste model works well with AI code generation for UI components.
Paste one of these prompts into Cursor, Claude Code, v0, Lovable, Bolt, or Replit to steer the generated UI toward this kit instead of a generic app shell.
Textareas stay selectable without JavaScript. The copy buttons progressively enhance supported browsers.
Preview compact, curated examples of what these AI prompts tend to produce before copying one into your agent.
A Next.js dashboard layout with sidebar navigation, KPI cards, a responsive content grid, and explicit loading and empty-state components.
Preview excerpt
export function DashboardShell() {
return (
<div className="grid min-h-screen lg:grid-cols-[16rem_1fr]">
<aside className="hidden border-r bg-muted/30 p-4 lg:block">
<nav className="space-y-1">
{['Dashboard', 'Users', 'Analytics', 'Settings', 'Billing'].map((item) => (
<Button key={item} variant="ghost" className="w-full justify-start">{item}</Button>
))}
</nav>
</aside>
<main className="space-y-6 p-4 md:p-8">
<header className="flex items-center justify-between gap-4">
<div>
<p className="text-sm text-muted-foreground">Dashboard</p>
<h1 className="text-2xl font-semibold tracking-tight">Revenue overview</h1>
</div>
<Button>Invite teammate</Button>
</header>
<section className="grid gap-4 md:grid-cols-4">
{metrics.map((metric) => <MetricCard key={metric.label} {...metric} />)}
</section>
<Card>
<CardHeader><CardTitle>Recent customers</CardTitle></CardHeader>
<CardContent><CustomersTable state="loaded" /></CardContent>
</Card>
</main>
</div>
)
}
A marketing pricing section with a centered headline, plan cards, a billing toggle, and a compact feature comparison table.
Preview excerpt
export function PricingPage() {
return (
<section className="mx-auto max-w-6xl space-y-10 px-4 py-16">
<div className="mx-auto max-w-2xl text-center">
<Badge variant="secondary">Simple, transparent pricing</Badge>
<h1 className="mt-4 text-4xl font-bold tracking-tight">Choose the plan that fits your team</h1>
<div className="mt-6 flex items-center justify-center gap-3">
<span>Monthly</span><Switch aria-label="Toggle annual billing" /><span>Annual</span>
</div>
</div>
<div className="grid gap-6 md:grid-cols-3">
{plans.map((plan) => (
<Card key={plan.name} className={plan.highlight ? 'border-primary shadow-lg' : ''}>
<CardHeader>
{plan.highlight && <Badge>Most popular</Badge>}
<CardTitle>{plan.name}</CardTitle>
<CardDescription>{plan.description}</CardDescription>
</CardHeader>
<CardContent><PlanFeatures features={plan.features} /></CardContent>
<CardFooter><Button className="w-full">{plan.cta}</Button></CardFooter>
</Card>
))}
</div>
<FeatureComparisonTable />
</section>
)
}
A dense SaaS dashboard shell with sidebar navigation, KPI cards, trend charts, a customer table, and explicit empty/loading/error state hooks.
Preview excerpt
export function DashboardOverview() {
return (
<main className="grid min-h-screen lg:grid-cols-[260px_1fr]">
<SidebarNav sections={['Overview', 'Customers', 'Usage', 'Billing']} />
<section className="space-y-6 p-6">
<DashboardHeader title="Revenue operations" action="Invite teammate" />
<div className="grid gap-4 md:grid-cols-4">
{metrics.map((metric) => <MetricCard key={metric.label} metric={metric} />)}
</div>
<div className="grid gap-4 xl:grid-cols-[1.4fr_1fr]">
<RevenueChart state="loaded" />
<ActivationChecklist state="empty-ready" />
</div>
<CustomerTable state="loaded" />
</section>
</main>
)
}
- Well-structured copy-paste code that AI can generate accurately
- Built on Radix Primitives for accessibility
- CSS variables make theming straightforward for AI
- Components are self-contained and modular
- Requires initial project setup with shadcn CLI
- Customization may require manual code edits
- Not ideal for rapid prototyping at scale
- Create a {{type}} using shadcn/ui components
- Build a {{type}} with Radix Primitives and Tailwind
- Generate an accessible {{type}} with shadcn/ui
- Implement a {{type}} using the copy-paste component pattern
Weekly source checks
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Commercial disclosure
Sponsored placements are labeled. Editorial ranking is not for sale.
View sponsorship options →Can teams ship responsibly?
Usually ships accessible defaults, but teams should still audit forms, overlays, color contrast, and composed flows.
Can it become your brand?
Fastest path to a cohesive app, with theme APIs that vary from light token overrides to deep component customization.
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