Free Shadcn UI Components for React and Tailwind CSS
Shadcn UI Kit is a library of 564 shadcn/ui component variants in 51 categories, and 559 of them are free. Each variant is a real, production ready example of a component: a login form built with Input and Button, a sortable Data Table, a searchable Combobox. You can preview every variant live, copy the code or install it with the shadcn CLI.
shadcn/ui itself is not a package you import. It is a collection of accessible components and a command line tool that copies their source code into your project. You own the files, so you can change markup, styles and behavior without fighting a theme API. The official set covers the building blocks. This library extends it with many ready made variants per component, so you start from a design that is close to what you need instead of a blank primitive.
560+ Shadcn Components by Category
The components are grouped the same way you think about an interface. Every category page shows all of its variants with a live preview, the source code and the install command.
Base Components 168 variants
Data Display Components 120 variants
Navigation Components 58 variants
Form Components 152 variants
How to Install a Shadcn Component
Every component page has two options. You can copy the code from the preview and paste it into your project, or install it with the shadcn CLI so that dependencies and sub components are added for you. To use the CLI, first make sure your project is set up with shadcn/ui:
npx shadcn@latest initThen add the Shadcn UI Kit registry to your components.json file once:
{
"registries": {
"@shadcnuikit": "https://shadcnuikit.com/r/{name}.json"
}
}Now install any variant by its name. For example, this adds the first free accordion:
npx shadcn@latest add @shadcnuikit/accordion1The same command works with pnpm dlx, yarn dlx and bunx --bun, and every component page has a copy button for each package manager. The component lands in components/ as a normal React file that you can edit freely.
Radix UI vs Base UI: Which Should You Use?
shadcn/ui components are styled wrappers around headless primitives that handle focus, keyboard support and ARIA attributes. The primitive based components in this library, such as menus, popovers, tabs, tooltips and form controls, work with both Radix UI and Base UI, and the markup and Tailwind classes stay the same.
A few components are built on dedicated libraries instead: Command uses cmdk, Drawer uses Vaul, Carousel uses Embla, Data Table uses TanStack Table, Calendar uses React DayPicker and Sonner Toast uses Sonner. Layout pieces such as Card, Badge and Table are plain markup and fit into either setup.
- Choose Radix UI if your project already uses it, or if you want the most widely used option with the largest number of examples and community answers.
- Choose Base UI if you are starting fresh and want the newer primitives from the creators of Radix UI, Floating UI and Material UI, with features such as a built in Combobox and Autocomplete.
Because the styling layer is identical, you can switch later without redesigning your interface.
Customizing Components with Tailwind CSS v4
Every component reads its colors, radius, spacing and fonts from CSS variables such as --primary, --muted and --radius. Change a variable in your globals.css and every component updates at once. For one off changes, pass extra Tailwind CSS classes through the className prop. The components merge them with cn(), so your classes win over the defaults.
If you would rather design visually, the free Theme Generator lets you pick colors, fonts and radius on a live preview and export the CSS variables for your project.
Accessibility, Dark Mode and TypeScript
- Accessible by default: keyboard navigation, focus management and ARIA attributes come from the underlying primitives, so dialogs trap focus, menus open with the arrow keys and screen readers announce state changes.
- Dark mode: every variant is designed for light and dark themes and switches automatically with a
.darkclass or your theme provider. - TypeScript: components are fully typed, so props, variants and events autocomplete in your editor.
- States covered: hover, focus, disabled, loading and error states are part of each variant, not left for later.
Building Forms with Shadcn Components
Forms are where most of the component variants come together. A typical form combines Field for the label, description and error message, Input and Textarea for text, Select or Combobox for choices, Checkbox, Radio Group and Switch for options, and Calendar for dates.
The inputs are controlled React components with standard value and onChange style props, so they work with React Hook Form, TanStack Form or plain state. Pair them with a schema library such as Zod to validate on the client and show errors in the field description. Invalid states are styled through aria-invalid, which keeps the error visible to screen readers as well.
Shadcn Components vs Material UI, Chakra UI and Mantine
Material UI, Chakra UI and Mantine are excellent packaged libraries. The main difference with shadcn/ui is ownership: you get the source code instead of a dependency.
| Feature | Shadcn UI components | Packaged UI libraries |
|---|---|---|
| How you get the code | Source files copied into your project | Installed as an npm dependency |
| Styling | Tailwind CSS utilities and CSS variables | Library specific theme objects or CSS-in-JS |
| Customization | Edit the component file directly | Theme overrides, style props and slots |
| Updates | You decide when to pull changes with the CLI | Package upgrades can change behavior globally |
| Bundle | Only the components you add | Depends on the package and tree shaking |
Pick a packaged library when you want a fixed design language and prefer upgrades to arrive through npm. Pick shadcn components when you want full control over the markup, a design that is yours, and no runtime styling library.
Which Shadcn Component Should I Use?
Several components look alike but solve different problems. These are the questions developers ask most often:
Select, Combobox, Autocomplete or Native Select?
Use Select for a short, fixed list of options. Switch to Combobox when the list is long and users need to search it, or when they can pick several values. Use Autocomplete when users type free text and suggestions only help them finish it, and Native Select when you want the browser's own picker, which works best on mobile.
Alert Dialog, Sheet, Drawer or Popover?
An Alert Dialog interrupts the user to confirm a destructive or important action. A Sheet slides in from the edge of the screen for secondary tasks such as filters or settings. A Drawer is the touch friendly version that users can swipe away on mobile. A Popover stays anchored to its trigger and suits small forms and quick actions.
Tooltip or Hover Card?
A Tooltip holds a short plain text label, for example the name of an icon button. A Hover Card previews richer content, such as a user profile or a link preview, when the pointer rests on a trigger.
Skeleton, Spinner or Progress?
Show a Skeleton when you know the shape of the content that is loading. Use a Spinner for short waits inside buttons or small areas, and a Progress bar when you can measure how much of the task is done, such as an upload.
Dropdown Menu, Context Menu or Command?
A Dropdown Menu opens from a visible button. A Context Menu opens on right click and mirrors desktop apps. A Command palette lets power users search every action from the keyboard, usually with ⌘K.
Table or Data Table?
A Table is enough for static rows. Choose a Data Table when users need sorting, filtering, pagination, row selection or column visibility.
Using Shadcn Components with AI Coding Assistants
Because every component is available in a shadcn registry, AI coding assistants can work with them directly. Connect the shadcn MCP server to tools such as Claude Code, Cursor or VS Code, and you can ask for a component in plain language, for example "add a data table with row selection from @shadcnuikit". The assistant searches the registry, picks the variant and installs it with the same CLI command you would run yourself.
The result is the same as a manual install: readable source files in your project that follow your theme, not generated code you cannot maintain.
From Components to Full Pages
Components are the smallest pieces. When you need more, the same design system continues into larger building blocks:
- UI blocks: hero sections, pricing tables, feature grids, testimonials and dashboard widgets assembled from these components.
- Page Builder: arrange blocks into a multi page site and export it as a Next.js project or add it to your app with the shadcn CLI.
- Admin dashboards and website templates: complete applications you can start from.
- Examples and animated illustrations: cards, charts and motion components for landing pages.