shadcn/ui Components

Add shadcn/ui components to a themed React project. This skill runs AFTER tailwind-theme-builder has set up CSS variables, ThemeProvider, and dark mode. It handles component installation, customisation, and combining components into working patterns.

Prerequisite: Theme infrastructure must exist (CSS variables, components.json, cn() utility). Use tailwind-theme-builder first if not set up.

Installation Order

Install components in dependency order. Foundation components first, then feature components:

Foundation (install first)

pnpm dlx shadcn@latest add button
pnpm dlx shadcn@latest add input label
pnpm dlx shadcn@latest add card

Feature Components (install as needed)

# Forms
pnpm dlx shadcn@latest add form        # needs: react-hook-form, zod, @hookform/resolvers
pnpm dlx shadcn@latest add textarea select checkbox switch

# Feedback
pnpm dlx shadcn@latest add toast        # needs: sonner
pnpm dlx shadcn@latest add alert badge

# Overlay
pnpm dlx shadcn@latest add dialog sheet popover dropdown-menu

# Data Display
pnpm dlx shadcn@latest add table        # for data tables, also: @tanstack/react-table
pnpm dlx shadcn@latest add tabs separator avatar

# Navigation
pnpm dlx shadcn@latest add navigation-menu command

External Dependencies

Component	Requires
Form	react-hook-form, zod, @hookform/resolvers
Toast	sonner
Data Table	@tanstack/react-table
Command	cmdk
Date Picker	date-fns (optional)

Install external deps separately: pnpm add react-hook-form zod @hookform/resolvers

Known Gotchas

These are documented corrections that prevent common bugs:

Radix Select, No Empty Strings

// Don't use empty string values
<SelectItem value="">All</SelectItem>           // BREAKS

// Use sentinel value
<SelectItem value="__any__">All</SelectItem>    // WORKS
const actual = value === "__any__" ? "" : value