shadcn/ui

What is shadcn/ui?

Free, MIT-licensed set of accessible React components whose source the CLI copies into your app.

Who is shadcn/ui best for?

shadcn/ui is best for React developers who want to build their own component library from code they can edit.

• Your own design system

  Components land in your codebase as source, so you change a button by editing it rather than overriding a package.

• Teams sharing components

  The registry schema and CLI let a team publish its own components and install them across projects.

• Coding with AI agents

  One composable API across components is easy for agents to read, and the MCP server lets them browse and install items.

• Dashboards and app screens

  Blocks, charts, a sidebar and data tables give admin screens and SaaS apps a consistent starting point.

How much does shadcn/ui cost?

shadcn/ui is free and open source under the MIT licence; there is no paid plan, and every component, block, chart and the CLI cost nothing.

shadcn/ui has no paid tier and needs no account. The source is on GitHub under the MIT licence, so components can go into commercial and closed-source apps. Full pricing on ui.shadcn.com. We checked these prices on 8 Nov 2026.

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Is shadcn/ui open source?

Yes. shadcn/ui's code is public under the MIT licence, so you can read it, change it and run it yourself.

How do I connect shadcn/ui to my AI agent?

shadcn/ui MCP is shadcn/ui's official MCP server. Add it to your agent once, then ask it to find shadcn/ui components and add them to your project.

Lets your coding agent look through shadcn/ui and other registries, read component code and install the pieces you choose, files and dependencies included.

Claude CodeCursorCodexGitHub Copilot

Terminal

$ claude mcp add shadcn-ui -- npx shadcn@latest mcp

It runs on your computer, so Claude Code starts it when it needs it.

shadcn/ui's setup guide covers the sign-in.

Then ask your agent

• Add the dialog and form components to this app
• Search the registries for a date picker
• Show the example code for the data table

Runs

On your computer

Sign-in

See guide

Maker

shadcn/ui

Guide

ui.shadcn.com

What are the best shadcn/ui alternatives?

shadcn/ui is an open source alternative to 21st.dev. Magic UI does the same job and is open source too.

21st.devFree

React and Tailwind components, themes and templates that you or your AI coding agent add to a repo.

Magic UIOpen Source

Open-source set of 150+ animated React components on Tailwind CSS and Motion for landing pages.

Arc UIOpen Source

React components and app blocks in plain TSX and CSS modules, with a free MIT core and paid Pro set.

daisyUIOpen Source

Free Tailwind CSS plugin that adds short class names for buttons, cards, modals and site themes.

BoardUIOpen Source

Open-source React and Tailwind components for dashboards and AI chat apps, with paid Pro templates.

Questions about shadcn/ui