shadcn-vue

shadcn-vue Production Stack

Production-tested: Vue/Nuxt applications with accessible, customizable components Last Updated: 2025-12-09 Status: Production Ready ✅ Latest Version: shadcn-vue@latest (Reka UI v2) Dependencies: Tailwind CSS, Reka UI, Vue 3+ or Nuxt 3+

Quick Start (3 Minutes)

For Vue Projects (Vite)

1. Initialize shadcn-vue

# Using Bun (recommended)
bunx shadcn-vue@latest init

# Using npm
npx shadcn-vue@latest init

During initialization:

• Style: New York or Default (cannot change later!)
• Base color: Slate (recommended)
• CSS variables: Yes (required for dark mode)

2. Configure TypeScript Path Aliases

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

3. Configure Vite

// vite.config.ts
import { defineConfig } from 'vite'
import vue from '@vitejs/plugin-vue'
import tailwindcss from '@tailwindcss/vite' // Tailwind v4
import path from 'path'

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

4. Add Your First Component

bunx shadcn-vue@latest add button
# or: npx shadcn-vue@latest add button

See Full Setup: templates/quick-setup.ts

For Nuxt Projects

# Create project with Tailwind
bun create nuxt-app my-app
cd my-app
bun add -D @nuxtjs/tailwindcss

# Configure Nuxt
# nuxt.config.ts
export default defineNuxtConfig({
  modules: ['@nuxtjs/tailwindcss']
})

# Initialize shadcn-vue
bunx shadcn-vue@latest init
# or: npx shadcn-vue@latest init
# or: pnpm dlx shadcn-vue@latest init

Component Library (50+ Components)

Navigation & Layout

• Accordion, Alert Dialog, Avatar, Badge, Breadcrumb, Card, Carousel, Collapsible, Dialog, Drawer, Dropdown Menu, Menu Bar, Navigation Menu, Pagination, Popover, Resizable, Scroll Area, Sheet, Sidebar, Tabs, Toast, Tooltip

Form Components

• Auto Form, Button, Calendar, Checkbox, Combobox, Command, Context Menu, Date Picker, Form, Input, Input OTP, Label, Number Field, PIN Input, Radio Group, Range Calendar, Select, Slider, Sonner, Switch, Textarea, Toggle, Toggle Group

Data Display

• Aspect Ratio, Data Table, Skeleton, Stepper, Splitter, Table, Tag Input

Advanced

• Charts (Unovis), Color Picker, Editable, File Upload, Sortable

Full Component Reference: https://shadcn-vue.com/docs/components

Auto Form - Schema-Based Forms

Installation

bunx shadcn-vue@latest add auto-form
# or: npx shadcn-vue@latest add auto-form

bun add zod
# or: npm install zod

Basic Usage

<script setup lang="ts">
import { AutoForm } from '@/components/ui/auto-form'
import { z } from 'zod'

const schema = z.object({
  name: z.string().min(2, 'Name must be at least 2 characters'),
  email: z.string().email('Invalid email'),
  age: z.number().min(18, 'Must be 18 or older'),
  bio: z.string().optional(),
  subscribe: z.boolean().default(false)
})

function onSubmit(values: z.infer<typeof schema>) {
  console.log('Form submitted:', values)
}
</script>

<template>
  <AutoForm :schema="schema" @submit="onSubmit">
    <template #submit>
      <Button type="submit">Submit</Button>
    </template>
  </AutoForm>
</template>

Supported Field Types: string, number, boolean, date, enum, array, object

Data Tables with TanStack Table

Installation

bunx shadcn-vue@latest add data-table
# or: npx shadcn-vue@latest add data-table

bun add @tanstack/vue-table
# or: npm install @tanstack/vue-table

Basic Setup

<script setup lang="ts">
import { DataTable } from '@/components/ui/data-table'
import { h } from 'vue'

const columns = [
  {
    accessorKey: 'id',
    header: 'ID',
  },
  {
    accessorKey: 'name',
    header: 'Name',
  },
  {
    accessorKey: 'email',
    header: 'Email',
  }
]

const data = [
  { id: 1, name: 'John Doe', email: 'john@example.com' },
  { id: 2, name: 'Jane Smith', email: 'jane@example.com' }
]
</script>

<template>
  <DataTable :columns="columns" :data="data" />
</template>

Features: Sorting, filtering, pagination, row selection, column visibility, expandable rows

Dark Mode Implementation

Installation

bun add @vueuse/core
# or: npm install @vueuse/core

Setup Theme Provider

<!-- components/ThemeProvider.vue -->
<script setup lang="ts">
import { useColorMode } from '@vueuse/core'

const mode = useColorMode()
</script>

<template>
  <div :class="mode">
    <slot />
  </div>
</template>

Use in Components

<script setup>
import { useColorMode } from '@vueuse/core'

const mode = useColorMode()

function toggleTheme() {
  mode.value = mode.value === 'dark' ? 'light' : 'dark'
}
</script>

<template>
  <Button @click="toggleTheme">
    {{ mode === 'dark' ? '🌙' : '☀️' }}
  </Button>
</template>

Critical Rules

Always Do

✅ Run init before adding components

• Creates required configuration and utilities
• Sets up path aliases

✅ Use CSS variables for theming (cssVariables: true)

• Enables dark mode support
• Flexible theme customization

✅ Configure TypeScript path aliases

• Required for component imports
• Must match components.json aliases

✅ Keep components.json in version control

• Team members need same configuration
• Documents project setup

✅ Use Bun for faster installs (recommended)

• 10-20x faster than npm

Never Do

❌ Don't change style after initialization

• Requires complete reinstall
• Reinitialize in new directory instead

❌ Don't mix Radix Vue and Reka UI v2

• Incompatible component APIs
• Use one or the other

❌ Don't skip TypeScript configuration

• Component imports will fail
• IDE autocomplete won't work

❌ Don't use without Tailwind CSS

• Components are styled with Tailwind
• Won't render correctly

Top 7 Critical Issues

Issue #1: Missing TypeScript Path Aliases

Error: Cannot find module '@/components/ui/button'

Solution:

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

Issue #2: Tailwind CSS Not Configured

Error: Components render without styles

Solution:

/* src/assets/index.css */
@import "tailwindcss";

// vite.config.ts (Tailwind v4)
import tailwindcss from '@tailwindcss/vite'

export default defineConfig({
  plugins: [vue(), tailwindcss()]
})

Issue #3: CSS Variables Not Defined

Error: Theme colors not applying, gray/transparent components

Solution: Ensure all CSS variables are defined (run init command)

Issue #4: Wrong Style Selected

Error: Components look different than expected

Solution: Choose carefully during init (New York or Default) - cannot change later without reinstall

Issue #5: Mixing Radix Vue and Reka UI

Error: Type conflicts, duplicate components

Solution:

• Use bunx shadcn-vue@latest for Reka UI v2
• Use bunx shadcn-vue@radix for legacy Radix Vue
• Don't mix both

Issue #6: Monorepo Path Issues

Error: Components installed in wrong directory

Solution: Use -c flag to specify workspace:

bunx shadcn-vue@latest init -c ./apps/web
bunx shadcn-vue@latest add button -c ./apps/web

Issue #7: Component Import Fails After Manual Edit

Error: Import paths broken after editing components.json

Solution: Keep components.json and tsconfig.json aliases in sync. Test imports after any config changes.

See All 7 Issues: references/error-catalog.md

CLI Commands Reference

init Command

# Initialize in current directory
bunx shadcn-vue@latest init
# or: npx shadcn-vue@latest init

# Initialize in specific directory (monorepo)
bunx shadcn-vue@latest init -c ./apps/web