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Monorepo

Monorepo

Using shadcn/ui components and CLI in a monorepo.

Until now, using shadcn/ui in a monorepo was a bit of a pain. You could add components using the CLI, but you had to manage where the components were installed and manually fix import paths.

With the new monorepo support in the CLI, we've made it a lot easier to use shadcn/ui in a monorepo.

The CLI now understands the monorepo structure and will install the components, dependencies and registry dependencies to the correct paths and handle imports for you.

Getting started

Create a new monorepo project

To create a new monorepo project, run the init command. You will be prompted to select the type of project you are creating.

pnpm dlx shadcn@canary init

Select the Next.js (Monorepo) option.

? Would you like to start a new project?
    Next.js
❯   Next.js (Monorepo)

This will create a new monorepo project with two workspaces: web and ui, and Turborepo as the build system.

Everything is set up for you, so you can start adding components to your project.

Add components to your project

To add components to your project, run the add command in the path of your app.

cd apps/web
pnpm dlx shadcn@canary add [COMPONENT]

The CLI will figure out what type of component you are adding and install the correct files to the correct path.

For example, if you run npx shadcn@canary add button, the CLI will install the button component under packages/ui and update the import path for components in apps/web.

If you run npx shadcn@canary add login-01, the CLI will install the button, label, input and card components under packages/ui and the login-form component under apps/web/components.

Importing components

You can import components from the @workspace/ui package as follows:

import { Button } from "@workspace/ui/components/button"

You can also import hooks and utilities from the @workspace/ui package.

import { useTheme } from "@workspace/ui/hooks/use-theme"
import { cn } from "@workspace/ui/lib/utils"

File Structure

When you create a new monorepo project, the CLI will create the following file structure:

apps
└── web         # Your app goes here.
    ├── app
    │   └── page.tsx
    ├── components
    │   └── login-form.tsx
    ├── components.json
    └── package.json
packages
└── ui          # Your components and dependencies are installed here.
    ├── src
    │   ├── components
    │   │   └── button.tsx
    │   ├── hooks
    │   ├── lib
    │   │   └── utils.ts
    │   └── styles
    │       └── globals.css
    ├── components.json
    └── package.json
package.json
turbo.json

Requirements

  1. Every workspace must have a components.json file. A package.json file tells npm how to install the dependencies. A components.json file tells the CLI how and where to install components.

  2. The components.json file must properly define aliases for the workspace. This tells the CLI how to import components, hooks, utilities, etc.

apps/web/components.json
{
  "$schema": "https://ui.shadcn.com/schema.json",
  "style": "new-york",
  "rsc": true,
  "tsx": true,
  "tailwind": {
    "config": "../../packages/ui/tailwind.config.ts",
    "css": "../../packages/ui/src/styles/globals.css",
    "baseColor": "zinc",
    "cssVariables": true
  },
  "iconLibrary": "lucide",
  "aliases": {
    "components": "@/components",
    "hooks": "@/hooks",
    "lib": "@/lib",
    "utils": "@workspace/ui/lib/utils",
    "ui": "@workspace/ui/components"
  }
}
packages/ui/components.json
{
  "$schema": "https://ui.shadcn.com/schema.json",
  "style": "new-york",
  "rsc": true,
  "tsx": true,
  "tailwind": {
    "config": "tailwind.config.ts",
    "css": "src/styles/globals.css",
    "baseColor": "zinc",
    "cssVariables": true
  },
  "iconLibrary": "lucide",
  "aliases": {
    "components": "@workspace/ui/components",
    "utils": "@workspace/ui/lib/utils",
    "hooks": "@workspace/ui/hooks",
    "lib": "@workspace/ui/lib",
    "ui": "@workspace/ui/components"
  }
}
  1. Ensure you have the same style, iconLibrary and baseColor in both components.json files.

By following these requirements, the CLI will be able to install ui components, blocks, libs and hooks to the correct paths and handle imports for you.

Help us improve monorepo support

We're releasing monorepo support in the CLI as experimental. Help us improve it by testing it out and sending feedback.

If you have any questions, please reach out to us on GitHub Discussions.

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