In the world of React development, developers often find themselves duplicating UI components like buttons, forms, modals, and charts. Sure, these elements are crucial, but the real challenge isn’t in building them—it’s in building them quickly, ensuring they’re customizable, and keeping them free of heavy dependencies.
That’s where Shadcn components come in. These components offer a new approach to UI development by enabling direct integration into your project rather than forcing you to use a large UI library that controls your styling. It’s a game changer for developers looking for simplicity, control, and flexibility.
So, why are Shadcn components so popular? Let’s dive into the details.
What Are Shadcn Components?
Shadcn components are pre-built, reusable React UI components that you can easily drop into your project. Rather than managing a large dependency, these components are designed for direct inclusion. You can copy-paste them into your codebase and customize everything: from the structure to the styles and behavior. No heavy frameworks, no restrictions—just complete flexibility.
They’re crafted with React and styled with Tailwind CSS, and they often rely on Radix UI or Base UI for accessibility features. The beauty of this approach is that it gives you full control over the UI, allowing you to scale and customize without constraints.
What’s So Great About Shadcn Components?
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Full Ownership: You control everything—no hidden dependencies.
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Tailwind-First Styling: Easily integrate with your Tailwind-based projects.
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Predictable Accessibility: Built-in features that ensure accessible interactions.
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Customizable Code: Quickly tweak components without waiting for library updates.
Before You Begin: Developer Implementation Checklist
Before diving into Shadcn, make sure your project is ready for these components:
Developer Setup
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React v18 or Next.js project
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TypeScript enabled
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Tailwind CSS configured
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CLI initialized
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API/state management connection
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Test keyboard accessibility
Production Validation
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Verify responsiveness on different screen sizes
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Test performance of animations
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Optimize bundle size
Tech Stack Behind Shadcn Components
Shadcn components follow a consistent and lightweight tech stack to make sure they're easy to integrate into existing React projects. Here's the breakdown:
| Layer | Technology |
|---|---|
| UI Framework | React / Next.js |
| Language | TypeScript |
| Styling | Tailwind CSS |
| Accessibility | Base UI / Radix UI |
| Animations | CSS / Motion libraries |
Installing Shadcn Components Using CLI
Installing these components couldn’t be easier. The Shadcn CLI simplifies the entire process and helps you install individual components directly into your project. You can use pnpm, npm, yarn, or bun, depending on your package manager of choice.
Steps to Install:
- Initialize the Project:
Run this command to set up your project with all the required dependencies:
pnpm dlx shadcn@latest init
If you’re using another package manager:
npx shadcn@latest init
yarn dlx shadcn@latest init
bunx shadcn@latest init
2. Add a Specific Component:
To add a component like a button, just use the CLI:
pnpm dlx shadcn@latest add button
Other package manager commands:
npx shadcn@latest add button
yarn dlx shadcn@latest add button
bunx shadcn@latest add button
3. Customize Your Component:
After installation, you can tailor the component to match your design with Tailwind CSS or change the logic as needed.
30+ Shadcn UI Components to Level Up Your React Project
1. Marquee Component
The Marquee component creates a smoothly scrolling, infinite loop of content, such as logos or announcements. It is ideal for adding dynamic, moving elements to otherwise static sections of your site. Easily customizable with Tailwind CSS.
Use Cases:
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Displaying partner/client logos
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Scrolling product announcements or updates
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Product feature highlights
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Tech stack showcase
Best for: Continuously displaying content in a compact animated section.
2. Animated Text Component
The Animated Text component adds motion effects to your typography, such as typing, shimmer, gradient, or rolling animations. It’s designed to keep animations lightweight while ensuring accessibility.
Use Cases:
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Hero section headlines
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Interactive landing page slogans
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Loading or system messages
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Animated calls-to-action
Best for: Dynamic headings and attention-grabbing typography.
3. Form Wizard Component
The Form Wizard component breaks up large, complex forms into manageable steps. This is perfect for improving user experience during multi-step registration, checkout, or survey forms.
Use Cases:
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Onboarding flows
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Registration processes
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Checkout steps
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Multi-step surveys
Best for: Managing large forms in structured steps.
4. Calendar Component
This Calendar component provides a fully interactive date picker with support for single, multiple, or range date selections. It’s perfect for applications requiring date-based workflows, like booking or scheduling systems.
Use Cases:
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Booking systems
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Event scheduling
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Project timelines
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Date filtering in dashboards
Best for: Applications that require structured date input and scheduling workflows.
5. Apple Dock Component
The Apple Dock component replicates the interactive dock effect found in macOS. Icons scale and move when hovered, providing a visually engaging way to display navigation or actions.
Use Cases:
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Portfolio navigation
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Interactive feature navigation
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Product showcase menus
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Creative landing pages
Best for: Creating highly interactive icon-based navigation.
6. Progressbar Component
The Progressbar component visually represents the progress of tasks or processes, helping users track the completion status of a task (e.g., uploads, installations).
Use Cases:
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File upload progress
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Onboarding progress
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Installation steps
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Background processing
Best for: Showing task completion or progress.
7. Animated List Component
The Animated List component progressively renders list items with fade, slide, or staggered transitions. This creates a polished user experience and is especially useful when displaying dynamic data.
Use Cases:
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Notification feeds
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Chat messages
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Activity timelines
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Dashboard updates
Best for: Progressively rendering dynamic lists in dashboards and feeds.
8. Breadcrumb Component
The Breadcrumb component displays a navigational path showing where the user is within the app’s hierarchy. It helps users easily backtrack or move between sections.
Use Cases:
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Documentation navigation
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Admin dashboards
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E-commerce category pages
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CMS interfaces
Best for: Showing navigation hierarchy for better clarity.
9. Orbiting Circles Component
The Orbiting Circles component creates a circular animation where elements revolve around a central point. It is often used to represent relationships between different items.
Use Cases:
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Product ecosystem visualization
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Technology stack display
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Feature highlight sections
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Portfolio skill visualization
Best for: Visually representing connected entities around a central concept.
10. Badge Component
The Badge component is a small visual indicator often used for statuses, counts, or labels. It’s lightweight but highly effective for showing metadata attached to other UI elements.
Use Cases:
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Notification counters
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Status indicators
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Tags or labels
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Feature flags
Best for: Displaying compact metadata attached to interface elements.
11. Skeleton Component
The Skeleton component is a placeholder UI that mimics the final layout while content loads, improving perceived performance by reducing layout shifts.
Use Cases:
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API loading states
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Dashboard initialization
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Feed loading placeholders
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Profile page loading
Best for: Improving loading state performance.
12. Button Component
Buttons are one of the most used UI elements in web applications. The Button component allows for multiple variants like primary, secondary, outline, or icon buttons, all with accessibility features built in.
Use Cases:
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Form submissions
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Modal triggers
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Navigation actions
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API request triggers
Best for: Triggering core interactions across your application.
13. Input Component
The Input component helps capture structured user data, such as in forms and search fields. It supports various validation states, placeholders, and is easily customizable for real-time validation.
Use Cases:
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Login forms
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Search fields
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Profile editing
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Data filtering
Best for: Collecting user input in forms and search interfaces.
14. Pie Chart Component
The Pie Chart component helps visualize proportional data using circular segments. It’s widely used in analytics dashboards for displaying percentages and distributions.
Use Cases:
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Sales distribution
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User demographics
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Traffic sources
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Performance metrics
Best for: Visualizing percentage-based data in analytics.
15. File Upload Component
The File Upload component enables users to select and upload files. It typically includes file previews, progress tracking, and validation features.
Use Cases:
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Document uploads
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Image galleries
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Profile photo updates
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Dataset imports
Best for: Handling file selection and uploads within forms.
16. Avatar Component
Avatars are used to represent users with profile pictures or initials. The Avatar component supports fallback states for when images fail to load and can be used to group multiple avatars.
Use Cases:
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User profile images
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Chat participants
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Team member lists
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Collaboration apps
Best for: Representing users visually in your app.
17. Repeater Form Component
The Repeater Form component allows users to dynamically add or remove repeating form sections, which makes handling multiple entries easy.
Use Cases:
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Adding multiple addresses
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Invoice item lists
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Dynamic survey responses
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Project task entries
Best for: Dynamic forms that require multiple entries.
18. Tabs Component
Tabs help organize content into separate views within the same page. The Tabs component makes it easy to switch between multiple panels of related content.
Use Cases:
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Dashboard sections
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Account settings
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Analytics dashboards
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Feature configuration panels
Best for: Switching between multiple views within the same page.
19. Accordion Component
The Accordion component allows for expanding and collapsing content panels, reducing clutter and making it easier to navigate long pages.
Use Cases:
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FAQ sections
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Documentation navigation
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Settings panels
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Product specifications
Best for: Revealing structured content progressively.
20. Shine Border Component
The Shine Border component adds a subtle, animated light reflection effect around UI elements like cards or buttons. This effect draws attention to important items without overwhelming the design.
Use Cases:
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Feature highlights
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Pricing cards
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Call-to-action buttons
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Product cards
Best for: Visually emphasizing important UI elements.
21. Number Ticker Component
The Number Ticker component animates numbers as they increment toward a target value. It’s ideal for displaying statistics or metrics that change over time.
Use Cases:
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KPI metrics
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User counters
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Revenue displays
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Analytics statistics
Best for: Animating numeric metrics and statistics.
22. Checkbox Component
The Checkbox component allows users to select multiple options from a list. It supports different states like checked, unchecked, and indeterminate.
Use Cases:
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Task lists
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Permission management
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Feature toggles
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Filter selections
Best for: Multi-selection input fields.
23. Date Picker Component
The Date Picker combines a calendar interface with input fields for selecting single dates, multiple dates, or ranges.
Use Cases:
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Booking platforms
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Appointment scheduling
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Reporting filters
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Project deadlines
Best for: Selecting dates in forms.
24. Card Component
The Card component helps organize related content and actions within a container. Cards are ideal for building modular layouts in dashboards or product listings.
Use Cases:
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Product listings
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Dashboard widgets
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Blog previews
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Feature highlights
Best for: Modular content blocks in UI.
25. Tooltip Component
The Tooltip component shows additional contextual information when a user hovers over an element. It helps clarify information without cluttering the UI.
Use Cases:
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Icon explanations
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Form guidance
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Feature descriptions
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Shortcut instructions
Best for: Providing additional information without interrupting the user flow.
26. Spinning Text Component
The Spinning Text component displays text that rotates along a circular path, adding a dynamic effect for landing pages or branding elements.
Use Cases:
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Landing page animations
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Brand slogans
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Hero animations
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Portfolio design
Best for: Decorative animated typography.
27. Button Group Component
The Button Group component organizes related actions into a single UI element. It helps maintain layout consistency and improves user interactions.
Use Cases:
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Filter selections
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Toolbar controls
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Segmented navigation
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Formatting tools
Best for: Grouping related actions compactly.
28. Select Component
The Select component allows users to choose a single option from a dropdown menu, with support for search, custom options, and grouped selections.
Use Cases:
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Country selection
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Category filters
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Language selection
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Dataset filters
Best for: Selecting a single option from predefined lists.
29. Textarea Component
The Textarea component captures multi-line text input, such as in feedback forms or messaging systems. It supports auto-resizing and validation rules.
Use Cases:
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Feedback forms
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Support tickets
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Comment sections
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Messaging systems
Best for: Capturing longer text inputs.
30. Switch Component
The Switch component provides a toggle interface for binary states, making it a more intuitive alternative to traditional checkboxes.
Use Cases:
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Dark mode toggles
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Feature enable/disable
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Privacy settings
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Notification preferences
Best for: Toggling binary settings.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How do developers install these components?
Instead of installing a large library, you directly copy and paste the component’s source code into your project, giving you full flexibility for customization.
2. Why use Base UI or Radix UI primitives?
These UI primitives offer accessibility features like proper ARIA attributes and keyboard navigation, ensuring your app is accessible while still providing full control over styling.
3. Do Shadcn components support accessibility?
Absolutely! Every component comes with built-in accessibility support. From ARIA attributes to keyboard navigation and focus management, Shadcn ensures your app is compatible with screen readers and assistive technologies.
Final Thoughts
The Shadcn components approach is a game-changer for developers. Instead of dealing with restrictive UI libraries, you get to pick and choose the components you need, integrate them directly into your project, and fully customize them to your heart’s content. This flexibility is key to building modern, responsive, and accessible UIs without unnecessary overhead.
If you're working on dashboards, SaaS platforms, or any interactive UI-heavy application, Shadcn’s approach provides the perfect balance between control and productivity.
