---
title: Direction
description: A provider component that sets the text direction for your application.
base: base
component: true
links:
  doc: https://base-ui.com/react/utils/direction-provider
  api: https://base-ui.com/react/utils/direction-provider#api-reference
---

The `DirectionProvider` component is used to set the text direction (`ltr` or `rtl`) for your application. This is essential for supporting right-to-left languages like Arabic, Hebrew, and Persian.

Here's a preview of the component in RTL mode. Use the language selector to switch the language. To see more examples, look for the RTL section on components pages.

<ComponentPreview
  styleName="base-nova"
  name="card-rtl"
  direction="rtl"
  previewClassName="h-auto"
  hideCode
/>

## Installation

<CodeTabs>

<TabsList>
  <TabsTrigger value="cli">Command</TabsTrigger>
  <TabsTrigger value="manual">Manual</TabsTrigger>
</TabsList>

<TabsContent value="cli">

```bash
npx shadcn@latest add direction
```

</TabsContent>

<TabsContent value="manual">

<Steps className="mb-0 pt-2">

<Step>Install the following dependencies:</Step>

```bash
npm install @base-ui/react
```

<Step>Copy and paste the following code into your project.</Step>

<ComponentSource
  name="direction"
  title="components/ui/direction.tsx"
  styleName="base-nova"
/>

<Step>Update the import paths to match your project setup.</Step>

</Steps>

</TabsContent>

</CodeTabs>

## Usage

```tsx showLineNumbers
import { DirectionProvider } from "@/components/ui/direction"
```

```tsx showLineNumbers
<html dir="rtl">
  <body>
    <DirectionProvider direction="rtl">
      {/* Your app content */}
    </DirectionProvider>
  </body>
</html>
```

## useDirection

The `useDirection` hook is used to get the current direction of the application.

```tsx showLineNumbers
import { useDirection } from "@/components/ui/direction"

function MyComponent() {
  const direction = useDirection()
  return <div>Current direction: {direction}</div>
}
```
