---
title: Installation
description: How to install dependencies and structure your app.
---

<Alert>
  <AlertDescription>

    **Prerequisites**: Components are styled using [Tailwind
    CSS](https://tailwindcss.com). You need to install Tailwind CSS in your
    project. Follow the [Tailwind CSS installation instructions](https://tailwindcss.com/docs/installation) to get started.

  </AlertDescription>
  
</Alert>

## New Project

Run the following command to create a new Next.js project using the `next-template` template:

```bash
npx create-next-app -e https://github.com/shadcn/next-template
```

This creates a new Next.js 13 project with the following features:

- [Next.js App directory](https://nextjs.org)
- [Tailwind CSS](https://tailwindcss.com)
- [TypeScript](https://www.typescriptlang.org)
- [ESLint](https://eslint.org)
- [Prettier](https://prettier.io)

## create-next-app

If you have created a project using `create-next-app`, you can use the `shadcn-ui` CLI to initialize the project.

<Steps>

### Create a new project

```bash
npx create-next-app my-app
```

### Run the CLI

```bash
npx shadcn-ui init
```

This will install dependencies, setup Tailwind CSS, and configure the `cn` utils for you.

</Steps>

## Manual Installation

<Steps>

### Add dependencies

Add the following dependencies to your project:

```bash
npm install tailwindcss-animate class-variance-authority clsx tailwind-merge lucide-react
```

### Path Aliases

I use the `@` alias to make it easier to import components. This is how I configure it in `tsconfig.json`:

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

If you use a different alias such as `~`, you'll need to update `import` statements when adding components.

### Configure tailwind.config.js

Here's what my `tailwind.config.js` file looks like:

```js title="tailwind.config.js"
const { fontFamily } = require("tailwindcss/defaultTheme")

/** @type {import('tailwindcss').Config} */
module.exports = {
  darkMode: ["class"],
  content: ["app/**/*.{ts,tsx}", "components/**/*.{ts,tsx}"],
  theme: {
    container: {
      center: true,
      padding: "2rem",
      screens: {
        "2xl": "1400px",
      },
    },
    extend: {
      colors: {
        border: "hsl(var(--border))",
        input: "hsl(var(--input))",
        ring: "hsl(var(--ring))",
        background: "hsl(var(--background))",
        foreground: "hsl(var(--foreground))",
        primary: {
          DEFAULT: "hsl(var(--primary))",
          foreground: "hsl(var(--primary-foreground))",
        },
        secondary: {
          DEFAULT: "hsl(var(--secondary))",
          foreground: "hsl(var(--secondary-foreground))",
        },
        destructive: {
          DEFAULT: "hsl(var(--destructive))",
          foreground: "hsl(var(--destructive-foreground))",
        },
        muted: {
          DEFAULT: "hsl(var(--muted))",
          foreground: "hsl(var(--muted-foreground))",
        },
        accent: {
          DEFAULT: "hsl(var(--accent))",
          foreground: "hsl(var(--accent-foreground))",
        },
        popover: {
          DEFAULT: "hsl(var(--popover))",
          foreground: "hsl(var(--popover-foreground))",
        },
        card: {
          DEFAULT: "hsl(var(--card))",
          foreground: "hsl(var(--card-foreground))",
        },
      },
      borderRadius: {
        lg: `var(--radius)`,
        md: `calc(var(--radius) - 2px)`,
        sm: "calc(var(--radius) - 4px)",
      },
      fontFamily: {
        sans: ["var(--font-sans)", ...fontFamily.sans],
      },
      keyframes: {
        "accordion-down": {
          from: { height: 0 },
          to: { height: "var(--radix-accordion-content-height)" },
        },
        "accordion-up": {
          from: { height: "var(--radix-accordion-content-height)" },
          to: { height: 0 },
        },
      },
      animation: {
        "accordion-down": "accordion-down 0.2s ease-out",
        "accordion-up": "accordion-up 0.2s ease-out",
      },
    },
  },
  plugins: [require("tailwindcss-animate")],
}
```

### Configure styles

Add the following to your `styles/globals.css` file. You can learn more about using CSS variables for theming in the [theming section](/docs/theming).

```css title="styles/globals.css"
@tailwind base;
@tailwind components;
@tailwind utilities;

@layer base {
  :root {
    --background: 0 0% 100%;
    --foreground: 222.2 47.4% 11.2%;

    --muted: 210 40% 96.1%;
    --muted-foreground: 215.4 16.3% 46.9%;

    --popover: 0 0% 100%;
    --popover-foreground: 222.2 47.4% 11.2%;

    --card: 0 0% 100%;
    --card-foreground: 222.2 47.4% 11.2%;

    --border: 214.3 31.8% 91.4%;
    --input: 214.3 31.8% 91.4%;

    --primary: 222.2 47.4% 11.2%;
    --primary-foreground: 210 40% 98%;

    --secondary: 210 40% 96.1%;
    --secondary-foreground: 222.2 47.4% 11.2%;

    --accent: 210 40% 96.1%;
    --accent-foreground: 222.2 47.4% 11.2%;

    --destructive: 0 100% 50%;
    --destructive-foreground: 210 40% 98%;

    --ring: 215 20.2% 65.1%;

    --radius: 0.5rem;
  }

  .dark {
    --background: 224 71% 4%;
    --foreground: 213 31% 91%;

    --muted: 223 47% 11%;
    --muted-foreground: 215.4 16.3% 56.9%;

    --popover: 224 71% 4%;
    --popover-foreground: 215 20.2% 65.1%;

    --card: 0 0% 100%;
    --card-foreground: 222.2 47.4% 11.2%;

    --border: 216 34% 17%;
    --input: 216 34% 17%;

    --primary: 210 40% 98%;
    --primary-foreground: 222.2 47.4% 1.2%;

    --secondary: 222.2 47.4% 11.2%;
    --secondary-foreground: 210 40% 98%;

    --accent: 216 34% 17%;
    --accent-foreground: 210 40% 98%;

    --destructive: 0 63% 31%;
    --destructive-foreground: 210 40% 98%;

    --ring: 216 34% 17%;

    --radius: 0.5rem;
  }
}

@layer base {
  * {
    @apply border-border;
  }
  body {
    @apply bg-background text-foreground;
    font-feature-settings: "rlig" 1, "calt" 1;
  }
}
```

### Add a cn helper

I use a `cn` helper to make it easier to conditionally add Tailwind CSS classes. Here's how I define it in `lib/utils.ts`:

```ts title="lib/utils.ts"
import { clsx, type ClassValue } from "clsx"
import { twMerge } from "tailwind-merge"

export function cn(...inputs: ClassValue[]) {
  return twMerge(clsx(inputs))
}
```

</Steps>

## Icons

I use icons from [Lucide](https://lucide.dev). You can use any icon library.

## App structure

Here's how I structure my app. I use Next.js, but this is not required.

```txt {6-10,14-15}
.
├── app
│   ├── layout.tsx
│   └── page.tsx
├── components
│   ├── ui
│   │   ├── alert-dialog.tsx
│   │   ├── button.tsx
│   │   ├── dropdown-menu.tsx
│   │   └── ...
│   ├── main-nav.tsx
│   ├── page-header.tsx
│   └── ...
├── lib
│   └── utils.ts
├── styles
│   └── globals.css
├── next.config.js
├── package.json
├── postcss.config.js
├── tailwind.config.js
└── tsconfig.json
```

- I place the UI components in the `components/ui` folder.
- The rest of the components such as `<PageHeader />` and `<MainNav />` are placed in the `components` folder.
- The `lib` folder contains all the utility functions. I have a `utils.ts` where I define the `cn` helper.
- The `styles` folder contains the global CSS.

That's it. You can now start adding components to your project.