Brainless: Shadcn components that look like Claude Code, Codex and Grok

Post by scoot » Wed, Jul 15, 2026, 10:59 PM UTC

benswerd wrote: post #6

tipiirai wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What are traditional components? How are untraditional better?

Think MUI, heroUI, traditional components have you install their package, import the component and configure it through arguments. ShadCN components have you copy the component code into your codebase, you own it. They come with the ability to configure arguments, but also because the code is yours its expected that you change the internal logic/styling/structure of the component. I believe in the era of AI code the…

Post by bbg2401 » Wed, Jul 15, 2026, 11:19 PM UTC

benswerd wrote: post #12

scoot wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> ShadCN components have you copy the component code into your codebase, you own it That’s a common misconception/myth/lie that doesn’t seem to want to go away even though Shadcn is more honest about it these days. You don’t own the compenents, and you don’t copy the component code into your codebase. The components are Base UI (and previously Radix) And they’re imported like any other. What you’re copying is a thin…

I think this is a misinterpretation. BaseUI provides baseline semantics that because the code is in your codebase you can choose to keep or remove. BaseUI is also actively unstyled/unopinionated, you use it to compose your own components, which again live in your codebase . When you import shadcn components you can rebuild them however you want, thats the point.

Post by nightski » Wed, Jul 15, 2026, 11:53 PM UTC

bbg2401 wrote: post #13

benswerd wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think this is a misinterpretation. BaseUI provides baseline semantics that because the code is in your codebase you can choose to keep or remove. BaseUI is also actively unstyled/unopinionated, you use it to compose your own components, which again live in your codebase . When you import shadcn components you can rebuild them however you want, thats the point.

> When you import shadcn components you can rebuild them however you want, thats the point. Why not use BaseUI directly?

Post by scoot » Thu, Jul 16, 2026, 12:27 AM UTC

benswerd wrote: post #12

scoot wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> ShadCN components have you copy the component code into your codebase, you own it That’s a common misconception/myth/lie that doesn’t seem to want to go away even though Shadcn is more honest about it these days. You don’t own the compenents, and you don’t copy the component code into your codebase. The components are Base UI (and previously Radix) And they’re imported like any other. What you’re copying is a thin…

I think this is a misinterpretation. BaseUI provides baseline semantics that because the code is in your codebase you can choose to keep or remove. BaseUI is also actively unstyled/unopinionated, you use it to compose your own components, which again live in your codebase . When you import shadcn components you can rebuild them however you want, thats the point.

Post by foxygen » Thu, Jul 16, 2026, 1:36 AM UTC

Exoristos wrote: post #16

On a barely-related note, I'm getting a little tired of job openings at startups that emphatically require Shadcn and Tailwind for dedicated frontend development. Shadcn and Tailwind are crutches for "fullstack" devs -- if I'm a really accomplished frontend developer, they make little sense for me to use and hamper what I can do for you. Just a peeve.