create-element

name

create-element

description

Create new UI elements for tryelements.dev registry. Use when: (1) Adding new UI components (buttons, inputs, cards), (2) Building integration components (Clerk, Stripe, Uploadthing), (3) Creating theme-related elements, (4) Any shadcn-style registry component. IMPORTANT: For logo components with variants (icon/wordmark/logo + dark/light), use the logo-with-variants skill instead. This skill includes scaffolding, registry schema, and component patterns. ALWAYS use Context7 MCP to fetch latest dependency docs before implementing.

Create Element

Creates new elements for the Elements registry (tryelements.dev).

Quick Start

Step 1: Scaffold
bun run .claude/skills/create-element/scripts/scaffold-element.ts <category> <name>

Step 2: Implement
Edit component following patterns in references/component-patterns.md

Step 3: Register
bun run build:registry && bun run dev

Context7 Integration (CRITICAL)

Before implementing any component with external dependencies, fetch the latest documentation:

Step 1: Resolve Library ID

mcp__context7__resolve-library-id
  libraryName: "radix-ui"
  query: "dialog component accessibility patterns"

Step 2: Query Specific Docs

mcp__context7__query-docs
  libraryId: "/radix-ui/primitives"
  query: "Dialog API controlled vs uncontrolled portal usage"

Common Libraries

Library	Query For
radix-ui	Primitives (Dialog, Dropdown, Tabs, Select)
next-themes	Theme provider, useTheme hook, hydration
cmdk	Command palette patterns
class-variance-authority	CVA variant patterns
embla-carousel-react	Carousel implementation
lucide-react	Icon usage patterns

Element Types

Type	Example	When to Use
registry:ui	button, card, input	Base UI primitives
registry:block	theme-switcher, polar-checkout	Feature-complete blocks
registry:example	button-demo	Usage examples

References

Read these based on what you're doing:

• references/registry-schema.md - When creating/editing registry-item.json
• references/component-patterns.md - When writing component code (CVA, cn(), data-slot)
• references/documentation.md - When creating MDX documentation

Directory Structure

registry/default/blocks/{category}/{component-name}/
├── registry-item.json          # Metadata
├── components/
│   └── elements/
│       └── {component}.tsx     # Main component
└── routes/                     # Optional demo routes
    ├── layout.tsx
    └── page.tsx

Workflow Example: Theme Switcher Tabs

1. Scaffold

bun run .claude/skills/create-element/scripts/scaffold-element.ts theme theme-switcher-tabs

2. Fetch Docs

mcp__context7__resolve-library-id
  libraryName: "next-themes"
  query: "useTheme hook theme switching"

mcp__context7__query-docs
  libraryId: "/pacocoursey/next-themes"
  query: "useTheme setTheme resolvedTheme hydration"

3. Implement

Edit registry/default/blocks/theme/theme-switcher-tabs/components/elements/theme-switcher-tabs.tsx:

"use client";

import { useTheme } from "next-themes";
import { useEffect, useState } from "react";
import { cn } from "@/lib/utils";

export function ThemeSwitcherTabs({ className }: { className?: string }) {
  const { theme, setTheme } = useTheme();
  const [mounted, setMounted] = useState(false);

  useEffect(() => { setMounted(true); }, []);

  if (!mounted) return <div className="h-8 w-24 animate-pulse bg-muted rounded" />;

  return (
    <div data-slot="theme-switcher-tabs" className={cn("...", className)}>
      {/* Implementation */}
    </div>
  );
}

4. Update registry-item.json

{
  "name": "theme-switcher-tabs",
  "type": "registry:ui",
  "title": "Theme Switcher Tabs",
  "description": "Tab-based theme switcher with Light/Dark/System options",
  "registryDependencies": [],
  "dependencies": ["next-themes"],
  "files": [...],
  "docs": "Requires ThemeProvider. Tab-style theme switcher with system support."
}

5. Build & Test

bun run build:registry
bun run dev

Verification Checklist

• registry-item.json has all required fields ($schema, name, type, title, description, files)
• Component exports PascalCase function (e.g., export function ThemeSwitcherTabs)
• Uses cn() for className merging
• Has data-slot attribute on root element
• Client components have "use client" directive
• Hydration-safe if using theme/client state
• bun run build:registry succeeds
• Component renders correctly in dev
• If new category: Provider grouping configured (see "Creating New Categories" section)

Commands

# Scaffold new element
bun run .claude/skills/create-element/scripts/scaffold-element.ts <category> <name>

# Build registry
bun run build:registry

# Development server
bun run dev

# Lint/format
bun run lint
bun run format

Common Patterns

Simple Component (No Dependencies)

import { cn } from "@/lib/utils";

interface BadgeProps extends React.ComponentProps<"span"> {}

export function Badge({ className, ...props }: BadgeProps) {
  return (
    <span
      data-slot="badge"
      className={cn("inline-flex items-center rounded-full px-2.5 py-0.5 text-xs font-semibold", className)}
      {...props}
    />
  );
}

With CVA Variants

import { cva, type VariantProps } from "class-variance-authority";
import { cn } from "@/lib/utils";

const badgeVariants = cva("inline-flex items-center rounded-full px-2.5 py-0.5 text-xs font-semibold", {
  variants: {
    variant: {
      default: "bg-primary text-primary-foreground",
      secondary: "bg-secondary text-secondary-foreground",
      destructive: "bg-destructive text-white",
    },
  },
  defaultVariants: {
    variant: "default",
  },
});

interface BadgeProps extends React.ComponentProps<"span">, VariantProps<typeof badgeVariants> {}

export function Badge({ className, variant, ...props }: BadgeProps) {
  return (
    <span
      data-slot="badge"
      className={cn(badgeVariants({ variant, className }))}
      {...props}
    />
  );
}

export { badgeVariants };

With External Dependency (Radix)

"use client";

import * as DialogPrimitive from "@radix-ui/react-dialog";
import { cn } from "@/lib/utils";

export function Dialog({ children, ...props }: DialogPrimitive.DialogProps) {
  return <DialogPrimitive.Root {...props}>{children}</DialogPrimitive.Root>;
}

export function DialogTrigger({ className, ...props }: DialogPrimitive.DialogTriggerProps) {
  return <DialogPrimitive.Trigger data-slot="dialog-trigger" className={cn("", className)} {...props} />;
}

Pitfalls to Avoid

• Don't forget "use client" for components using hooks
• Don't hardcode colors - use CSS variables (text-foreground, bg-background)
• Don't skip hydration handling for theme-dependent components
• Don't use any types - properly type props
• Don't forget to run build:registry after changes

Creating New Categories (Provider Grouping)

When creating a new category of components (not just a new component in an existing category), you must configure the provider system for proper landing page display. Otherwise, each component will appear as a separate "Coming Soon" card.

When This Applies

• Creating a new integration (e.g., charts/, payments/, analytics/)
• Adding multiple related components that should be grouped together
• The category doesn't exist in the current provider list

Two-File Setup Required

1. src/lib/registry-loader.ts

Add grouping logic in getProviderFromName() (~line 53):

// Special case: chart components go to "charts" provider
if (
  name === "area-chart" ||
  name === "bar-chart-vertical" ||
  name === "heatmap-grid" ||
  name === "growth-stats"
) {
  return "charts";
}

Add provider metadata in getProviderMetadata() (~line 156):

charts: {
  displayName: "Charts",
  description: "Data visualization primitives - area charts, heatmaps, bar charts",
  category: "DATA VIZ",
  brandColor: "#14B8A6",
},

2. src/lib/providers.tsx

Add provider config in providerConfig (~line 46):

charts: {
  isEnabled: true,
  displayName: "Charts",
  description: "Data visualization primitives - area charts, heatmaps, bar charts",
  category: "Data Viz",
},

Add provider icon in ProviderIcon() (~line 196):

charts: <ChartIcon className="w-10 h-10" />,

Create the icon at src/components/icons/{provider}.tsx if needed.

Provider Metadata Fields

Field	Example	Purpose
displayName	"Charts"	Landing page card title
description	"Data visualization..."	Card description
category	"DATA VIZ"	Badge shown on card
brandColor	"#14B8A6"	Diagonal hatch pattern color

Existing Providers (Reference)

Provider Key	Display Name	Category
clerk	Clerk	USER MGMT
polar	Polar	MONETIZATION
theme	Theme Switcher	UI
logos	Brand Logos	BRAND
uploadthing	UploadThing	FILES
tinte	Tinte	THEMING
charts	Charts	DATA VIZ

Naming Convention

The default extraction uses the first part before hyphen:

• clerk-sign-in → clerk
• polar-checkout → polar

Add special cases when:

• Components share a category but have different prefixes (e.g., area-chart, heatmap-grid)
• You want a custom provider name (e.g., theme-switcher-* → theme)

MDX Documentation Setup

New categories also need MDX documentation files for the docs pages to render properly:

1. Create Demo Components

For each component, create a demo in /registry/default/examples/{component}-demo.tsx:

"use client";

import { MyComponent } from "@/registry/default/blocks/{category}/{component}/components/elements/{component}";

export default function MyComponentDemo() {
  return (
    <div className="flex items-center justify-center p-4">
      <MyComponent />
    </div>
  );
}

2. Register in MDX Components

Add imports and mappings in /src/mdx-components.tsx:

// Add import
import MyComponentDemo from "@/registry/default/examples/my-component-demo";

// Add to getMDXComponents return object
MyComponent: MyComponentDemo,

3. Create Provider MDX

Create /src/content/providers/{provider}.mdx:

---
title: My Provider
description: Description of the category
category: CATEGORY TAG
brandColor: "#hexcolor"
---

## Overview

Brief description.

## Components

### Component Name

<ComponentPreviewItem
  componentKey="component-name"
  installUrl="@elements/component-name"
  category="Category"
  name="Component Name"
>
  <ComponentName />
</ComponentPreviewItem>

4. Create Component MDX Files

Create /src/content/components/{provider}/{component}.mdx for each component:

---
title: Component Name
description: Brief description
---

<ComponentPreviewItem
  componentKey="component-name"
  installUrl="@elements/component-name"
  category="Category"
  name="Component Name"
>
  <ComponentName />
</ComponentPreviewItem>

## Overview

## Installation

## Usage

## Props

## Features