potatocreating-modals

name	potato:creating-modals
description	Use when creating or modifying modal dialogs in the web-react application

Creating Modals in Potato Cannon

This skill documents the correct patterns for creating modal dialogs in the web-react application.

Base Components

All modals use the Radix UI-based Dialog components from @/components/ui/dialog:

import {
  Dialog,
  DialogContent,
  DialogDescription,
  DialogFooter,
  DialogHeader,
  DialogTitle,
} from "@/components/ui/dialog";

Theme Variables

The dialog component uses the project's theme variables by default:

• Background: bg-bg-secondary
• Border: border-border
• Title text: text-text-primary
• Description text: text-text-secondary

These are baked into the base DialogContent, DialogTitle, and DialogDescription components, so you typically don't need to override them.

Basic Modal Structure

<Dialog open={isOpen} onOpenChange={setIsOpen}>
  <DialogContent>
    <DialogHeader>
      <DialogTitle>Modal Title</DialogTitle>
      <DialogDescription>
        Description text explaining what this modal does.
      </DialogDescription>
    </DialogHeader>

    {/* Modal body content */}
    <div className="space-y-4 py-2">{/* Form fields, content, etc. */}</div>

    <DialogFooter>
      <Button variant="outline" onClick={() => setIsOpen(false)}>
        Cancel
      </Button>
      <Button onClick={handleSubmit}>Confirm</Button>
    </DialogFooter>
  </DialogContent>
</Dialog>

Confirmation Dialogs

For destructive actions, use a warning icon and destructive button variant:

import { AlertTriangle } from "lucide-react";

<Dialog open={showDeleteDialog} onOpenChange={setShowDeleteDialog}>
  <DialogContent>
    <DialogHeader>
      <DialogTitle className="flex items-center gap-2">
        <AlertTriangle className="h-5 w-5 text-accent-red" />
        Delete Item?
      </DialogTitle>
      <DialogDescription>
        Are you sure you want to delete this item? This action cannot be undone.
      </DialogDescription>
    </DialogHeader>
    <DialogFooter>
      <Button
        variant="outline"
        onClick={() => setShowDeleteDialog(false)}
        disabled={isDeleting}
      >
        Cancel
      </Button>
      <Button
        variant="destructive"
        onClick={handleDelete}
        disabled={isDeleting}
      >
        {isDeleting ? "Deleting..." : "Delete"}
      </Button>
    </DialogFooter>
  </DialogContent>
</Dialog>;

Form Modals

For modals with form inputs:

<Dialog open={isOpen} onOpenChange={(open) => !open && handleClose()}>
  <DialogContent className="sm:max-w-lg">
    <DialogHeader>
      <DialogTitle>Add Item</DialogTitle>
      <DialogDescription>
        Fill out the form below to add a new item.
      </DialogDescription>
    </DialogHeader>

    <div className="space-y-4 py-2">
      <div className="space-y-2">
        <label htmlFor="field-name" className="text-sm text-text-secondary">
          Field Label
        </label>
        <input
          id="field-name"
          type="text"
          value={value}
          onChange={(e) => setValue(e.target.value)}
          placeholder="Enter value"
          disabled={isSubmitting}
          className="w-full bg-bg-tertiary border border-border rounded-md px-3 py-2 text-sm text-text-primary placeholder:text-text-muted focus:outline-none focus:ring-2 focus:ring-accent"
        />
      </div>

      {error && <p className="text-sm text-accent-red">{error}</p>}
    </div>

    <DialogFooter>
      <Button variant="outline" onClick={handleClose} disabled={isSubmitting}>
        Cancel
      </Button>
      <Button onClick={handleSubmit} disabled={!isValid || isSubmitting}>
        {isSubmitting ? (
          <>
            <Loader2 className="h-4 w-4 mr-1 animate-spin" />
            Saving...
          </>
        ) : (
          "Save"
        )}
      </Button>
    </DialogFooter>
  </DialogContent>
</Dialog>

Input Styling

Use these classes for form inputs inside modals:

className =
  "w-full bg-bg-tertiary border border-border rounded-md px-3 py-2 text-sm text-text-primary placeholder:text-text-muted focus:outline-none focus:ring-2 focus:ring-accent";

Or use the Input component from @/components/ui/input if available.

State Management Patterns

Local state (simple modals)

const [showModal, setShowModal] = useState(false);

Global state (app-wide modals)

// In stores/appStore.ts
addProjectModalOpen: boolean
openAddProjectModal: () => void
closeAddProjectModal: () => void

// Usage
const isOpen = useAppStore((s) => s.addProjectModalOpen)
const closeModal = useAppStore((s) => s.closeAddProjectModal)

Checklist

When creating a modal:

• Import Dialog components from @/components/ui/dialog
• Use DialogContent (theme styles are built-in)
• Include DialogHeader with DialogTitle and DialogDescription
• Include DialogFooter with Cancel and primary action buttons
• Handle loading states with disabled prop on buttons
• Show loading indicator in submit button when processing
• Display error messages if submission fails
• Reset form state when modal closes
• Use variant="destructive" for dangerous actions
• Add warning icon for destructive confirmations