tamagui-v2

name

tamagui-v2

description

Universal React UI framework for web and native (v1.144.0+). Use when building cross-platform apps with React Native + Web, creating styled components with `styled()`, configuring design tokens/themes, using Tamagui UI components (Button, Dialog, Sheet, Input, Select, Tabs, etc.), working with animations, or needing Bento/Takeout premium components. Triggers: "tamagui", "universal UI", "react native web", "styled()", "design tokens", "$token", "XStack/YStack/ZStack", "useTheme", "useMedia", "@tamagui/*" imports, "bento", "takeout", "one.js router", "createStyledContext", "withStaticProperties", "@tanstack/react-table", "zero sync", "better auth".

Tamagui v2 Skill

Universal React UI framework for web and native (v1.144.0+)

This skill provides comprehensive guidance for building cross-platform React applications using Tamagui's styling system, component library, Bento premium components, and Takeout starter kit.

---

Overview

Tamagui is a universal UI framework that lets you write once and deploy to both web and React Native with optimal performance. It features:

• Unified styling API - styled() function with design tokens, variants, and responsive patterns
• Optimizing compiler - Extracts styles to atomic CSS at build time for maximum performance
• Theme system - 12-step color scales with automatic light/dark mode support
• Cross-platform components - Button, Dialog, Sheet, Input, Select, Tabs, and more
• Premium ecosystem - Bento (production forms, tables, lists) + Takeout (full-stack starter with routing, auth, database, real-time sync)

Version: 1.144.0+
Platforms: Web (React), iOS/Android (React Native), Expo
License: Open source (MIT) + Bento/Takeout (commercial licenses)

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When to Use This Skill

Activate this skill when encountering these triggers:

Core Framework

• "tamagui", "universal UI", "react native web", "cross-platform UI"
• "styled()", "design tokens", "$token", "theme tokens"
• "XStack", "YStack", "ZStack", "Stack components"
• "useTheme", "useMedia", "responsive design"
• "@tamagui/*" imports, "@tamagui/core"
• "createStyledContext", "withStaticProperties"
• "variant", "variants", "defaultVariants"

Bento Components

• "bento", "@tamagui/bento", "bento components"
• "React Hook Form", "react-hook-form", "form validation"
• "Zod", "zod validation", "form schema"
• "TanStack Table", "@tanstack/react-table", "data table"
• "virtualized list", "FlatList", "masonry layout"

Takeout Starter

• "takeout", "tamagui takeout", "one.js"
• "file-based routing", "one router", "SSG", "SSR"
• "Better Auth", "authentication", "OAuth"
• "Drizzle ORM", "database", "PostgreSQL"
• "Zero Sync", "real-time sync", "offline-first"

Platform-Specific

• "animation driver", "CSS animations", "Reanimated"
• "compiler optimization", "static extraction", "bundle size"
• "web-only", "native-only", "platform-specific"

---

Quick Start Patterns

1. Basic Styling with styled()

Create custom components by extending existing ones:

import { View, Text, styled } from '@tamagui/core'

// Simple styled component
export const Card = styled(View, {
  padding: '$4',
  backgroundColor: '$background',
  borderRadius: '$4',
  borderWidth: 1,
  borderColor: '$borderColor',
})

// With variants
export const Button = styled(View, {
  padding: '$3',
  borderRadius: '$2',
  backgroundColor: '$blue10',
  cursor: 'pointer',
  
  variants: {
    variant: {
      primary: {
        backgroundColor: '$blue10',
      },
      secondary: {
        backgroundColor: '$gray5',
      },
      outlined: {
        backgroundColor: 'transparent',
        borderWidth: 1,
        borderColor: '$borderColor',
      },
    },
    size: {
      small: { padding: '$2' },
      medium: { padding: '$3' },
      large: { padding: '$4' },
    },
  } as const,
  
  defaultVariants: {
    variant: 'primary',
    size: 'medium',
  },
})

// Usage
<Button variant="outlined" size="large">Click Me</Button>

2. Core Layout Components

Stacks are the foundation of Tamagui layouts:

import { XStack, YStack, ZStack, Text, Button } from 'tamagui'

export function LayoutExample() {
  return (
    <YStack gap="$4" padding="$4">
      {/* Horizontal stack */}
      <XStack gap="$2" justifyContent="space-between" alignItems="center">
        <Text>Label</Text>
        <Button>Action</Button>
      </XStack>
      
      {/* Vertical stack with responsive gap */}
      <YStack 
        gap="$4"
        $gtSm={{ gap: '$6' }}  // Larger gap on small+ screens
      >
        <Card>Item 1</Card>
        <Card>Item 2</Card>
      </YStack>
      
      {/* Overlay stack (position: relative) */}
      <ZStack width={300} height={200}>
        <View backgroundColor="$blue5" fullscreen />
        <Text position="absolute" top="$4" left="$4">
          Overlay Text
        </Text>
      </ZStack>
    </YStack>
  )
}

3. Using Design Tokens

Design tokens provide consistent values across your app:

import { View, Text, createTamagui } from '@tamagui/core'

// Tokens are defined in createTamagui config
const config = createTamagui({
  tokens: {
    color: {
      white: '#fff',
      black: '#000',
      blue: '#0066cc',
    },
    space: {
      1: 4,
      2: 8,
      3: 12,
      4: 16,
    },
    size: {
      sm: 100,
      md: 200,
      lg: 300,
    },
    radius: {
      1: 4,
      2: 8,
      3: 12,
      4: 16,
    },
  },
})

// Use tokens with $ prefix
<View 
  padding="$4"           // Uses space.4 = 16px
  backgroundColor="$blue" // Uses color.blue
  borderRadius="$3"      // Uses radius.3 = 12px
  width="$md"            // Uses size.md = 200px
/>

// Tokens work in styled()
const StyledCard = styled(View, {
  padding: '$4',
  margin: '$2',
  backgroundColor: '$background',
  borderRadius: '$4',
})

4. Theming with 12-Step Color Scales

Tamagui uses a semantic color scale system (1-12) for consistent theming:

import { YStack, Text, Theme } from 'tamagui'

export function ThemeExample() {
  return (
    <YStack 
      backgroundColor="$color1"  // Subtle background
      borderColor="$color6"      // Regular border
      padding="$4"
    >
      <Text color="$color12">Heading (highest contrast)</Text>
      <Text color="$color11">Body text (high contrast)</Text>
      <Text color="$color10">Muted text (low contrast)</Text>
      
      {/* Apply sub-theme */}
      <Theme name="blue">
        <YStack 
          backgroundColor="$color9"  // Blue solid background
          padding="$3"
          borderRadius="$2"
        >
          <Text color="$color1">White text on blue</Text>
        </Theme>
      </YStack>
    </YStack>
  )
}

// Dynamic theme switching
import { useTheme } from '@tamagui/core'

export function ThemedComponent() {
  const theme = useTheme()
  
  // Access theme values directly
  console.log(theme.background.val) // e.g., "#ffffff"
  console.log(theme.color11.val)    // e.g., "#333333"
  
  return <Text color={theme.color11}>Themed Text</Text>
}

5. Responsive Design with Media Queries

Use media query props for responsive layouts:

import { YStack, Text, useMedia } from 'tamagui'

export function ResponsiveExample() {
  const media = useMedia()
  
  return (
    <YStack
      padding="$4"
      $gtSm={{ padding: '$6' }}     // > sm breakpoint
      $gtMd={{ padding: '$8' }}     // > md breakpoint
      flexDirection="column"
      $gtLg={{ flexDirection: 'row' }}  // Row layout on large screens
    >
      <Text
        fontSize="$4"
        $gtSm={{ fontSize: '$5' }}
        $gtMd={{ fontSize: '$6' }}
      >
        Responsive Text
      </Text>
      
      {/* Conditional rendering based on media query */}
      {media.gtMd && <Text>Only on medium+ screens</Text>}
    </YStack>
  )
}

// Configure media queries in createTamagui
const config = createTamagui({
  media: {
    xs: { maxWidth: 660 },
    sm: { maxWidth: 800 },
    md: { maxWidth: 1020 },
    lg: { maxWidth: 1280 },
    xl: { maxWidth: 1420 },
    xxl: { maxWidth: 1600 },
    gtXs: { minWidth: 660 + 1 },
    gtSm: { minWidth: 800 + 1 },
    gtMd: { minWidth: 1020 + 1 },
    gtLg: { minWidth: 1280 + 1 },
  },
})

6. Animations with enterStyle/exitStyle

Add smooth animations to any component:

import { YStack, Button, AnimatePresence } from 'tamagui'
import { useState } from 'react'

export function AnimationExample() {
  const [show, setShow] = useState(false)
  
  return (
    <YStack gap="$4">
      <Button onPress={() => setShow(!show)}>
        Toggle
      </Button>
      
      <AnimatePresence>
        {show && (
          <YStack
            key="animated-box"
            animation="quick"
            enterStyle={{ 
              opacity: 0, 
              y: -20,
              scale: 0.9,
            }}
            exitStyle={{ 
              opacity: 0,
              y: 20,
              scale: 0.9,
            }}
            opacity={1}
            y={0}
            scale={1}
            backgroundColor="$blue5"
            padding="$4"
            borderRadius="$4"
          >
            <Text>Animated Content</Text>
          </YStack>
        )}
      </AnimatePresence>
    </YStack>
  )
}

// Define animations in createTamagui
import { createAnimations } from '@tamagui/animations-react-native'

const animations = createAnimations({
  quick: {
    type: 'spring',
    damping: 20,
    mass: 1.2,
    stiffness: 250,
  },
  bouncy: {
    type: 'spring',
    damping: 10,
    mass: 0.9,
    stiffness: 100,
  },
})

7. Compound Components with createStyledContext

Build cohesive component families:

import { createStyledContext, styled, View, Text } from '@tamagui/core'
import { withStaticProperties } from '@tamagui/helpers'

// Define context
const CardContext = createStyledContext({
  size: '$4' as any,
})

// Create base component
const CardFrame = styled(View, {
  backgroundColor: '$background',
  borderRadius: '$4',
  borderWidth: 1,
  borderColor: '$borderColor',
  
  context: CardContext,
  
  variants: {
    size: {
      small: { padding: '$3' },
      medium: { padding: '$4' },
      large: { padding: '$6' },
    },
  } as const,
})

// Create child components that consume context
const CardTitle = styled(Text, {
  context: CardContext,
  fontWeight: 'bold',
  
  variants: {
    size: {
      small: { fontSize: '$4' },
      medium: { fontSize: '$5' },
      large: { fontSize: '$6' },
    },
  } as const,
})

const CardDescription = styled(Text, {
  context: CardContext,
  color: '$color11',
  
  variants: {
    size: {
      small: { fontSize: '$3' },
      medium: { fontSize: '$4' },
      large: { fontSize: '$5' },
    },
  } as const,
})

// Compose with static properties
export const Card = withStaticProperties(CardFrame, {
  Title: CardTitle,
  Description: CardDescription,
})

// Usage - size cascades to all children
<Card size="large">