MUI Patterns

Purpose

Material-UI patterns for component usage, styling with sx prop, theme integration, and responsive design. This skill supports MUI v5, v6, and v7.

Version Detection

Before applying patterns, check the project's MUI version:

grep '"@mui/material"' package.json

Then apply version-specific guidance:

• v5.x: See v5-notes.md for v5-specific patterns
• v7.x: See v7-changes.md for v7 breaking changes
• v6.x: Use v7 patterns (most are compatible)

When to Use This Skill

• Styling components with MUI sx prop
• Using MUI components (Box, Grid, Paper, Typography, etc.)
• Theme customization and usage
• Responsive design with MUI breakpoints
• MUI-specific utilities and hooks

---

Quick Start

Basic MUI Component

import { Box, Typography, Button, Paper } from '@mui/material';
import type { SxProps, Theme } from '@mui/material';

const styles: Record<string, SxProps<Theme>> = {
  container: {
    p: 2,
    display: 'flex',
    flexDirection: 'column',
    gap: 2,
  },
  header: {
    mb: 3,
    fontSize: '1.5rem',
    fontWeight: 600,
  },
};

function MyComponent() {
  return (
    <Paper sx={styles.container}>
      <Typography sx={styles.header}>
        Title
      </Typography>
      <Button variant="contained">
        Action
      </Button>
    </Paper>
  );
}

---

Styling Patterns

Inline Styles (< 100 lines)

For components with simple styling, define styles at the top:

import type { SxProps, Theme } from '@mui/material';

const componentStyles: Record<string, SxProps<Theme>> = {
  container: {
    p: 2,
    display: 'flex',
    flexDirection: 'column',
  },
  header: {
    mb: 2,
    color: 'primary.main',
  },
  button: {
    mt: 'auto',
    alignSelf: 'flex-end',
  },
};

function Component() {
  return (
    <Box sx={componentStyles.container}>
      <Typography sx={componentStyles.header}>Header</Typography>
      <Button sx={componentStyles.button}>Action</Button>
    </Box>
  );
}

Separate Styles File (>= 100 lines)

For complex components, create separate style file:

// UserProfile.styles.ts
import type { SxProps, Theme } from '@mui/material';

export const userProfileStyles: Record<string, SxProps<Theme>> = {
  container: {
    p: 3,
    maxWidth: 800,
    mx: 'auto',
  },
  header: {
    display: 'flex',
    justifyContent: 'space-between',
    alignItems: 'center',
    mb: 3,
  },
  // ... many more styles
};

// UserProfile.tsx
import { userProfileStyles as styles } from './UserProfile.styles';

function UserProfile() {
  return <Box sx={styles.container}>...</Box>;
}

---

Common Components

Layout Components

// Box - Generic container
<Box sx={{ p: 2, bgcolor: 'background.paper' }}>
  Content
</Box>

// Paper - Elevated surface
<Paper elevation={2} sx={{ p: 3 }}>
  Content
</Paper>

// Container - Centered content with max-width
<Container maxWidth="lg">
  Content
</Container>

// Stack - Flex container with spacing
<Stack spacing={2} direction="row">
  <Item />
  <Item />
</Stack>

Grid System

Note: Grid API differs by version. See version-specific notes.

import { Grid } from '@mui/material';

// v5/v6: Use container + item pattern
<Grid container spacing={2}>
  <Grid item xs={12} md={6}>
    Left half
  </Grid>
  <Grid item xs={12} md={6}>
    Right half
  </Grid>
</Grid>

// v7: Grid2 is now stable, item prop removed
import Grid from '@mui/material/Grid2';

<Grid container spacing={2}>
  <Grid xs={12} md={6}>
    Left half
  </Grid>
  <Grid xs={12} md={6}>
    Right half
  </Grid>
</Grid>

Typography

<Typography variant="h1">Heading 1</Typography>
<Typography variant="h2">Heading 2</Typography>
<Typography variant="body1">Body text</Typography>
<Typography variant="caption">Small text</Typography>

// With custom styling
<Typography
  variant="h4"
  sx={{
    color: 'primary.main',
    fontWeight: 600,
    mb: 2,
  }}
>
  Custom Heading
</Typography>

Buttons

// Variants
<Button variant="contained">Contained</Button>
<Button variant="outlined">Outlined</Button>
<Button variant="text">Text</Button>

// Colors
<Button variant="contained" color="primary">Primary</Button>
<Button variant="contained" color="secondary">Secondary</Button>
<Button variant="contained" color="error">Error</Button>

// With icons
import { Add as AddIcon } from '@mui/icons-material';

<Button startIcon={<AddIcon />}>Add Item</Button>

---

Theme Integration

Using Theme Values

import { useTheme } from '@mui/material';

function Component() {
  const theme = useTheme();

  return (
    <Box
      sx={{
        p: 2,
        bgcolor: theme.palette.primary.main,
        color: theme.palette.primary.contrastText,
        borderRadius: theme.shape.borderRadius,
      }}
    >
      Themed box
    </Box>
  );
}

Theme in sx Prop

<Box
  sx={{
    // Access theme in sx
    color: 'primary.main',          // theme.palette.primary.main
    bgcolor: 'background.paper',     // theme.palette.background.paper
    p: 2,                            // theme.spacing(2)
    borderRadius: 1,                 // theme.shape.borderRadius
  }}
>
  Content
</Box>

// Callback for advanced usage
<Box
  sx={(theme) => ({
    color: theme.palette.primary.main,
    '&:hover': {
      color: theme.palette.primary.dark,
    },
  })}
>
  Hover me
</Box>

---

Responsive Design

Breakpoints

// Mobile-first responsive values
<Box
  sx={{
    width: {
      xs: '100%',    // 0-600px
      sm: '80%',     // 600-900px
      md: '60%',     // 900-1200px
      lg: '40%',     // 1200-1536px
      xl: '30%',     // 1536px+
    },
  }}
>
  Responsive width
</Box>

// Responsive display
<Box
  sx={{
    display: {
      xs: 'none',    // Hidden on mobile
      md: 'block',   // Visible on desktop
    },
  }}
>
  Desktop only
</Box>

Responsive Typography

<Typography
  sx={{
    fontSize: {
      xs: '1rem',
      md: '1.5rem',
      lg: '2rem',
    },
    lineHeight: {
      xs: 1.5,
      md: 1.75,
    },
  }}
>
  Responsive text
</Typography>

---

Forms

import { TextField, Stack, Button } from '@mui/material';

<Box component="form" onSubmit={handleSubmit}>
  <Stack spacing={2}>
    <TextField
      label="Email"
      type="email"
      value={email}
      onChange={(e) => setEmail(e.target.value)}
      fullWidth
      required
      error={!!errors.email}
      helperText={errors.email}
    />
    <Button type="submit" variant="contained">Submit</Button>
  </Stack>
</Box>

---

Common Patterns

Card Component

import { Card, CardContent, CardActions, Typography, Button } from '@mui/material';

<Card>
  <CardContent>
    <Typography variant="h5" component="div">
      Title
    </Typography>
    <Typography variant="body2" color="text.secondary">
      Description
    </Typography>
  </CardContent>
  <CardActions>
    <Button size="small">Learn More</Button>
  </CardActions>
</Card>

Dialog/Modal

import { Dialog, DialogTitle, DialogContent, DialogActions, Button } from '@mui/material';

// Use onClose with reason checking (works in all versions)
function MyDialog({ open, onClose }) {
  const handleClose = (event, reason) => {
    // Optional: prevent closing on backdrop click
    if (reason === 'backdropClick') {
      return;
    }
    onClose();
  };

  return (
    <Dialog open={open} onClose={handleClose}>
      <DialogTitle>Confirm Action</DialogTitle>
      <DialogContent>
        Are you sure you want to proceed?
      </DialogContent>
      <DialogActions>
        <Button onClick={onClose}>Cancel</Button>
        <Button onClick={handleConfirm} variant="contained">
          Confirm
        </Button>
      </DialogActions>
    </Dialog>
  );
}

Loading States

import { CircularProgress, Skeleton } from '@mui/material';

// Spinner
<Box sx={{ display: 'flex', justifyContent: 'center', p: 3 }}>
  <CircularProgress />
</Box>

// Skeleton
<Stack spacing={1}>
  <Skeleton variant="text" width="60%" />
  <Skeleton variant="rectangular" height={200} />
  <Skeleton variant="text" width="40%" />
</Stack>

---

Component Customization (slots/slotProps)

// Preferred pattern (works in v5+, required in v7)
<Autocomplete
  slots={{
    paper: CustomPaper,
  }}
  slotProps={{
    paper: { elevation: 8 },
  }}
/>

// Legacy pattern (v5 only, deprecated in v6+)
<Autocomplete
  components={{
    Paper: CustomPaper,
  }}
  componentsProps={{
    paper: { elevation: 8 },
  }}
/>

For new code, always use slots/slotProps.

---

MUI-Specific Hooks

useMuiSnackbar

import { useMuiSnackbar } from '@/hooks/useMuiSnackbar';

function Component() {
  const { showSuccess, showError, showInfo } = useMuiSnackbar();

  const handleSave = async () => {
    try {
      await saveData();
      showSuccess('Saved successfully');
    } catch (error) {
      showError('Failed to save');
    }
  };

  return <Button onClick={handleSave}>Save</Button>;
}

---

Icons

import { Add as AddIcon, Delete as DeleteIcon } from '@mui/icons-material';
import { Button, IconButton } from '@mui/material';

<Button startIcon={<AddIcon />}>Add</Button>
<IconButton onClick={handleDelete}><DeleteIcon /></IconButton>

---

Best Practices

1. Type Your sx Props

import type { SxProps, Theme } from '@mui/material';

// ✅ Good
const styles: Record<string, SxProps<Theme>> = {
  container: { p: 2 },
};

// ❌ Avoid
const styles = {
  container: { p: 2 }, // No type safety
};

2. Use Theme Tokens

// ✅ Good: Use theme tokens
<Box sx={{ color: 'primary.main', p: 2 }} />

// ❌ Avoid: Hardcoded values
<Box sx={{ color: '#1976d2', padding: '16px' }} />

3. Consistent Spacing

// ✅ Good: Use spacing scale
<Box sx={{ p: 2, mb: 3, mt: 1 }} />

// ❌ Avoid: Random pixel values
<Box sx={{ padding: '17px', marginBottom: '25px' }} />

4. Import Patterns

// ✅ Good: Package-level imports (tree-shakeable)
import { Button, Box, Typography } from '@mui/material';

// ⚠️ v5 only: Second-level imports work
import Button from '@mui/material/Button';

// ❌ v7: Deep imports no longer work
// ❌ All versions: Third-level imports are private API
import createTheme from '@mui/material/styles/createTheme';

---

Additional Resources

For more detailed patterns, see:

• styling-guide.md - Advanced styling patterns
• component-library.md - Component examples
• theme-customization.md - Theme setup
• v5-notes.md - MUI v5-specific guidance
• v7-changes.md - MUI v7 breaking changes