shadcn_flutter UI Development

Build beautiful, consistent UI using shadcn_flutter - a Flutter implementation of shadcn/ui with 70+ components.

When to Use This Skill

• Creating new pages or screens
• Building reusable widgets
• Implementing forms with validation
• Adding dialogs, toasts, sheets
• Theming and styling
• Any Flutter UI work with shadcn_flutter

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Critical: RadioGroup Export Collision

shadcn_flutter exports a RadioGroup that collides with Flutter's built-in. Always import via project shim:

// lib/shared/shadcn.dart (create this shim)
export 'package:shadcn_flutter/shadcn_flutter.dart' hide RadioGroup;

// In your files
import 'package:myapp/shared/shadcn.dart';

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Theme Access (High-Frequency)

Most common theme patterns:

@override
Widget build(BuildContext context) {
  final theme = Theme.of(context);
  final scaling = theme.scaling;  // Responsive multiplier
  
  // Colors
  final primary = theme.colorScheme.primary;
  final foreground = theme.colorScheme.foreground;
  final muted = theme.colorScheme.mutedForeground;
  
  // Typography
  final textStyle = theme.typography.base;
  
  return Container(
    padding: EdgeInsets.all(16 * scaling),
    color: theme.colorScheme.card,
    child: Text('Hello', style: textStyle),
  );
}

Essential Color Scheme

// Most common
theme.colorScheme.primary         // Brand color
theme.colorScheme.foreground      // Primary text
theme.colorScheme.mutedForeground // Secondary text
theme.colorScheme.destructive     // Errors
theme.colorScheme.background      // Page bg
theme.colorScheme.card            // Card bg

Pairing rule: primary + primaryForeground, card + cardForeground

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Essential Components (Quick Reference)

Forms

TextField(
  placeholder: const Text('Email'),  // NOT hintText
  features: [InputClearFeature()],
)

Select<String>(
  value: selected,
  itemBuilder: (ctx, val) => Text(val),
  popup: (ctx) => SelectPopup(
    children: [SelectItem(value: 'a', child: Text('A'))],
  ),
  onChanged: (val) => setState(() => selected = val),
)

Checkbox(
  state: checked ? CheckboxState.checked : CheckboxState.unchecked,
  onChanged: (state) => setState(() => checked = state == CheckboxState.checked),
)

Buttons

Button.primary(onPressed: () {}, child: Text('Submit'))
Button.outline(onPressed: () {}, child: Text('Cancel'))
Button.ghost(onPressed: () {}, child: Text('Skip'))
Button.destructive(onPressed: () {}, child: Text('Delete'))

Feedback

showToast(
  context: context,
  builder: (ctx, overlay) => Toast(
    title: Text('Success'),
  ),
);

Alert(
  leading: Icon(LucideIcons.info),
  title: Text('Note'),
)

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Common Extensions (Quick Reference)

// Text
text.small().semiBold().muted()

// Widget
widget.withPadding(all: 16)
widget.center()
widget.asSkeleton()

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Quick Material Migration

Material	shadcn_flutter
TextFormField	TextField (uses placeholder)
DropdownButton	Select<T> (uses popup builder)
Checkbox	Checkbox (uses CheckboxState)
ElevatedButton	Button.primary()
Icons.add	LucideIcons.plus

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Reference Documentation

• essentials.md - Forms, buttons, layout, feedback + Material migration
• advanced-components.md - Edge case widgets
• theming.md - Complete theme configuration
• extensions.md - All extensions
• patterns.md - UI patterns and recipes

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Rules

✅ DO: Use theme colors, Gap() for spacing, theme.scaling for responsive sizing, import via shim

❌ DON'T: Hardcode colors/pixels, guess APIs, import shadcn_flutter directly