---
title: TanStack Start
description: Install and configure shadcn/ui for TanStack Start.
---

<Steps>
<Step>
### Create project

Start by creating a new TanStack Start project by following the [Build a Project from Scratch](https://tanstack.com/start/latest/docs/framework/react/build-from-scratch) guide on the TanStack Start website.

**Do not add Tailwind yet. We'll install Tailwind v4 in the next step.**

</Step>

<Step>
### Add Tailwind

Install `tailwindcss` and its dependencies.

```bash
npm install tailwindcss @tailwindcss/postcss postcss
```

</Step>

<Step>
### Create postcss.config.ts

Create a `postcss.config.ts` file at the root of your project.

```ts title="postcss.config.ts" showLineNumbers
export default {
  plugins: {
    '@tailwindcss/postcss': {},
  },
};
```

</Step>

<Step>
### Create `app/styles/app.css`

Create an `app.css` file in the `app/styles` directory and import `tailwindcss`

```css title="app/styles/app.css"
@import 'tailwindcss' source('../');
```

</Step>

<Step>
### Import `app.css`

```tsx title="app/routes/__root.tsx" showLineNumbers {5,21-26} showLineNumbers
import type { ReactNode } from 'react';
import { Outlet, createRootRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router';
import { Meta, Scripts } from '@tanstack/start';

import appCss from '@/styles/app.css?url';

export const Route = createRootRoute({
  head: () => ({
    meta: [
      {
        charSet: 'utf-8',
      },
      {
        name: 'viewport',
        content: 'width=device-width, initial-scale=1',
      },
      {
        title: 'TanStack Start Starter',
      },
    ],
    links: [
      {
        rel: 'stylesheet',
        href: appCss,
      },
    ],
  }),
  component: RootComponent,
});
```

</Step>

<Step>
### Edit tsconfig.json file

Add the following code to the `tsconfig.json` file to resolve paths.

```ts title="tsconfig.json" showLineNumbers {9-12}
{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "jsx": "react-jsx",
    "moduleResolution": "Bundler",
    "module": "ESNext",
    "target": "ES2022",
    "skipLibCheck": true,
    "strictNullChecks": true,
    "baseUrl": ".",
    "paths": {
      "@/*": ["./app/*"]
    }
  }
}
```

</Step>

<Step>
### Run the CLI

Run the `shadcn` init command to setup your project:

```bash
npx shadcn@canary init
```

This will create a `components.json` file in the root of your project and configure CSS variables inside `app/styles/app.css`.

</Step>

<Step>
### That's it

You can now start adding components to your project.

```bash
npx shadcn@canary add button
```

The command above will add the `Button` component to your project. You can then import it like this:

```tsx title="app/routes/index.tsx" showLineNumbers {1,6}
import { Button } from '@/components/ui/button';

function Home() {
  const router = useRouter();
  const state = Route.useLoaderData();

  return (
    <div>
      <Button>Click me</Button>
    </div>
  );
}
```

</Step>

</Steps>