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Migrate Radix To Base

OrganizationPopular
shadcn-ui
migrate-radix-to-base

Migrates React projects and components from Radix UI to Base UI. Use when asked to migrate from radix, move to base-ui, convert radix primitives, or switch a shadcn project's base library. Handles single components ("migrate accordion") and whole projects.

Overview

Publishershadcn-ui
Repositoryui
Skill namemigrate-radix-to-base
Stars
124.9K
Forks
11.8K
Bundled files
9
LicenseMIT
Links
  • Markdown instructions

    A SKILL.md file the model loads on demand, so it only costs tokens when a request actually matches.

  • Works with any LLM

    AI skills are plain Markdown, not provider-specific code, so this works with GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, or a local model.

  • 9 bundled files

    Scripts, templates, and references the model can read while it works. Files are read-only and never executed.

  • Open source

    Published by shadcn-ui on GitHub. Read the source before you install it.

Installation

Install the Migrate Radix To Base AI skill in TypingMind to use it with any LLM, or drop it into another agent that reads SKILL.md.

1

Install in TypingMind

TypingMind installs a skill straight from its GitHub folder — it reads SKILL.md, bundles the resource files, and stores the result locally.

  1. Open the app and go to Plugins → Skills.
  2. Choose "Install from GitHub".
  3. Paste the skill folder URL below and confirm.
    https://github.com/shadcn-ui/ui/tree/main/skills/migrate-radix-to-base
  4. Enable the skill in any chat where you want it available.
Plugins → Skills → Add skill → From GitHub URL, then paste the folder URL and press Continue.
2

Install in another agent

Any agent that reads the Agent Skills format can use this skill — copy the folder into that agent's skills directory.

Claude Code — .claude/skills
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/shadcn-ui/ui.git /tmp/ui
mkdir -p .claude/skills
cp -r /tmp/ui/skills/migrate-radix-to-base .claude/skills/migrate-radix-to-base
Restart Claude Code after copying so it picks up the new skill.

Use it in TypingMind

Enable Migrate Radix To Base in any TypingMind chat and the model takes it from there. Its name and description sit in the system prompt, and the moment a request matches, the model loads the full instructions itself — you never invoke it by hand, and it costs no tokens until it is actually used.

The model loads Migrate Radix To Base on its own as soon as a request matches it.

Works with any AI model

AI skills are plain Markdown instructions rather than provider-specific code, so Migrate Radix To Base is not tied to the model it was written for. Install it once in TypingMind and use it with GPT-5, Claude, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek, Mistral, Llama, or a local model you run yourself — all on your own API keys.

  • Loaded only when it is needed

    The system prompt carries just the name and description. The instructions are fetched on the first matching request, so an idle skill costs nothing.

  • Switch models mid-chat

    Because the skill is instructions rather than code, changing model does not break it — the next model reads the same SKILL.md.

Skill instructions

This is the SKILL.md content the model loads. Read it before installing — a skill is instructions your model will follow.

Radix UI -> Base UI migration

You migrate shadcn wrappers, hand-rolled radix compositions, and their consumers to @base-ui/react, keeping the project buildable at every step. Be precise; never guess a mapping. When a prop or part is not in these reference files, check node_modules/@base-ui/react/**/*.d.ts before transforming, and record gaps in the report.

Preflight (always)

  1. npx shadcn@latest info --json (or the project's runner): gives the current base, STYLE (e.g. radix-lyra), tailwind version, aliases, installed components, and package manager. Trust it over inference.
  2. Detect the package manager (packageManager field / lockfile: pnpm-lock.yaml, bun.lock, yarn.lock, package-lock.json) and use IT for every install. Never leave a stale lockfile.
  3. Require a clean git tree; work on a branch; one commit per component.
  4. Baseline check BEFORE touching dependencies: run the project's typecheck/build so pre-existing failures are never attributed to you.
  5. Install @base-ui/react alongside radix. Radix packages are removed only after the LAST component is migrated (both coexist fine).

Strategy: golden pair first, transformation engine second

  • Golden pair via the CLI (preferred). If the project is shadcn with a known style (radix-<style>), the shadcn CLI itself is the golden-pair executor:
    1. Classify each ui wrapper FIRST: diff the user's file against its stock origin, using the components.json style VERBATIM in the URL (https://ui.shadcn.com/r/styles/<style>/<component>.json, files[0].content). This works for prefixed styles (radix-nova) AND legacy unprefixed ones (new-york, new-york-v4, default), which are all still served.
    2. WHOLE-PROJECT mode: flip components.json style radix-<style> -> base-<style> now. PROGRESSIVE mode: do NOT flip yet (the project is still mostly radix; the flip happens once, after the last component); fetch base variants directly by URL instead (https://ui.shadcn.com/r/styles/base-<style>/<component>.json).
    3. PRISTINE wrappers, whole-project mode: shadcn add <component> --overwrite delivers the base variant with the project's exact icon/font/preset resolution. Never bulk --all --overwrite; go component by component, or you drown in unrelated registry version drift. PROGRESSIVE mode: never use --overwrite (it destroys the original that consumers still import); write the fetched base variant content to <component>-base.tsx instead.
    4. CUSTOMIZED wrappers: fetch the base variant and replay the user's diff onto it (their customizations must SURVIVE; --overwrite would destroy them). Mechanical implementation that works at scale: git merge-file user.tsx radix-golden.tsx base-golden.tsx (three-way merge, radix golden as ancestor) auto-resolves most files; hand-resolve conflicts with the reference tables.
    5. MANDATORY leftover sweep on EVERY golden-pair file, including ones that merged "clean": grep -n "radix-ui\|@radix-ui\|IconPlaceholder" per file. The registry sometimes reorders functions between variants, which makes three-way merges report zero conflicts while leaving stale radix hunks in place. A clean merge is NOT proof of a clean file. This is more reliable than reconstructing transforms; use it whenever the pair exists. Consumer/app code has no CLI mechanism: always hand-migrate it against consumer-props.md.
  • Legacy styles (new-york, new-york-v4, default): classification only, no replay. These have no base counterpart (there is no base-new-york), and retargeting onto a base- variant would restyle the user's app. Use the radix golden ONLY to detect customizations, then run the transformation engine on the user's OWN file: rewire primitives, keep their exact classes, apply class-mapping renames. Their look stays theirs. At the end of a legacy whole-project migration, FLAG (do not fix): the style name still reads as radix to the CLI, so future shadcn add will deliver radix variants; the user decides whether to switch style or add manually.
  • Transformation engine (fallback). Hand-rolled radix code, non-shadcn projects, unknown styles: transform using universal-patterns.md (imports in BOTH forms: radix-ui and @radix-ui/react-*; asChild->render with the worked example; Portal>Positioner>Popup; the positioner FORWARD rule; part renames), the per-family props tables (overlays.md, menus.md, form-controls.md, disclosure.md, display-misc.md), class-mapping.md for data-attribute/CSS-var rewrites, and wrapper-shapes.md for exact target shapes (tooltip arrow, SubContent defaults, select anatomy).

Modes

Progressive (default). "Migrate accordion" = one component, strangler-fig:

  1. Detect in-progress state first: an existing <component>-base.tsx, consumers split between old/new imports. The files ARE the state; resume, never restart.
  2. If the component imports other ui wrappers still on radix (select -> button), STOP and recommend migrating those first, bottom-up.
  3. Write the migrated version to <component>-base.tsx (original untouched; golden-pair content fetched by URL, or transformed by hand, per the strategy above); typecheck. Repoint consumers ONE AT A TIME (imports + the call-site props in consumer-props.md); typecheck each. When no consumer imports the original: delete it, rename -base -> original, flip imports back, final check, commit. When the LAST radix wrapper in the project is finalized, flip components.json to base-<style> and remove radix deps.

Whole project (only when explicitly asked): same per-component work in dependency order (leaf/shared wrappers like button and label first). After wrappers, sweep ALL app code against consumer-props.md — the call-site break surface is much larger than asChild. Then remove radix deps, install, full build.

Hard rules

  • NEVER touch non-radix libraries or their wrappers: cmdk (command), vaul (drawer), sonner, input-otp, react-day-picker (calendar), recharts (chart). Report them as intentionally untouched.
  • No Base UI counterpart: AspectRatio -> CSS aspect-ratio div; Label -> native <label>; VisuallyHidden -> sr-only; Direction -> Direction Provider (direction prop, not dir). Popover Anchor and NavigationMenu Indicator have no equivalent: inert passthrough + flag.
  • button.tsx migrates to the REAL @base-ui/react/button primitive, never a hand-rolled useRender wrapper.
  • Behavior deltas are FLAGGED, never silently patched (tabs manual activation, menu items not closing on click, nav-menu 50ms delay). The target is idiomatic Base UI matching the shadcn base registry.
  • Honest reporting: skipped/reverted files are listed as flagged, never as migrated. Pre-existing failures are named as pre-existing.

Verify and report

Typecheck per file, build per batch, full build at the end vs the baseline.

Reports live in a .migration/ directory at the project root, ONE FILE PER COMPONENT: .migration/<component>.md (e.g. .migration/accordion.md). Rules:

  • Each run writes (or fully overwrites) the file for each component it migrated. Re-running a component replaces its report; never touch other components' files.
  • A multi-component run ("migrate alert-dialog and dropdown-menu") writes one file per component, each self-contained; shared consumer-sweep notes are repeated in every affected file.
  • Whole-project mode writes the per-component files plus .migration/project.md (dependency swap, app-code sweep summary, final build result).
  • There is NO index file. Migration status is derived from disk, not maintained: scan the project's ui directory (the ui alias from shadcn info, e.g. components/ui or src/components/ui) for remaining radix imports when asked "what's left". End every run's summary with that derived count ("N wrappers remain on Radix").

Each .migration/<component>.md uses EXACTLY this structure (it is documented publicly; reports must match it):

md
# <component>

<date, strategy used (golden pair via CLI / merge / engine), one-line verdict>

## Changed

<every file touched, with what changed and why; include file:line for
anything notable. Confirm the leftover scan is clean:
grep -n "radix-ui\|@radix-ui" on this component's files>

## Left alone

<files that look related but were intentionally not touched, with the reason
(cmdk/vaul/sonner are not radix; unrelated drift; etc.)>

## Behavior changes

<differences that compile fine but act differently; flagged, never patched
(tabs activation, menu close-on-click, delays...). Empty section if none>

## Verify by hand

<short manual QA checklist for this primitive family: focus return on
dialogs, keyboard nav + typeahead on menus/select, tooltip delay feel,
slider commit events. Concrete steps, one minute of clicking>

Bundled files

The model reads these on demand while the skill is loaded. They are exposed as readable files and are never executed.

Frequently asked questions

What does the Migrate Radix To Base AI skill do?

Migrates React projects and components from Radix UI to Base UI. Use when asked to migrate from radix, move to base-ui, convert radix primitives, or switch a shadcn project's base library. Handles single components ("migrate accordion") and whole projects.

Why use Migrate Radix To Base on TypingMind?

Because you install it once and use it with any model. Migrate Radix To Base is plain Markdown rather than provider-specific code, so the same skill runs on GPT-5, Claude, Gemini, Grok, or a local model — and you can switch model mid-chat without it breaking. TypingMind runs on your own API keys, so you pay providers directly instead of a per-seat subscription, and your skills and chats stay in your own storage.

How do I install Migrate Radix To Base in TypingMind?

Open Plugins → Skills → Install from GitHub in TypingMind and paste https://github.com/shadcn-ui/ui/tree/main/skills/migrate-radix-to-base. TypingMind reads its SKILL.md and bundles its files and installs it as a skill you can enable per chat.

Which AI models can use Migrate Radix To Base?

Any model you connect in TypingMind. AI skills are plain Markdown instructions rather than provider-specific code, so GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, and local models can all load this skill when a request matches it.

How many AI models can I use with Migrate Radix To Base?

As many as you like. As long as a model supports skills, you can use Migrate Radix To Base with it — GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek, Mistral, Llama and more — all on TypingMind with your own API keys.

Is the Migrate Radix To Base AI skill free?

Yes. It is published on GitHub by shadcn-ui under the MIT license. You only pay your own AI provider for the tokens you use.

What are AI skills?

An AI skill is a reusable instruction bundle that teaches an AI model how to do one specific task. It follows the open Agent Skills format: a SKILL.md file with a name and description, plus any scripts, templates or reference files the model may need. The model reads the instructions only when your request matches the skill, so an installed skill costs nothing until it is used.

How are AI skills different from plugins or MCP servers?

A plugin or MCP server gives a model new tools to call — code that runs somewhere and returns a result. An AI skill gives the model knowledge and process instead: how to approach a task, which steps to follow, what good output looks like. Skills are plain Markdown, so they need no server, no API key and no runtime, and they work with any model.

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