migrate-radix-to-base
Skill636 starsChanged 3 months agoMITView on GitHub
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.
We split this skill into the rules it gives an agent
5 rules. 2 are common, 0 are distinctive, and 3 are very specific to this project.
2
Common
Most of the 3 edited versions we read keep these.
0
Distinctive
This author's own choices. Worth a look.
3
Very specific
Tied to their project's names, files or tools. Probably skip.
- Common
- Distinctive
- Very specific
- Very specific: line 30
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 …
- Common: line 89
If the component imports other ui wrappers still on radix (select -> button), STOP and recommend migrating those first, bottom-up.
- Very specific: line 91
Write the migrated version to <component>-base.tsx (original untouched.
- Common: line 107
NEVER touch non-radix libraries or their wrappers: cmdk (command), vaul (drawer), sonner, input-otp, react-day-picker (calendar), recharts …
- Very specific: line 110
No Base UI counterpart: AspectRatio -> CSS aspect-ratio div.
“Common” is measured: kept by at least 6 in 10 of the 3 edited versions of this file we could read. “Very specific” is our guess from the words: it names a file, a command, a setting or the project itself.
Files
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)
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.- 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.
- Require a clean git tree; work on a branch; one commit per component.
- Baseline check BEFORE touching dependencies: run the project's typecheck/build so pre-existing failures are never attributed to you.
- Install
@base-ui/reactalongside 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:- 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. - WHOLE-PROJECT mode: flip
components.jsonstyleradix-<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). - PRISTINE wrappers, whole-project mode:
shadcn add <component> --overwritedelivers 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.tsxinstead. - CUSTOMIZED wrappers: fetch the base variant and replay the user's diff
onto it (their customizations must SURVIVE;
--overwritewould 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. - 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 againstconsumer-props.md.
- Classify each ui wrapper FIRST: diff the user's file against its stock
origin, using the components.json style VERBATIM in the URL
(
- 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-
<style>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 futureshadcn addwill 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-uiand@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.mdfor data-attribute/CSS-var rewrites, andwrapper-shapes.mdfor exact target shapes (tooltip arrow, SubContent defaults, select anatomy).
Modes
Progressive (default). "Migrate accordion" = one component, strangler-fig:
- Detect in-progress state first: an existing
<component>-base.tsx, consumers split between old/new imports. The files ARE the state; resume, never restart. - If the component imports other ui wrappers still on radix (select -> button), STOP and recommend migrating those first, bottom-up.
- 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 inconsumer-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, flipcomponents.jsontobase-<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 (directionprop, notdir). Popover Anchor and NavigationMenu Indicator have no equivalent: inert passthrough + flag. button.tsxmigrates to the REAL@base-ui/react/buttonprimitive, 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
uialias 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):
# <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>Other versions13 projects use a version of this.
Word for word · 9
- shadcn-ui/ui★ 127k100% same
- anywhere-labs/Agents-Anywhere★ 1.7k100% same
- htmujahid/shadcn-editor★ 1.4k100% same
- txn2/mcp-data-platform★ 10100% same
- grayrepo-byte/Agenvas★ 3100% same
- hamedniroomand/cue★ 2100% same
- ManatoYamashita/skills★ 1100% same
- Vroind-ausm-All/Claude-Skills★ 1100% same
- peakdong68/my-skills★ 0100% same
Edited · 3
- TheOrcDev/youtube-to-blog★ 180100% same
- 8starlabs/ui★ 141100% same
- hsynozdamar-byte/claude-skills-edited★ 499% same
Wrote their own version · 1
- tofunori/atelier-studio★ 3same name
How matches are found. Word for word: the exact same text. Edited: shares passages with this file (“99% same” means 99% of its five-word phrases also appear here; 10% or more counts). Their own version: similar meaning, or, weakest, the same name. We can’t tell which project had it first. Projects are counted among the 200 most-starred candidates, and mentions are links to the repository we found, up to 50 per site, so both counts are a floor.
In this repository9 other files it gives its agents.
- CLAUDE.mdCLAUDE.md
- ai-sdkSkill
- migrate-ai-sdk-v6-to-v7Skill
- next-cache-components-adoptionSkill
- next-cache-components-optimizerSkill
- next-dev-loopSkill
- next-partial-prefetching-adoptionSkill
- shadcnSkill
- verifySkill
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