NG-ZORRO Developer Guidelines

Pairs with angular-developer , that skill provides Angular fundamentals (signals, DI, routing, forms, SSR, accessibility). This skill focuses on NG-ZORRO specifics. Install both for the best experience.

Compatibility

• Tracks: ng-zorro-antd@22.1.2, aligned with Angular ^22.0.0. NG-ZORRO follows Angular's major version, the major number of ng-zorro-antd always matches @angular/core.
• v21 → v22 (real breaking changes): v22 removes long-deprecated inputs and changes date-component setup. The headline items: date-related components no longer ship a default date adapter (call provideNzDateFnsAdapter() explicitly, and date-fns is now v4); all components moved to OnPush; and a batch of deprecated APIs were removed (nz-button nzSearch, nz-cascader nzDisplayWith, nz-input nzAutosize + nz-input-group slots + nzStepperless, nz-modal nzOnOk/nzOnCancel input usage, nz-upload nzTransformFile, nz-tooltip cdkConnectedOverlayPush, plus dropdown/collapse/message/transfer removals). See migration.md.
• v22.1 highlights: standalone style/rtl.less files are removed (LTR and RTL now share CSS logical properties), a few LESS variables were renamed (@anchor-link-*, @tabs-horizontal-*), Signal Forms fixes landed for input, date range picker and slider, nz-avatar accepts responsive sizes, nz-cron-expression supports nzStatus, and nz-auto-complete gained nzDropdownMatchSelectWidth. 22.1.2 isolates internal ngModel controls to avoid NG01354 errors. See migration.md.
• Works for: NG-ZORRO v17 → v22 projects. The skill assumes the v21/v22 API surface, the migration.md reference covers the module → standalone shift, the i18n provider change, the v22 removals, and the per-version deprecations.
• Angular: v17 or newer (standalone components and the new control flow); v22 for ng-zorro-antd@22. v22 is the closest match.
• Zoneless / OnPush: NG-ZORRO officially supports zoneless change detection and ChangeDetectionStrategy.OnPush, the components are signal-aware and use markForCheck() internally where needed.
• SSR: First-class. Works under Angular Universal / @angular/ssr.
• Internationalisation: provideNzI18n(en_US) at the root, swap locales at runtime via NzI18nService.
• Not supported: NG-ZORRO v16 and below (Angular v16 and below, NgModule-only patterns, no signals support).

If the project's ng-zorro-antd major doesn't match @angular/core, the install will fail npm peer checks. Tell the user to upgrade Angular first, then NG-ZORRO, in lockstep, see migration.md.

1. Check the project's NG-ZORRO version before answering. Major versions track Angular and pick up real changes, the i18n provider became provideNzI18n in v17, full standalone-class exports landed in v18, dynamic theme is still experimental in v21. package.json is the source of truth.
2. Detect the import style up front. Pre-v18 code imports Nz*Module and registers them in @NgModule.imports. v18+ exports each component as a standalone class (e.g. NzButtonComponent) plus a slim directive set (e.g. NzButtonDirective for the nz-button attribute). New code should use standalone imports, never Nz*Module in a v18+ project. Both styles still work, mixing them in a single template is fine. See setup.md.
3. Detect the theming mode. If src/styles.less imports ng-zorro-antd/ng-zorro-antd.less → LESS variable mode (the default). If the project uses ng-zorro-antd/style/dynamic-theme/dynamic-theme.less and NzConfigService to flip CSS variables at runtime → Dynamic theme (experimental). The two paths share variable names but customise at very different layers. See theming.md.
4. After generating NG-ZORRO code, run ng build. The most common AI mistakes are: (a) importing Nz*Module into a standalone component (works, but stale pattern, prefer the standalone class); (b) forgetting to register the locale (provideNzI18n(en_US)), which makes DatePicker / Pagination throw at runtime; (c) using v15-era nzI18nService initialisation via APP_INITIALIZER, replaced by the provider in v17; (d) using <nz-icon> without provideNzIconsPatch / registering icons via provideNzIcons. See setup.md and migration.md.

NG-ZORRO architecture: directives, components, services

NG-ZORRO mixes three patterns. Knowing which one a component uses changes how you wire it up:

• Attribute directives on native elements, e.g. <button nz-button nzType="primary">Save</button>. The directive enhances a native control. Most general components (Button, Tooltip, Popover, Dropdown trigger) follow this shape.
• Standalone components, e.g. <nz-table>, <nz-form-item>, <nz-date-picker>. Render their own DOM, used for anything with internal layout or template projection.
• Injectable services for imperative UI, NzModalService, NzMessageService, NzNotificationService, NzDrawerService. Imported via provideNzModal() / provideNzMessage() etc. in app.config.ts.

Default to the directive form when both exist (e.g. nz-button over a wrapper component). Reach for the service form when the surface is genuinely imperative (toasts, transient confirmations, programmatic dialogs).

Installation and theming

• Setup: ng add ng-zorro-antd (schematics handles i18n, styles, animations, icon registration). Manual install, provideNzI18n, provideNzIcons, animations setup, common pitfalls. Read setup.md
• Theming: LESS variable overrides (@primary-color, @border-radius-base, etc.), the four shipped presets (default, dark, compact, aliyun), the experimental dynamic theme with CSS variables, runtime theme switching. Read theming.md

Components

NG-ZORRO documents 70+ components grouped by category on ng.ant.design/components/overview. Each category file below covers the components, their key inputs, common patterns, and gotchas.

• General: Button, FloatButton, Icon, Typography. Read general.md
• Layout: Divider, Flex, Grid, Layout (Header / Sider / Content / Footer), Space, Splitter. Read layout.md
• Navigation: Anchor, Breadcrumb, Dropdown, Menu, PageHeader, Pagination, Steps, Tabs. Read navigation.md
• Data Entry (form controls): AutoComplete, Cascader, Checkbox, ColorPicker, DatePicker, Form, Input, InputNumber, Mention, Radio, Rate, Select, Slider, Switch, TimePicker, Transfer, TreeSelect, Upload. Read form-controls.md
• Data Display: Avatar, Badge, Calendar, Card, Carousel, Collapse, Comment, Descriptions, Empty, Image, List, QRCode, Segmented, Statistic, Table, Tag, Timeline, Tree, TreeView. Read data-display.md
• Feedback (overlays): Alert, Drawer, Message, Modal, Notification, Popconfirm, Popover, Progress, Result, Skeleton, Spin, Tooltip. Read overlays.md
• Other: Affix, Watermark. Covered inside layout.md.

Forms integration

• Forms: Wiring nz-form to ReactiveForms (the default in v17+) and Signal Forms (Angular v22+), the nz-form-item / nz-form-control / nz-form-label triad, async validators and nzValidatingTip, ControlValueAccessor patterns for custom controls. Read forms.md

Accessibility

• Accessibility: WAI-ARIA conventions NG-ZORRO honours, keyboard nav (especially Menu / Tree / Table), focus management in Modal and Drawer, RTL support via nzDirection. Read accessibility.md

Migration

• Migration: Module → standalone shift (v18), the provideNzI18n provider (v17), <nz-icon> registration via provideNzIcons (v17+), v18 → v21 component-level renames and prop deprecations, the upcoming dynamic theme road. Read migration.md