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  • Introduction
    nativecn is shadcn for Expo apps: Components you copy into your app and own, built so AI agents can build and verify whole mobile apps.
  • Installation
    Create a new Expo app with nativecn, or add nativecn to an existing one.
  • components.json
    The project file that records your Preset, Structure, aliases and agents.
  • CLI
    Every nativecn-cli command and flag: init, create, add, agents and mcp.
  • Changelog
    What changed in each nativecn release.
  • Theming
    Tokens, Colour Roles, Scale, Scheme, createStyles and fonts.
  • Presets & Styles
    Style, Base Colour, Accent Colour, Radius and fonts: chosen once, baked into your code.
  • Folder structure
    Flat and feature Structures, Destinations and the placement rule.
  • AI agents
    Rules, Skills, the nativecn MCP server, the Plugin and the Visual QA Loop.
  • Alert
    Alert, AlertTitle and AlertDescription: an inline message with Variants (default, destructive, success, warning, info), each with a default icon.
  • Avatar
    Round user image (expo-image) with fallback initials, in sizes sm, md and lg.
  • Badge
    Small status label with Variants default, secondary, outline, destructive, success and warning.
  • Button
    Button with Variants (primary, secondary, outline, ghost, destructive, link), Sizes, an icon slot, loading and status; icon-only requires aria-label.
  • Card
    Card surface with CardHeader, CardTitle, CardDescription, CardContent and CardFooter; onPress makes the whole card pressable.
  • Checkbox
    Checkbox with an optional label, controlled or uncontrolled, an indeterminate (mixed) state and a haptic tick.
  • Chip
    Chip (plain, toggle or removable, with an optional icon) and ChipGroup (single or multiple choice on the SelectionGroup Primitive), with a haptic tick.
  • Container
    Wraps a Screen: safe-area edges, scrolling, keyboard avoidance, Token padding and a max content width.
  • Drawer
    Drawer panel content for Expo Router's drawer (expo-router/drawer): DrawerContent, DrawerHeader, DrawerSection, DrawerItem (label, icon, href, badge; active from the current route) and DrawerFooter.
  • Empty State
    What a Screen or list shows when there is nothing to show yet: an icon, a title, a description and an action.
  • FormField
    Lays out a control with its Label, description and error, and links them for screen readers ("Email, text field, Enter a valid email").
  • Icon
    Every glyph: a Lucide icon at a Token size in a Colour Role, decorative unless labelled.
  • Input
    Single-line text field with Sizes, a leading icon, error/success status, a focus ring and an automatic Show/Hide password toggle.
  • InputOTP
    One-time code field: one hidden input drives N cells; numeric keyboard, SMS/Keychain autofill, paste, onComplete, error/success status and secure.
  • Label
    A field's visible label in the label type Variant, with a required marker read as "required".
  • List
    Settings-style rows: ListSection, ListSectionHeader, ListSectionFooter and ListItem (title, description, icon, trailing, chevron, destructive, onPress); FlashList-safe.
  • Progress
    A horizontal progress bar: a value 0–100 that animates, or indeterminate; role progressbar with its value.
  • RadioGroup
    RadioGroup and RadioGroupItem: a single choice from a list on the SelectionGroup Primitive, vertical or horizontal, with a haptic tick.
  • SchemeSwitcher
    Theme switcher / dark mode toggle: System, Light and Dark as SegmentedTabs, or one icon button cycling through them. Calls setScheme, which persists the choice.
  • SearchField
    Search box with a search icon, an automatic clear (×) button, a loading spinner and onSubmit from the keyboard's Search key.
  • SegmentedTabs
    In-screen tabs (not navigation): segmented or underline Variants, an animated indicator, and only the selected tab's content rendered.
  • Separator
    A hairline divider, horizontal or vertical, decorative by default.
  • Skeleton
    A placeholder shape shown while content loads; pulses unless Reduce Motion is on, hidden from screen readers.
  • Slider
    Pick a number in a range by dragging or tapping (Gesture Handler + Reanimated), snapped to steps with a haptic tick; adjustable for screen readers.
  • Spinner
    An indeterminate loading indicator in a Colour Role, announced as busy; still under Reduce Motion.
  • Switch
    A themed on/off Switch, identical on iOS and Android, with an optional label, a thumb that slides (instant under Reduce Motion) and a haptic tick.
  • TabNavigation
    The bottom tab bar: the custom tabBar of an Expo Router JS Tabs Layout, with classic and floating Variants, per-tab icons and badges from Tabs.Screen options.
  • Text
    All text: the type ramp as Variants, text Colour Roles, alignment and the font-scaling switch.
  • Textarea
    Multi-line text field that grows from minRows to maxRows, with a character counter when maxLength is set.
  • Toast
    Sonner-style Toasts: a <Toaster /> in the root Layout and toast(), toast.success/error/info/warning/dismiss. At most 3 stacked, 4s auto-dismiss, swipe away, announced, above native modals.
  • Profile header + grouped sections
    Drawer panel with a profile header (avatar, name, email, plan Badge), labelled sections (Main, Workspace, Support) and Log out pinned in the footer.
  • SaaS workspace
    Drawer panel for a SaaS workspace: logo and name with a close button, an Accent Colour onboarding item with a 5 Steps Badge, main items, a bottom group (Notifications with a count, Settings, Docs, Help) and a footer with a team switcher and the user's avatar.
  • Cover header
    Drawer panel with a dark cover (large avatar, name, View profile, a bell with a count, an overflow button and a round + action), icon items active in Accent Colour text, a divider and text-only secondary items.
  • Classic centred
    A centred sign-in Screen: logo, email and password, Forgot password, an "or" divider, then Apple and Google, and a Sign up link.
  • Social-first hero
    A social-first sign-in Screen: a dark brand hero (logo, headline, subtitle, centred) above a panel where Apple and Google lead and "Continue with email" reveals the email form.
  • Email-first, two steps
    An email-first sign-in Screen in two steps: the email, then the password, with "Email me a code instead" switching to a 6-digit code (InputOTP). Lucide chevron-left Back buttons.
  • Classic single form
    A classic sign-up Screen on one scroll: Apple and Google on top, "or", then name, email and password, a terms Checkbox with Terms and Privacy Policy links, Create account, and a Sign in link.
  • Step-by-step wizard
    A sign-up wizard, one question per step under a Progress bar: email, name, password, then a 6-digit code (InputOTP). Lucide chevron-left Back buttons; the Continue button rides above the keyboard.
  • Social-first + verify
    A brand-led, passwordless sign-up Screen: the logo and headline centred above Apple and Google; "Sign up with email" reveals the email field, and Send code moves on to a 6-digit code (InputOTP).
  • announce
    Reliable screen-reader announcements on iOS and Android (Button and Input status, Toast, error, success and warning Alerts).
  • FocusChain
    Automatic Next/Done between fields in on-screen order; Done submits the form.
  • FormField context
    Links a field to its label, description and error for screen readers; passes status, disabled and required down.
  • Keyboard
    KeyboardProvider setup, a scroll view that keeps the focused field above the keyboard, and a footer that keeps a form's main button above it.
  • Portal
    Renders content above every Screen (above native modals on iOS), layered and safe-area aware.
  • Pressable
    Pressed look from a Style Slot, tap area extended to 48, no handlers while disabled or loading, optional haptics, role and aria-* states.
  • SelectionGroup
    Single or multiple choice within a group, with radio, tab or checkbox roles and selected states.
  • useControllableState
    One implementation of controlled and uncontrolled values for form controls.
  • useMotion
    Enter/exit animations and timing/spring configs from the motion Tokens; instant when Reduce Motion is on.
  • Theme
    Tokens, Scale, Colour Roles, ThemeProvider, createStyles and the navigation theme.

Folder structure

Flat and feature Structures, Destinations and the placement rule.

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nativecn writes into Expo's recommended project layout, not shadcn's components/ui and lib. How your app arranges its files is its Structure: flat (the default) or feature. You choose it at create or init, and it is recorded in components.json.

Flat

Expo's folders only:

src/
  app/                  routes only (Screens and Layouts)
  components/           Components
    primitives/         Primitives that render
  hooks/                hooks
  utils/                helpers
  theme/                the Theme
  screens/              Screen Blocks, each in its own folder
assets/fonts/           your Preset's fonts
  • Route files in src/app/ stay small: a Screen Block lives in src/screens/<block>/, and its route file renders it.
  • Drawer Blocks go in src/components/.
  • A Screen Block's private parts stay inside its own folder, such as src/screens/sign-up-02/components/.

Feature

For larger apps, --folder-feat adds a layer of Features: self-contained areas of your app, such as auth or billing, that each own their components, hooks, Screens and utils.

npx nativecn-cli@latest create my-app --folder-feat

src/
  app/
  components/  hooks/  utils/  theme/
  features/
    auth/
      components/  hooks/  screens/  utils/
    billing/
      components/  hooks/  screens/  utils/

In feature mode:

  • nativecn Components and Primitives always stay global, in src/components/.
  • Screen Blocks go to a named Feature: add sign-in-02 --feature auth writes to src/features/auth/screens/sign-in-02/.
  • Without --feature, the Block's category is used (auth for sign-in and sign-up), and the CLI prints where it went.

Destinations

A Destination is the kind of place a Registry Item's file installs to. add resolves each one to a real folder from your aliases and Structure.

Destinationflatfeature (--feature auth)
{components}src/componentssrc/components
{hooks}src/hookssrc/hooks
{utils}src/utilssrc/utils
{theme}src/themesrc/theme
{screens}src/screenssrc/features/auth/screens
{app}src/appsrc/app

Which Destination each kind of Registry Item uses:

Registry ItemDestination
Component{components}
Rendering Primitive{components}/primitives
Hook Primitive{hooks}
Helper{utils}
Theme runtime{theme}
Screen Block{screens}/<block>/, plus an optional route in {app}
Drawer Block{components}/drawer-0X/

In apps without src/, the same folders sit at the root (components/, app/, …).

The placement rule

The rule agents follow when they place code in your app (it is one of the Rules). It applies equally to components, hooks, utils and Screens.

  1. Follow structure.
  2. Reuse global items first. If it already exists in src/components, src/hooks or src/utils, use it.
  3. An item used by one Feature lives in that Feature.
  4. Promote it to global the moment a second Feature needs it, and update the imports.

Changing Structure

The Structure is chosen once. nativecn never moves your existing files to change it.