Installation

Prerequisites

You need an existing Expo project. If you do not have one yet:

npx create-expo-app@latest my-app

cd my-app

Automatic Setup (Recommended)

The tapcn CLI handles all configuration for you:

npx @tapcn/cli init

This will:

Install required dependencies (NativeWind, tailwind-merge, clsx, cva, etc.)
Create global.css with theme CSS variables
Configure tailwind.config.ts
Set up babel.config.js for NativeWind
Configure metro.config.js
Create components.json for the CLI
Add the cn() utility in lib/utils.ts

Manual Setup

If you prefer to set things up manually, follow these steps.

1. Install NativeWind

npx expo install nativewind tailwindcss react-native-reanimated react-native-safe-area-context

Follow the NativeWind installation guide for full setup.

2. Install utilities

npm install class-variance-authority clsx tailwind-merge

3. Create lib/utils.ts

import { clsx, type ClassValue } from 'clsx';
import { twMerge } from 'tailwind-merge';

export function cn(...inputs: ClassValue[]) {
  return twMerge(clsx(inputs));
}

4. Create global.css

Create a global.css file in your project root with theme variables:

@tailwind base;
@tailwind components;
@tailwind utilities;

@layer base {
  :root {
    --background: 0 0% 100%;
    --foreground: 240 10% 3.9%;
    --card: 0 0% 100%;
    --card-foreground: 240 10% 3.9%;
    --primary: 240 5.9% 10%;
    --primary-foreground: 0 0% 98%;
    --secondary: 240 4.8% 95.9%;
    --secondary-foreground: 240 5.9% 10%;
    --muted: 240 4.8% 95.9%;
    --muted-foreground: 240 3.8% 46.1%;
    --accent: 240 4.8% 95.9%;
    --accent-foreground: 240 5.9% 10%;
    --destructive: 0 84.2% 60.2%;
    --destructive-foreground: 0 0% 98%;
    --border: 240 5.9% 90%;
    --input: 240 5.9% 90%;
    --ring: 240 5.9% 10%;
  }

  .dark:root {
    --background: 240 10% 3.9%;
    --foreground: 0 0% 98%;
    --primary: 0 0% 98%;
    --primary-foreground: 240 5.9% 10%;
    --secondary: 240 3.7% 15.9%;
    --secondary-foreground: 0 0% 98%;
    --muted: 240 3.7% 15.9%;
    --muted-foreground: 240 5% 64.9%;
    --accent: 240 3.7% 15.9%;
    --accent-foreground: 0 0% 98%;
    --destructive: 0 62.8% 30.6%;
    --destructive-foreground: 0 0% 98%;
    --border: 240 3.7% 15.9%;
    --input: 240 3.7% 15.9%;
    --ring: 240 4.9% 83.9%;
  }
}

5. Configure tailwind.config.ts

import type { Config } from 'tailwindcss';

const config: Config = {
  darkMode: 'class',
  content: ['./app/**/*.{ts,tsx}', './components/**/*.{ts,tsx}'],
  presets: [require('nativewind/preset')],
  theme: {
    extend: {
      colors: {
        background: 'hsl(var(--background))',
        foreground: 'hsl(var(--foreground))',
        card: { DEFAULT: 'hsl(var(--card))', foreground: 'hsl(var(--card-foreground))' },
        primary: { DEFAULT: 'hsl(var(--primary))', foreground: 'hsl(var(--primary-foreground))' },
        secondary: { DEFAULT: 'hsl(var(--secondary))', foreground: 'hsl(var(--secondary-foreground))' },
        muted: { DEFAULT: 'hsl(var(--muted))', foreground: 'hsl(var(--muted-foreground))' },
        accent: { DEFAULT: 'hsl(var(--accent))', foreground: 'hsl(var(--accent-foreground))' },
        destructive: { DEFAULT: 'hsl(var(--destructive))', foreground: 'hsl(var(--destructive-foreground))' },
        border: 'hsl(var(--border))',
        input: 'hsl(var(--input))',
        ring: 'hsl(var(--ring))',
      },
    },
  },
  plugins: [],
};

export default config;

6. Create components.json

{
  "$schema": "https://ui.shadcn.com/schema.json",
  "style": "new-york",
  "rsc": false,
  "tsx": true,
  "tailwind": {
    "config": "tailwind.config.ts",
    "css": "global.css",
    "baseColor": "neutral",
    "cssVariables": true
  },
  "aliases": {
    "components": "~/components",
    "utils": "~/lib/utils",
    "ui": "~/components/ui",
    "lib": "~/lib",
    "hooks": "~/hooks"
  }
}

Adding Components

Once set up, add components using the CLI:

npx @tapcn/cli add button

Or directly with shadcn:

npx shadcn@latest add https://tapcn.vercel.app/r/button.json

Dependencies are resolved automatically. For example, adding button will also add text since Button depends on the TextClassContext from Text.

Installation

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