
migrate-radix-to-base
PopularMigrates 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.
Related Skills
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.
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
- 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 usinguniversal-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.md
for 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 (theuialias 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>





