radix-ui-design-system

Radix UI Design System

Build production-ready, accessible design systems using Radix UI primitives with full customization control and zero style opinions.

Overview

Radix UI provides unstyled, accessible components (primitives) that you can customize to match any design system. This skill guides you through building scalable component libraries with Radix UI, focusing on accessibility-first design, theming architecture, and composable patterns.

Key Strengths:

• Headless by design: Full styling control without fighting defaults
• Accessibility built-in: WAI-ARIA compliant, keyboard navigation, screen reader support
• Composable primitives: Build complex components from simple building blocks
• Framework agnostic: Works with React, but styles work anywhere

When to Use This Skill

• Creating a custom design system from scratch
• Building accessible UI component libraries
• Implementing complex interactive components (Dialog, Dropdown, Tabs, etc.)
• Migrating from styled component libraries to unstyled primitives
• Setting up theming systems with CSS variables or Tailwind
• Need full control over component behavior and styling
• Building applications requiring WCAG 2.1 AA/AAA compliance

Do not use this skill when

• You need pre-styled components out of the box (use shadcn/ui, Mantine, etc.)
• Building simple static pages without interactivity
• The project doesn't use React 16.8+ (Radix requires hooks)
• You need components for frameworks other than React

---

Core Principles

1. Accessibility First

Every Radix primitive is built with accessibility as the foundation:

• Keyboard Navigation: Full keyboard support (Tab, Arrow keys, Enter, Escape)
• Screen Readers: Proper ARIA attributes and live regions
• Focus Management: Automatic focus trapping and restoration
• Disabled States: Proper handling of disabled and aria-disabled

Rule: Never override accessibility features. Enhance, don't replace.

2. Headless Architecture

Radix provides behavior, you provide appearance:

// ❌ Don't fight pre-styled components
<Button className="override-everything" />

// ✅ Radix gives you behavior, you add styling
<Dialog.Root>
  <Dialog.Trigger className="your-button-styles" />
  <Dialog.Content className="your-modal-styles" />
</Dialog.Root>

3. Composition Over Configuration

Build complex components from simple primitives:

// Primitive components compose naturally
<Tabs.Root>
  <Tabs.List>
    <Tabs.Trigger value="tab1">Tab 1</Tabs.Trigger>
    <Tabs.Trigger value="tab2">Tab 2</Tabs.Trigger>
  </Tabs.List>
  <Tabs.Content value="tab1">Content 1</Tabs.Content>
  <Tabs.Content value="tab2">Content 2</Tabs.Content>
</Tabs.Root>

---

Getting Started

Installation

# Install individual primitives (recommended)
npm install @radix-ui/react-dialog @radix-ui/react-dropdown-menu

# Or install multiple at once
npm install @radix-ui/react-{dialog,dropdown-menu,tabs,tooltip}

# For styling (optional but common)
npm install clsx tailwind-merge class-variance-authority

Basic Component Pattern

Every Radix component follows this pattern:

import * as Dialog from '@radix-ui/react-dialog';

export function MyDialog() {
  return (
    <Dialog.Root>
      {/* Trigger the dialog */}
      <Dialog.Trigger asChild>
        <button className="trigger-styles">Open</button>
      </Dialog.Trigger>

      {/* Portal renders outside DOM hierarchy */}
      <Dialog.Portal>
        {/* Overlay (backdrop) */}
        <Dialog.Overlay className="overlay-styles" />
        
        {/* Content (modal) */}
        <Dialog.Content className="content-styles">
          <Dialog.Title>Title</Dialog.Title>
          <Dialog.Description>Description</Dialog.Description>
          
          {/* Your content here */}
          
          <Dialog.Close asChild>
            <button>Close</button>
          </Dialog.Close>
        </Dialog.Content>
      </Dialog.Portal>
    </Dialog.Root>
  );
}

---

Theming Strategies

Strategy 1: CSS Variables (Framework-Agnostic)

Best for: Maximum portability, SSR-friendly

/* globals.css */
:root {
  --color-primary: 220 90% 56%;
  --color-surface: 0 0% 100%;
  --radius-base: 0.5rem;
  --shadow-lg: 0 10px 15px -3px rgb(0 0 0 / 0.1);
}

[data-theme="dark"] {
  --color-primary: 220 90% 66%;
  --color-surface: 222 47% 11%;
}

// Component.tsx
<Dialog.Content 
  className="
    bg-[hsl(var(--color-surface))]
    rounded-[var(--radius-base)]
    shadow-[var(--shadow-lg)]
  "
/>

Strategy 2: Tailwind + CVA (Class Variance Authority)

Best for: Tailwind projects, variant-heavy components

// button.tsx
import { cva, type VariantProps } from 'class-variance-authority';
import { cn } from '@/lib/utils';

const buttonVariants = cva(
  // Base styles
  "inline-flex items-center justify-center rounded-md font-medium transition-colors focus-visible:outline-none disabled:pointer-events-none disabled:opacity-50",
  {
    variants: {
      variant: {
        default: "bg-primary text-primary-foreground hover:bg-primary/90",
        destructive: "bg-destructive text-destructive-foreground hover:bg-destructive/90",
        outline: "border border-input bg-background hover:bg-accent",
        ghost: "hover:bg-accent hover:text-accent-foreground",
      },
      size: {
        default: "h-10 px-4 py-2",
        sm: "h-9 rounded-md px-3",
        lg: "h-11 rounded-md px-8",
        icon: "h-10 w-10",
      },
    },
    defaultVariants: {
      variant: "default",
      size: "default",
    },
  }
);

interface ButtonProps extends VariantProps<typeof buttonVariants> {
  children: React.ReactNode;
}

export function Button({ variant, size, children }: ButtonProps) {
  return (
    <button className={cn(buttonVariants({ variant, size }))}>
      {children}
    </button>
  );
}

Strategy 3: Stitches (CSS-in-JS)

Best for: Runtime theming, scoped styles

import { styled } from '@stitches/react';
import * as Dialog from '@radix-ui/react-dialog';

const StyledContent = styled(Dialog.Content, {
  backgroundColor: '$surface',
  borderRadius: '$md',
  padding: '$6',
  
  variants: {
    size: {
      small: { width: '300px' },
      medium: { width: '500px' },
      large: { width: '700px' },
    },
  },
  
  defaultVariants: {
    size: 'medium',
  },
});

---

Component Patterns

Pattern 1: Compound Components with Context

Use case: Share state between primitive parts

// Select.tsx
import * as Select from '@radix-ui/react-select';
import { CheckIcon, ChevronDownIcon } from '@radix-ui/react-icons';

export function CustomSelect({ items, placeholder, onValueChange }) {
  return (
    <Select.Root onValueChange={onValueChange}>
      <Select.Trigger className="select-trigger">
        <Select.Value placeholder={placeholder} />
        <Select.Icon>
          <ChevronDownIcon />
        </Select.Icon>
      </Select.Trigger>

      <Select.Portal>
        <Select.Content className="select-content">
          <Select.Viewport>
            {items.map((item) => (
              <Select.Item 
                key={item.value} 
                value={item.value}
                className="select-item"
              >
                <Select.ItemText>{item.label}</Select.ItemText>
                <Select.ItemIndicator>
                  <CheckIcon />
                </Select.ItemIndicator>
              </Select.Item>
            ))}
          </Select.Viewport>
        </Select.Content>
      </Select.Portal>
    </Select.Root>
  );
}

Pattern 2: Polymorphic Components with asChild

Use case: Render as different elements without losing behavior

// ✅ Render as Next.js Link but keep Radix behavior
<Dialog.Trigger asChild>
  <Link href="/settings">Open Settings</Link>
</Dialog.Trigger>

// ✅ Render as custom component
<DropdownMenu.Item asChild>
  <YourCustomButton icon={<Icon />}>Action</YourCustomButton>
</DropdownMenu.Item>

Why asChild matters: Prevents nested button/link issues in accessibility tree.

Pattern 3: Controlled vs Uncontrolled

// Uncontrolled (Radix manages state)
<Tabs.Root defaultValue="tab1">
  <Tabs.Trigger value="tab1">Tab 1</Tabs.Trigger>
</Tabs.Root>

// Controlled (You manage state)
const [activeTab, setActiveTab] = useState('tab1');

<Tabs.Root value={activeTab} onValueChange={setActiveTab}>
  <Tabs.Trigger value="tab1">Tab 1</Tabs.Trigger>
</Tabs.Root>

Rule: Use controlled when you need to sync with external state (URL, Redux, etc.).

Pattern 4: Animation with Framer Motion

import * as Dialog from '@radix-ui/react-dialog';
import { motion, AnimatePresence } from 'framer-motion';

export function AnimatedDialog({ open, onOpenChange }) {
  return (
    <Dialog.Root open={open} onOpenChange={onOpenChange}>
      <Dialog.Portal forceMount>
        <AnimatePresence>
          {open && (
            <>
              <Dialog.Overlay asChild>
                <motion.div
                  initial={{ opacity: 0 }}
                  animate={{ opacity: 1 }}
                  exit={{ opacity: 0 }}
                  className="dialog-overlay"
                />
              </Dialog.Overlay>
              
              <Dialog.Content asChild>
                <motion.div
                  initial={{ opacity: 0, scale: 0.95 }}
                  animate={{ opacity: 1, scale: 1 }}
                  exit={{ opacity: 0, scale: 0.95 }}
                  className="dialog-content"
                >
                  {/* Content */}
                </motion.div>
              </Dialog.Content>
            </>
          )}
        </AnimatePresence>
      </Dialog.Portal>
    </Dialog.Root>
  );
}

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Common Primitives Reference

Dialog (Modal)

<Dialog.Root> {/* State container */}
  <Dialog.Trigger /> {/* Opens dialog */}
  <Dialog.Portal> {/* Renders

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*Content truncated.*