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Show HN: Basecoat – shadcn/UI components, no React required

144 points hunvreus | 8 comments | 13 May 25 11:22 UTC | HN request time: 1.068s | source | bottom

Basecoat ports the upcoming shadcn/ui v4 [1] to plain HTML + Tailwind (no React):

- Live demo & documentation: https://basecoatui.com

- MIT‑licensed and free: https://github.com/hunvreus/basecoat/

- Works with any backend (Flask, Django, Rails, PHP, etc.) or static site.

- Fully theme‑compatible with shadcn/ui [2].

- Uses a sliver of Alpine.js only for a few interactive bits (e.g. combobox). Swap in your own JS if you prefer.

- Dead simple to use, just drop in a class here and there:

  <button class="btn" data-tooltip="This is a tooltip text">Click me</button>
Why I built it: after moving from a Next.js stack back to Flask + Tailwind + HTMX, I missed shadcn/ui and didn’t want walls of Tailwind classes (like Flowbite or Preline).

Feedback is most welcome: bugs, requests for components, criticism.

[1]: https://v4.shadcn.com/

[2]: https://basecoatui.com/installation/#install-theming

[3]: https://pagescms.org

1. pacmanche ◴[13 May 25 15:30 UTC] No.43974037[source]▶
Now you just need to remove Tailwind
replies(2): >>43974282 #>>43974283 #
2. revskill ◴[13 May 25 15:52 UTC] No.43974282[source]▶
And then ?
replies(1): >>43974817 #
3. hunvreus ◴[13 May 25 15:52 UTC] No.43974283[source]▶
If I offer a CDN version, it will be Tailwind-free.
replies(1): >>43975359 #
4. campak ◴[13 May 25 16:39 UTC] No.43974817[source]▶
and then... that solves the issue of a Tailwind dep
replies(1): >>43975592 #
5. yawnxyz ◴[13 May 25 17:21 UTC] No.43975359[source]▶
Yes please! Even if we have to add the tailwind as a CDN, this would be useful — as we don't have to use npm / yarn to build the project anymore.

(I like building pure html files in alpine)

6. 7bit ◴[13 May 25 17:41 UTC] No.43975592{3}[source]▶
If deps are a problem for you, don't use basecoat.
replies(2): >>43979027 #>>43991496 #
7. hunvreus ◴[13 May 25 23:29 UTC] No.43979027{4}[source]▶
I think it's a fair ask.

Being able to just add one line to import the CSS styles and being able to get up and running quickly (like Alpine.js or HTMX do).

Not great if you're trying to build a serious production app, but great if you're just building a simple proof-of-concept or simple tool.

8. 7bit ◴[15 May 25 03:18 UTC] No.43991496{4}[source]▶
It is a fair ask. But not if you ask a Framework that is based on Tailwind. It's like critisising Windows for not being macOS.