> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/shadcn-ui/ui/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# shadcn view

> View items from the registry

The `view` command fetches and displays registry items in JSON format. Use it to inspect component metadata, dependencies, and source code.

## Usage

```bash theme={null}
shadcn view <items...>
```

## Arguments

<ParamField path="items" type="string[]" required>
  The item names or URLs to view. Can be component names, URLs, or local paths.
</ParamField>

## Options

<ParamField path="--cwd" type="string" optional>
  The working directory. Defaults to the current directory.
</ParamField>

## Examples

### View a single component

```bash theme={null}
shadcn view button
```

Output:

```json theme={null}
[
  {
    "name": "button",
    "type": "registry:ui",
    "dependencies": [
      "@radix-ui/react-slot",
      "class-variance-authority"
    ],
    "registryDependencies": [],
    "files": [
      {
        "path": "ui/button.tsx",
        "content": "import * as React from \"react\"...",
        "type": "registry:ui"
      }
    ]
  }
]
```

### View multiple components

```bash theme={null}
shadcn view button card dialog
```

### View from URL

```bash theme={null}
shadcn view https://ui.shadcn.com/r/styles/new-york/button.json
```

### View from local path

```bash theme={null}
shadcn view ./my-component.json
```

### View in specific directory

```bash theme={null}
shadcn view button --cwd ./my-project
```

## What it does

1. Reads your `components.json` (if it exists) or uses default configuration
2. Resolves registry URLs for the requested items
3. Fetches item metadata and content from the registry
4. Outputs the complete item data as JSON

## Output structure

Each registry item includes:

* `name` - Component name
* `type` - Registry type (registry:ui, registry:block, etc.)
* `dependencies` - npm packages required
* `devDependencies` - npm dev packages required
* `registryDependencies` - Other shadcn components required
* `files` - Array of file objects with path and content
* `meta` - Additional metadata

## Registry types

Components can have different types:

* `registry:ui` - UI components
* `registry:block` - Larger UI blocks
* `registry:hook` - React hooks
* `registry:lib` - Library utilities
* `registry:theme` - Theme configurations
* `registry:style` - Style systems
* `registry:base` - Base configurations

## Use cases

### Inspect before adding

Review a component's structure and dependencies before installing:

```bash theme={null}
shadcn view button | jq '.[] | .dependencies'
```

### Extract component source

Get the raw source code for inspection:

```bash theme={null}
shadcn view button | jq -r '.[].files[].content'
```

### Check registry dependencies

See which other components are required:

```bash theme={null}
shadcn view dialog | jq '.[] | .registryDependencies'
```

### Compare versions

Fetch and compare different component versions:

```bash theme={null}
shadcn view https://registry1.com/button.json > v1.json
shadcn view https://registry2.com/button.json > v2.json
diff v1.json v2.json
```

## Working with output

The JSON output can be processed with tools like `jq`:

```bash theme={null}
# Get just the file paths
shadcn view button | jq -r '.[].files[].path'

# Get dependencies only
shadcn view button | jq -r '.[].dependencies[]'

# Pretty print with color
shadcn view button | jq '.'

# Save to file
shadcn view button > button.json
```

## Notes

* Output is always valid JSON
* Returns an array of items, even for a single component
* Supports partial `components.json` files
* Automatically configures registries if needed
* Works without a `components.json` file (uses defaults)