shads.app
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Theme builder, not theme picker

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about the builder, accounts, Pro, export, and live preview.

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Getting started

3 common questions

What is shads.app?

shads.app is a visual theme builder for shadcn/ui. Design tokens in the browser, preview them on real components, then export CSS, theme.json, or a shadcn registry install command.

How do I install a theme into my project?

Open Get theme in the header. Use the agent prompt, copy a shadcn create/add command, or download CSS and theme.json. Starter themes use a stable catalog URL; custom themes create a share-backed install URL automatically.

What is the difference between Save and Publish?

Save keeps a theme for you (local for guests, cloud when signed in). Publish creates a share link others can open and lists the theme in Community for 90 days.

Accounts and Pro

3 common questions

Do I need an account?

No. You can design and export without signing in. Sign in for cloud-saved themes, hosted AI generations, and published share links.

What do Free and Pro include?

Free signed-in accounts get limited cloud themes, public shares, and hosted AI generations per month. Pro ($8/month) unlocks unlimited saves and shares, readonly links, version history, advanced export, CSS import, Pro fonts, custom Google Fonts, and the Chrome extension preview.

How do I upgrade to Pro?

Open the account menu → Upgrade to Pro, or Account Settings → Plan / Benefits. After checkout, Pro unlocks when payment is confirmed — usually within seconds.

Features

3 common questions

How does AI theme generation work?

Sign in and click the sparkles icon in the header. Free accounts get 10 hosted generations per month; Pro gets 500. Preview variations, apply one, then refine manually.

What is Live Preview?

Use the bookmarklet (Beta) to try a theme on any shadcn site, or the Chrome extension (Preview) for one-click sync on compatible apps. Production themes should still be installed via export.

Can coding agents install themes?

Yes. Point Cursor, Claude Desktop, or any MCP client at @shadsapp/mcp. See MCP Docs under Resources for setup.

Billing and policies

2 common questions

How do I manage or cancel billing?

Open Account Settings → Manage Billing to update payment details or cancel. For help, email [email protected]. See /refunds for the refund policy.

What data do you store?

Signed-in accounts store profile data and cloud-saved themes. See the Privacy Policy for details on collection and retention.