HeroUI Native Development Guide

HeroUI Native is a component library built on Uniwind (Tailwind CSS for React Native) and React Native, providing accessible, customizable UI components for mobile applications.

Installation

curl -fsSL https://heroui.com/install | bash -s heroui-native

CRITICAL: Native Only - Do Not Use Web Patterns

This guide is for HeroUI Native ONLY. Do NOT apply HeroUI React (web) patterns — the package, styling engine, and color format all differ:

// CORRECT — Native pattern
import { Button } from "heroui-native";

<Button variant="primary" onPress={() => console.log("Pressed!")}>
	Click me
</Button>;

Always fetch Native docs before implementing.

Core Principles

• Semantic variants (primary, secondary, tertiary) over visual descriptions
• Composition over configuration (compound components)
• Theme variables with HSL color format
• React Native StyleSheet patterns with Uniwind utilities

Accessing Documentation & Component Information

For component details, examples, props, and implementation patterns, always fetch documentation:

Using Scripts

# List all available components
node scripts/list_components.mjs

# Get component documentation (MDX)
node scripts/get_component_docs.mjs Button
node scripts/get_component_docs.mjs Button Card TextField

# Get theme variables
node scripts/get_theme.mjs

# Get non-component docs (guides, releases)
node scripts/get_docs.mjs /docs/native/getting-started/theming

Direct MDX URLs

Component docs: fetch .mdx with a concrete kebab-case slug. Run node scripts/list_components.mjs when the slug is unknown, and never fetch a URL that still contains a placeholder.

Examples:

• Button: https://heroui.com/docs/native/components/button.mdx
• Dialog: https://heroui.com/docs/native/components/dialog.mdx
• TextField: https://heroui.com/docs/native/components/text-field.mdx

Getting started guides: use a concrete topic URL such as https://heroui.com/docs/native/getting-started/quick-start.mdx.

Important: Always fetch component docs before implementing. The MDX docs include complete examples, props, anatomy, and API references.

Installation Essentials

Quick Install

npm i heroui-native react-native-reanimated react-native-gesture-handler react-native-safe-area-context @gorhom/bottom-sheet react-native-svg react-native-worklets tailwind-merge tailwind-variants

Framework Setup (Expo - Recommended)

1. Install dependencies:

npx create-expo-app MyApp
cd MyApp
npm i heroui-native uniwind tailwindcss
npm i react-native-reanimated react-native-gesture-handler react-native-safe-area-context @gorhom/bottom-sheet react-native-svg react-native-worklets tailwind-merge tailwind-variants

2. Create global.css:

@import "tailwindcss";
@import "uniwind";
@import "heroui-native/styles";

@source "./node_modules/heroui-native/lib";

3. Wrap app with providers:

import { GestureHandlerRootView } from "react-native-gesture-handler";
import { HeroUINativeProvider } from "heroui-native";
import "./global.css";

export default function Layout() {
	return (
		<GestureHandlerRootView style={{ flex: 1 }}>
			<HeroUINativeProvider>
				<App />
			</HeroUINativeProvider>
		</GestureHandlerRootView>
	);
}

Critical Setup Requirements

1. Uniwind is Required - HeroUI Native uses Uniwind (Tailwind CSS for React Native)
2. HeroUINativeProvider Required - Wrap your app with HeroUINativeProvider
3. GestureHandlerRootView Required - Wrap with GestureHandlerRootView from react-native-gesture-handler
4. Use Compound Components - Components use compound structure (e.g., Card.Header, Card.Body)
5. Use onPress, not onClick - React Native uses onPress event handlers
6. Platform-Specific Code - Use Platform.OS for iOS/Android differences

Component Patterns

HeroUI Native uses compound component patterns. Each component has subcomponents accessed via dot notation.

Example - Card:

<Card>
	<Card.Header>{/* Icons, badges */}</Card.Header>
	<Card.Body>
		<Card.Title>Title</Card.Title>
		<Card.Description>Description</Card.Description>
	</Card.Body>
	<Card.Footer>{/* Actions */}</Card.Footer>
</Card>

Key Points:

• Always use compound structure - don't flatten to props
• Subcomponents are accessed via dot notation (e.g., Card.Header)
• Native Card uses Card.Body (not Card.Content); Title and Description go inside Body
• Fetch component docs for complete anatomy and examples

Semantic Variants

HeroUI uses semantic naming to communicate functional intent:

Don't use raw colors - semantic variants adapt to themes and accessibility.

Theming

HeroUI Native uses CSS variables via Tailwind/Uniwind for theming. Theme colors are defined in global.css:

@theme {
	--color-accent: hsl(260, 100%, 70%);
	--color-accent-foreground: hsl(0, 0%, 100%);
}

Get current theme variables:

node scripts/get_theme.mjs

Access theme colors programmatically:

import { useThemeColor } from "heroui-native";

const accentColor = useThemeColor("accent");

Theme switching (Light/Dark Mode):

import { Uniwind, useUniwind } from "uniwind";

const { theme } = useUniwind();
Uniwind.setTheme(theme === "light" ? "dark" : "light");

For detailed theming, fetch: https://heroui.com/docs/native/getting-started/theming.mdx