Building an Enterprise-Grade Tags Input Component with ShadCN UI + React

[Muhammad Aqib Bin Azam]

Managing tags (skills, categories, labels, etc.) is a common requirement in modern web apps. But most tags input components out there are either too simple or lack flexibility for enterprise-grade use cases.

So, I built a ShadCN UI Tags Input Component — a fully customizable, accessible, and TypeScript-first tags input built on top of:

• React 18+
• TypeScript
• React Hook Form
• 🎞 Framer Motion (smooth animations)
• ShadCN/UI + TailwindCSS

This post walks you through why and how to use it in your own projects.

Why Another Tags Input?​

The goals were simple:

Enterprise-grade validation (with React Hook Form)

Seamless keyboard support (Enter/Backspace navigation)

Smooth animations with Framer Motion

ShadCN/UI compatibility out of the box

Fully accessible (ARIA-compliant)

🛠 Installation​

You’ll need a few peer dependencies:

npm install lucide-react class-variance-authority clsx tailwind-merge cmdk framer-motion react-hook-form

Then add required ShadCN components:

npx shadcn@latest add form input badge

Finally, copy the Tags Input component into your project:

cp components/tags-input-field.tsx your-project/src/components/

Usage Example​

Here’s a minimal setup using React Hook Form + the TagsInputField component:

import { TagsInputField } from "@/components/tags-input-field";
import { useForm, FormProvider } from "react-hook-form";

function MyForm() {
  const form = useForm({
    defaultValues: {
      skills: [],
    },
  });

  return (
    <FormProvider {...form}>
      <form onSubmit={form.handleSubmit(console.log)}>
        <TagsInputField
          name="skills"
          label="Skills"
          placeholder="Enter your skills"
        />
      </form>
    </FormProvider>
  );
}

That’s it — you now have a fully functional tags input with validation, ARIA support, and customization options.

Features Breakdown​

• Variants & Themes – Change size, colors, and layout easily.
• Validation – Built-in error messages via React Hook Form.
• Keyboard Support – Add/remove tags with Enter/Backspace.
• Integration – Works natively with ShadCN form, input, and badge components.
• Customizable – Set max tags, prevent duplicates, enable suggestions.
• Accessibility – ARIA-compliant for screen readers.

Full Documentation​

Live Documentation & Demos

Wrap Up​

If you’re using ShadCN/UI in your React app and need a production-ready tags input, this component will save you tons of boilerplate.

I’d love feedback and contributions! Check out the GitHub repo here:
GitHub: ShadCN UI Tags Input

Next steps: I’m considering adding autocomplete suggestions and drag-and-drop reordering.
Would that be useful for your use case?

Continue reading...

 

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