- Is there a free alternative to 21st.dev?
- Yes. SmoothUI, Kibo UI, Cult UI and Fancy Components are free and MIT licensed, and shadcn/ui itself is free. 21st.dev also lets you browse for free.
- How does an AI editor install components from these libraries?
- Through the shadcn CLI. SmoothUI and Fancy Components publish shadcn registries, and Kibo UI works with the shadcn CLI too, so Cursor, v0 or Lovable can run one command and the code lands in your project.
- Can I mix 21st.dev components with these libraries?
- Yes. They are all React and Tailwind, and most are built for shadcn/ui, so they sit in the same project. Keeping one main style makes the app look less pieced together.
- What if I need a whole animated screen, not a component?
- Look at qodesign: each piece is a complete app interaction, like a login, checkout or tab bar, with a prompt for your AI editor.