What is RadixUI?

Radix UI is a collection of ready-made building blocks (components) for building web interfaces with React. The components are unstyled, meaning you can give them any look you want, but they already handle things like keyboard navigation and screen-reader support.

Let's break it down

  • Radix: a name that suggests “core” or “foundation”; it’s the brand of the library.
  • UI: short for “User Interface”, the visual part of a program that users interact with.
  • Components: reusable pieces of code that render a specific part of the UI, like a button or a dropdown.
  • Unstyled: the components come without default colors or fonts, so you can style them to match your design.
  • Accessible: built to work well for people using assistive technologies (screen readers, keyboard only, etc.).
  • React: a popular JavaScript library for building web apps; Radix UI works inside React projects.

Why does it matter?

Using Radix UI lets developers add complex, reliable UI features quickly without reinventing the wheel, while automatically meeting accessibility standards. This saves time, reduces bugs, and helps create inclusive products that work for everyone.

Where is it used?

  • SaaS dashboards that need custom-styled tables, menus, and dialogs.
  • E-commerce sites that require accessible navigation menus and product carousels.
  • Internal admin tools where developers want full design control but need ready-made interaction logic.
  • Design systems that provide a consistent, accessible foundation for multiple web applications.

Good things about it

  • Built-in accessibility (keyboard support, ARIA attributes).
  • Fully unstyled, giving complete freedom to apply your own design.
  • Highly composable: you can combine small parts to create complex widgets.
  • Excellent TypeScript typings and documentation.
  • Actively maintained by a reputable team (the creators of Stitches).

Not-so-good things

  • Because they are unstyled, you must write the CSS yourself, which can add extra work.
  • Limited to React; not directly usable with other frameworks like Vue or Angular.
  • Some components have a learning curve to understand the composition patterns.
  • May require additional libraries (e.g., a styling solution) to get a finished look.