Use with an AI agent (MCP)

LocalMode UI is a standard shadcn registry, so it works with the shadcn MCP server out of the box — no LocalMode-specific server to run. Once configured, an AI coding agent can search the catalog, read component descriptions, and install items into your project on request.

1. Add the registry to your project

In your project's components.json, map the single-token @localmode namespace to the registry endpoint:

{
  "registries": {
    "@localmode": "https://localmode.ai/r/{name}.json"
  }
}

2. Initialize the shadcn MCP for your client

npx shadcn@latest mcp init --client claude

Swap claude for cursor, vscode, or codex as needed. This registers the shadcn MCP server with your agent; it can now read every registry configured in components.json, including @localmode.

3. Ask the agent

With the MCP connected, prompt your agent in natural language. Because every item ships a precise description, the agent can resolve components by intent, not just by exact name:

• "Add the model-download-progress component from @localmode/ui."
• "Install the @localmode/ui conversation family so I can build a chat."
• "Find a LocalMode UI component that shows a confidence score and add it."
• "Scaffold a local-first chat using @localmode/ui components."
• "Install the @localmode/ui chat block." — composed, ready-to-run blocks live in the same catalog and install the same way (e.g. @localmode/ui/blocks/knowledge/semantic-search).

The agent searches the catalog, picks the matching item(s), and runs the install — copying the owned .tsx into your project exactly as a manual shadcn add would.

What the agent sees

• The catalog: /registry.json — every item with its title, description, dependencies, and registryDependencies.
• Per-item JSON: /r/ui/<family>/<component>.json — the files and metadata the CLI installs.
• Aggregates: @localmode/ui/all and @localmode/ui/<family> for bulk installs.
• Composed blocks: @localmode/ui/blocks/<category>/<block> (e.g. blocks/chat, blocks/knowledge/rag-chat, blocks/vision/object-detector) — full, wired mini-apps in the same catalog. They're excluded from the aggregates by design, so an agent only installs one when asked for it by name.

Other agent-readable resources

Beyond MCP, the site publishes plain-text indexes agents can ingest directly:

• llms.txt — the catalog as a markdown index.
• llms-full.txt — the full component reference.
• Every docs page is available as raw markdown via its View as Markdown action.

See also

• Installation — manual setup and components.json.
• Bring your own data — the prop contracts an agent-installed component renders.