DEV Community

Alex Devson
Alex Devson

Posted on

The Electron Starter Kit I Wish Existed Earlier — Electron + React + TypeScript + Tailwind + shadcn/ui

#electron #react #tailwindcss #typescript

Every time I started a new Electron project, I'd spend hours setting up the same stack: React, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, and shadcn/ui components. Config files everywhere, compatibility issues, build pipeline headaches.

So I made a proper boilerplate that just works.

What's inside

electron-shadcn-typescript gives you a production-ready Electron setup with:

  • ⚡ React + TypeScript — type-safe from day one
  • 🎨 Tailwind CSS + shadcn/ui — beautiful components out of the box
  • 📦 Proper build pipeline — dev and production builds just work
  • 🔥 Hot reload — instant feedback during development

Getting started 

git clone https://github.com/p32929/electron-shadcn-typescript
cd electron-shadcn-typescript
npm install
npm run dev
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

You'll have a running Electron app with the full modern stack in under a minute.

Why not just use create-electron-app?

Most Electron starters give you a bare Electron shell. You still have to:

  1. Add React
  2. Configure TypeScript
  3. Set up Tailwind
  4. Install and configure shadcn/ui
  5. Fix all the compatibility issues between them

This boilerplate does all of that for you. Clone → install → build.

Who is this for?

  • Developers building desktop apps with web tech
  • Anyone who uses React + Tailwind and wants to go desktop
  • Teams that want a consistent starting point for Electron projects

The repo has 77+ stars and is actively maintained. PRs welcome.

⭐ GitHub

What's your go-to Electron setup? Would love to hear what stack you use for desktop apps.

Top comments (0)