registries

specui get downloads registry items into an existing SpecUI contract. It's not a replacement for load, which imports an entire tree — the two solve different problems:

Command	Use when
specui load	You want an entire .specui/ from git, npm, or a directory
specui get	You want one or more registry components plus their vendored source files

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Prerequisites

You need a consumer project with a .specui/ folder already in place:

npx specui init --preset web-app
npx specui validate .specui

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List available items (shadcn)

npx specui get --list
npx specui get --list --from shadcn

Listing needs network access to reach the registry.

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Install components

npx specui get button
npx specui get button card dialog
npx specui get --style default button

Here's what happens under the hood:

1. Registry metadata is resolved, including dependencies (installed automatically)
2. Files land under .specui/components/<name>/vendor/
3. The component manifest is updated
4. sync runs to refresh registry.json

If the component already exists and you want to replace it:

npx specui get button --force

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Custom registry URL

Any URL serving the same JSON shape as shadcn registry items works:

npx specui get --from https://example.com/r/my-widget.json
npx specui get --url https://example.com/r/my-widget.json

Offline, point at a local file:

npx specui get --from file:///path/to/item.json

Platforms are inferred from file extensions (.tsx, .vue, .dart, …).

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Platform hint

npx specui get button --platform react

Useful when a registry serves multiple targets (.tsx, .vue, .dart) and you want to be explicit. Common values: react, vue, flutter — get infers from file paths by default.

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After get

Always verify what you just pulled in:

npx specui validate .specui --strict
npx specui list components

One thing worth being clear about: agents still have to follow the tokens and rules in .specui/. Vendor code is reference material, not permission to bypass the spec.

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vs application install (shadcn CLI)

	shadcn CLI in app	specui get
Output	components/ui/ in app	.specui/.../vendor/ + manifest
Purpose	Runnable UI	Design record + reference source
Validation	App tests	specui validate

The two aren't mutually exclusive. SpecUI holds the contract; the app holds framework code, mapped to syncTargets in manifests.

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Troubleshooting

• Network errors — retry, or use file:// JSON
• Missing .specui — run init first
• Validate fails after get — run sync; check manifest links

See Troubleshooting for more.

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Next steps

• Scenarios — shadcn (Scenario E)
• Distribution
• CLI — get