[bug]: Import aliasing broken for custom registries in latest version of shadcn CLI

[betich]

Describe the bug

In the latest version of the shadcn CLI (2.9.2), import aliasing (e.g. @/lib/utils) is not preserved correctly when using a registry JSON input. Instead, the output replaces the alias with a relative or root-based path (e.g. /lib/utils), which causes import resolution to fail in typical React/Next.js setups.

Example input:

Command run:

npx shadcn@latest https://<registry_url>/r/example.json

Registry file (example.json):

{
  "$schema": "https://ui.shadcn.com/schema/registry-item.json",
  "name": "example",
  "type": "registry:block",
  "title": "Example",
  "files": [
    {
      "path": "src/example.tsx",
      "content": "import { cn } from '@/lib/utils'\n\nexport default function Example() {\n  return (\n    <div className={cn('text-center text-lg font-semibold', 'text-gray-700')}>\n      Example Component\n    </div>\n  )\n}\n",
      "type": "registry:component",
      "target": "components/example.tsx"
    }
  ],
  "docs": "An Example component."
}

Expected output:

import { cn } from '@/lib/utils'

Actual output:

import { cn } from '/lib/utils' // ❌ alias removed

---

Notes:

• I’ve tried many configurations, but the only reliable workaround is to:

  1. Downgrade to shadcn@2.8.0, where the aliasing works as expected. (shadcn@2.9.0 seems to be the breaking change)
  2. Set target: "" in the registry-item definition, which causes it to resolve to the default @/components/ui folder. In that context, the import aliasing works correctly.
  3. Set alias path to some other character other than @

Affected component/components

Custom Component Registry

How to reproduce

1. Create a registry.json with the following content:

{
  "$schema": "https://ui.shadcn.com/schema/registry.json",
  "name": "shadcn",
  "homepage": "https://ui.shadcn.com",
  "items": [
    {
      "name": "example",
      "type": "registry:block",
      "title": "Example",
      "files": [
        {
          "path": "src/example.tsx",
          "type": "registry:component",
          "target": "components/example.tsx"
        }
      ],
      "docs": "An example component."
    }
  ]
}

2. Create a component like src/example.tsx that uses @ import aliases

import { cn } from "@/lib/utils";

export default function Example() {
  return (
    <div className={cn("text-center text-lg font-semibold", "text-gray-700")}>
      Example Component
    </div>
  );
}

3. Build the registry by running npx shadcn@latest build

4. Serve the static json files. Then in another project, run the ShadCN CLI to create that component

npx shadcn@latest https://<registry_url>/r/example.json

5. Observe the output in the generated component:

import { cn } from '/lib/utils'

Codesandbox/StackBlitz link

https://codesandbox.io/p/devbox/g47g23

Logs

System Info

shadcn: 2.9.2
Node.js: v22.14.0
pnpm: 9.15.0
npm: 10.9.2
System info: Darwin MacBooks-MacBook-Pro-2.local 24.5.0 Darwin Kernel Version 24.5.0: Tue Apr 22 19:48:46 PDT 2025; root:xnu-11417.121.6~2/RELEASE_ARM64_T8103 arm64
Project Setup: React + Vite TS

Before submitting

• I've made research efforts and searched the documentation
• I've searched for existing issues

[betich]

I believe the 2.9.0 release is the breaking change that is causing this issue.

[molecule-lab-rushil]

@betich not just this if you have any shadcn component in the registryDependencies they are getting saved at root level instead it should be saved inside components/ui

i don't know how long will this cause problem to registry developers and users

[molecule-lab-rushil]

Update

if a registry component has a directive
"use client";

then version shadcn@2.9.0 is removing that directive

[marcospassos]

Same issue here, the project ends up completely broken:

• The component is added to the root of the repository instead of the components folder
• The utility is placed in the correct folder, but the import path isn’t aliased: it uses /lib/utils instead of @/lib/utils

[molecule-lab-rushil]

For now in my docs i have added a small Callout with v2.8.0 everything works as expected mostly will need to revert it when the issue is fixed

[shadcn]

Looking into this.

[shadcn]

Okay I pushed a fix for this. Can you try the latest beta and let me know if if fixes this issue?

pnpm dlx shadcn@0.0.0-beta.ad2c9ae1

thank you

[betich]

that fixes it for me, thanks!

[molecule-lab-rushil]

this fixes it for me, thank you @shadcn