Features
- Accessible components following WAI-ARIA
- Style props for inline styling
- Dark mode support out of the box
- Composable component architecture
- Theme tokens for design system consistency
Pros
- Excellent accessibility defaults
- Intuitive style props API
- Strong theming and dark mode support
Cons
- Runtime CSS-in-JS has performance overhead
- React-only
- Bundle size can be significant
Overview
Chakra UI is an accessible, modular React component library that provides building blocks for creating user interfaces. It follows WAI-ARIA guidelines, supports dark mode, and uses a style props system that lets you apply styles directly to components using responsive, theme-aware props.
Chakra UI emphasizes developer experience with its style props API — instead of writing CSS classes, you pass style properties directly to components (<Box p={4} bg="blue.500">). The library provides a comprehensive set of components from basic layout primitives to complex patterns like modals, drawers, and toasts.
When to Use
Chakra UI is suitable for React applications where accessibility and developer experience are priorities. It works well for dashboards, internal tools, and applications where the style props API speeds up development. Consider the team’s Panda CSS for new projects seeking zero-runtime performance.
Getting Started
npm install @chakra-ui/react @emotion/reactimport { Button, Stack, Text } from "@chakra-ui/react";
function App() {
return (
<Stack spacing={4} p={8}>
<Text fontSize="2xl" fontWeight="bold">Hello, Chakra UI!</Text>
<Button colorScheme="blue">Click me</Button>
</Stack>
);
}