daisyUI - The Tailwind CSS Component Library

Why daisyUI?

Tailwind CSS is powerful, but it often leads to messy HTML cluttered with dozens of utility classes. daisyUI solves this by adding "component classes" to Tailwind.

Instead of writing class="py-2 px-4 bg-blue-500 text-white rounded-lg hover:bg-blue-700", you simply write class="btn btn-primary".

Clean JSX: Keeps your markup readable by abstracting common patterns into semantic class names.
Pure CSS Architecture: Unlike Material UI or Mantine, daisyUI has zero JavaScript. It creates the visual layer, and you control the logic (state, events) entirely.
Framework Agnostic: Because it's just CSS classes, your knowledge transfers 100% between React, Vue, Svelte, or plain HTML.
Semantic Theming: Comes with 29+ built-in themes (Cyberpunk, Dracula, Corporate) and a powerful theming engine that updates your entire app by changing a few CSS variables in the config.
Native HTML Elements: It styles standard HTML elements (<details>, <dialog>, <checkbox>) to work without complex React wrappers.

Code Snippet

This example shows how daisyUI simplifies a Card component. Note that we are using standard HTML/JSX tags with semantically named classes, not imported components.

export function ProductCard() {
  return (
    // 'card' provides the layout, 'bg-base-100' handles the theme color
    <div className="card w-96 bg-base-100 shadow-xl">
      <figure>
        <img src="/shoes.jpg" alt="Shoes" />
      </figure>
      
      <div className="card-body">
        <h2 className="card-title">
          Nike Air
          <div className="badge badge-secondary">NEW</div>
        </h2>
        <p>If a dog chews shoes whose shoes does he choose?</p>
        
        <div className="card-actions justify-end">
          <button className="btn btn-outline">Add to Cart</button>
          <button className="btn btn-primary">Buy Now</button>
        </div>
      </div>
    </div>
  )
}

Pros and Cons

Pros

Rapid Development: You get the speed of Bootstrap (pre-built components) with the customization of Tailwind.
Zero Bundle Size: Since it's just CSS that gets purged by Tailwind at build time, it adds no JavaScript weight to your application bundle.
Theming Engine: Changing the entire color scheme of your app (including dark mode) is often as simple as setting a data attribute data-theme="dark".

Cons

No Built-in Logic: Components like Modals, Dropdowns, and Carousels are visual only. You must write the React state (isOpen, onClick) or use the native <dialog> element yourself.
Design Opinion: While customizable, it has a distinct "look" out of the box. Overriding the default btn style requires writing CSS or modifying the Tailwind config.
Accessibility (A11y) Responsibility: Unlike Headless UI or Radix, daisyUI doesn't handle focus trapping or keyboard navigation for you. You are responsible for ensuring your interactive components are accessible.

Comparison with Other Libraries

Library	Design Philosophy	Best For	Pain Points
daisyUI	CSS Components Tailwind plugin adding semantic classes (`btn`).	Tailwind Users Developers who want cleaner HTML but love Tailwind's workflow.	Missing Logic You must build your own JS logic for interactive components (modals, tabs).
shadcn/ui	Headless + Tailwind Copy-paste React components powered by Radix UI.	Complex Apps Projects needing accessible, robust interactive components with full code ownership.	Setup Friction Requires more initial configuration and boilerplate code than a simple CSS class.
Material UI	React Components Fully encapsulated React components with their own styling engine.	Enterprise Teams that want a "batteries-included" solution where everything just works.	Heavy Bundle Significant runtime performance cost and harder to customize visually.

Verdict: When to Adopt

Choose daisyUI if you are building a project with Tailwind CSS and want to move fast without reinventing the wheel for every button and card. It is an excellent choice for MVPs, marketing sites, and admin panels where you are comfortable handling the minimal JavaScript logic required for interactivity. If you need rigorous accessibility guarantees for complex widgets (like Comboboxes), consider pairing it with a headless library or using shadcn/ui instead.

TL;DR