Reference Files

Canonical example: src/lib/ui/Button.svelte and src/lib/ui/button.variants.ts
Compound variants example: src/lib/ui/Tag.svelte and src/lib/ui/tag.variants.ts
Multi-variant example: src/lib/ui/ContentCard.svelte and src/lib/ui/contentCard.variants.ts

Pattern Overview

Step 1: Create Variants File

// componentName.variants.ts
import { tv, type VariantProps } from 'tailwind-variants'

export const componentVariants = tv({
	base: 'common-classes-for-all-variants',
	variants: {
		variant: {
			primary: 'classes-for-primary',
			secondary: 'classes-for-secondary'
		},
		size: {
			sm: 'text-sm px-2',
			md: 'text-base px-4',
			lg: 'text-lg px-6'
		}
	},
	defaultVariants: {
		variant: 'primary',
		size: 'md'
	}
})

// Export types for each variant dimension
export type ComponentVariant = VariantProps<typeof componentVariants>['variant']
export type ComponentSize = VariantProps<typeof componentVariants>['size']

Step 2: Use in Component

<script lang="ts">
  import type { ClassValue } from 'svelte/elements'
  import { componentVariants, type ComponentVariant, type ComponentSize } from './componentName.variants'

  type Props = {
    variant?: ComponentVariant
    size?: ComponentSize
    class?: ClassValue
  }

  let { variant, size, class: className, ...rest }: Props = $props()
</script>

<div class={[componentVariants({ variant, size }), className]} {...rest}>
  <!-- content -->
</div>

Key Patterns

Boolean Variants

For on/off states like active, disabled, error:

variants: {
  active: {
    true: 'bg-svelte-100 border-svelte-300',
    false: ''
  },
  error: {
    true: 'border-red-300 bg-red-50',
    false: 'border-transparent'
  }
}

Compound Variants

Apply styles only when specific combinations match:

compoundVariants: [
	{
		active: true,
		removable: false,
		class: 'hover:bg-svelte-200'
	}
]

Class Merging

Always use array syntax to allow consumer overrides:

<div class={[componentVariants({ variant, size }), className]}>

Templates

For copy-paste templates, see TEMPLATES.md.

component-builder

Component Builder

When to Use

Quick Start