Shadcn MCP for LM Studio

One MCP URL gives LM Studio's local LLMs live tools to search, preview, and install every block, component, and icon on shadcn.io — no hallucinated props, no broken installs.

Install

In LM Studio, navigate to Program (right sidebar) → Install → Edit mcp.json and add the shadcnio server:

Paste it in once signed in with an active Pro subscription — the config carries your personal token through the mcp-remote bridge, so treat the URL like an API key. Pro starts at $19/mo and includes MCP access across every editor plus 6,000+ production-ready blocks. Not Pro yet? See what you unlock →

LM Studio's MCP integration is STDIO-transport only — it launches servers as child processes. Since shadcn.io is a remote HTTP server, the snippet above uses mcp-remote (published on npm) as a thin adapter that proxies HTTP into STDIO frames LM Studio can read.

Save and load

After editing mcp.json, click Save in the editor. LM Studio starts the server immediately and surfaces its tools in whatever model you have loaded — provided the model supports tool calling. Not every local model does; check the model's card for "tools" or "function calling" support.

A Team or Organization plan gives every workspace member their own Pro entitlement.

Install your first block

use shadcnio to install hero-announcement into my project

What LM Studio actually does (when the loaded model supports tools):

1. search_items({ query: "hero-announcement" }) to confirm the slug resolves.
2. get_item({ name: "hero-announcement" }) for a cheap metadata peek.
3. get_install_command({ name: "hero-announcement" }) — returns a shadcn add https://www.shadcn.io/r/hero-announcement.json?token=… URL with your token already in the query string.
4. Hands the command back in chat for you to run in your project's terminal (LM Studio doesn't execute shell commands itself).

Name the server explicitly ("use shadcnio…") when multiple MCPs are configured.

The example above uses hero-announcement, a Pro block — the install runs once you're signed in with an active subscription.

Manage the connection

Reopen Program → Install → Edit mcp.json anytime to edit, remove, or add servers. LM Studio restarts the server automatically after each save. To disable shadcnio temporarily, comment out its block (LM Studio's mcp.json parser accepts // comments in most versions) or just delete the entry.

If your Pro subscription lapses, mcp-remote surfaces the 403 response in LM Studio's MCP log (Developer panel). Resubscribing restores access on the next invocation.

FAQ