get_item_source

Full registry JSON including the actual TSX source for every file. The heaviest MCP tool by token cost — call it only after the agent has committed.

get_item_source returns the complete registry item with full TSX source for every file. It's what the agent calls when it wants to read the code — to adapt it, splice pieces of it, or understand how a pattern is built.

When to use it

The agent needs to read or modify the source rather than install verbatim.
Comparing two components' implementations, not just their metadata.
Debugging "how does X work?" prompts where get_item metadata isn't enough.

If the agent just wants to install, skip this and go straight to get_install_command — shadcn add pulls source directly server-to-server, no need to route it through the agent's token budget.

Arguments

Name	Type	Required	Notes
`name`	`string`	✓	Registry slug

Example prompts

use shadcnio and show me the source of hero-announcement so I can match its layout in a different component

use shadcnio to fetch the source of use-debounce — I want to see how it handles cleanup

use shadcnio to pull the source of pricing-grouped-comparison-table and tell me which parts would need changing to show 4 tiers instead of 3

Response shape

Same shape as get_item, with content populated on every file:

{
"$schema": "https://ui.shadcn.com/schema/registry-item.json",
"name": "hero-announcement",
"type": "registry:block",
"title": "React Announcement Hero Block",
"description": "A hero section with an announcement banner above the headline.",
"author": "shadcn.io",
"homepage": "https://www.shadcn.io/blocks/hero-announcement",
"dependencies": ["lucide-react"],
"registryDependencies": ["button", "badge"],
"files": [
  {
    "path": "blocks/hero/hero-announcement.tsx",
    "type": "registry:block",
    "target": "components/blocks/hero/hero-announcement.tsx",
    "content": "\"use client\"\n\nimport { ArrowRight } from \"lucide-react\"\n..."
  }
]
}

The returned source is already sanitized: JSDoc blocks stripped, @repo/shadcn-ui/ and ~/ path aliases rewritten to @/, so it's paste-compatible with any standard shadcn setup.

Manual invocation

curl -s -X POST "https://www.shadcn.io/api/mcp?token=YOUR_TOKEN" \
-H "content-type: application/json" \
-d '{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 1,
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "name": "get_item_source",
    "arguments": { "name": "hero-announcement" }
  }
}' | jq -r '.result.content[0].text | fromjson | .files[0].content'

The -r on the final jq emits the file content without JSON-quoting — pipe to a file or to bat for pretty printing.

get_item_source

When to use it

Arguments

Example prompts

Response shape

Manual invocation

FAQ

Why is this the most expensive tool?

Should I just install the component instead?

Does this work for multi-file items?

Where did my JSDoc go?

Why are the imports written with @/...?

What happens with premium blocks?