Radix UI
Accessible headless primitives. The foundation of shadcn/ui and a good design system.
Strengths
- Full ARIA accessibility without effort, WAI-ARIA compliant by default
- Headless: no imposed styles, total design freedom
- Complex state management (modal, dropdown, tooltip) with native keyboard nav
- Tree-shakable: import only the needed primitives
Limitations
- Verbose API without shadcn as a wrapper, lots of boilerplate
- Dense documentation, learning curve for advanced primitives
- Not suitable for non-technical designers, purely for devs
Best for
- Custom design systems with strict accessibility requirements
- Enterprise projects with mandatory a11y audits