# Loading UI By **turbostarter** ยท Software & Tools Free, MIT-licensed React loading animation registry for shadcn-style projects, copy-paste spinners, skeletons, and motion primitives. - Source: https://loading-ui.com - Repository: https://github.com/turbostarter/loading-ui - Install: `npm i loading-ui` - Tags: open-source, react, tailwind, ui-components, animation, shadcn, copy-paste, mit - Pricing: free - Upvotes: 1 ## Features - 50+ loading components including spinners, rings, dots, bars, skeletons, and text effects - shadcn CLI-compatible registry for fast component installation - Copy-paste model: installed code lives in your repo, not in a package - React + Tailwind CSS primitives styled to match your existing tokens - Terminal, analyzing-image, skeleton, and wandering-eyes specialty states - MIT license with open contribution guide (~5 min to add a component) - Discord community for questions and feedback - No animation framework runtime dependency --- ## Why it matters Most products ship one generic spinner everywhere or rebuild the same loading patterns from scratch for every new surface. A free, MIT-licensed registry of React loading animations, Loading UI sits in the middle: focused components you copy once and own completely, per loading-ui.com/docs. ## The big picture Loading UI follows the same registry model that shadcn/ui popularized for general UI components, but narrows its scope to one job: pending states. That constraint is the whole point. There is no runtime dependency to pin, no design-system contract to inherit. The component arrives in your codebase as plain code you adapt to your spacing, color, and motion tokens. ## How it works If your project already runs React, Tailwind CSS, and a `components.json` setup compatible with the shadcn CLI, the install path is short. Add the registry, run the CLI to pull a component, then style it like the rest of your UI. The docs at loading-ui.com/docs describe the workflow as "registry-based distribution that fits into existing shadcn-style workflows." ## Zoom in The library ships over 50 named primitives organized by type: ring variants (ring, orbit-ring, satellite-ring, clock-ring, comet-spinner), dot families (dots, bobbing-dots, bouncing-dots, pulsating-dots), text effects (text-shimmer, text-blink, text-shimmer-wave), shape animations (accordion-loader, square-snake, infinity-track), and specialty states (skeleton, terminal, analyzing-image, wandering-eyes). That range covers most product surfaces without overlap. ## Yes, but The library requires React and Tailwind CSS. Teams on Vue, Svelte, or vanilla JS will need to look elsewhere, the components are not framework-agnostic. There is also a real risk of motion-token drift: because each component lives as a copy in your repo, animation timing and scale values can diverge from each other over time if you do not maintain a shared `loading-tokens.css` or equivalent token layer from day one. ## Reality check The GitHub repository is MIT-licensed and community-maintained. The contributing guide notes it takes roughly 5 minutes to add a new component, which keeps the quality bar variable. Evaluate each component individually rather than assuming uniform production readiness across all 50+. ## The bottom line A free, MIT-licensed registry of React loading animations is the fastest path to consistent pending states in a shadcn-style stack. The copy-paste model means zero lock-in and full adaptability, but discipline around shared motion tokens is your responsibility once the code lands in your repo. ## FAQ ### What is Loading UI? A free, MIT-licensed registry of React loading animations, Loading UI is a focused collection of over 50 spinners, skeletons, dots, bars, text effects, and specialty loading states for modern web apps. It follows the copy-paste and CLI-friendly model that shadcn/ui popularized, but limits its scope strictly to pending and loading states. The docs at loading-ui.com/docs describe it as 'a small custom registry of loading indicators for modern React apps' that avoids introducing a heavy design system or animation framework. ### How do I install and use Loading UI components? Loading UI is designed for projects already running React, Tailwind CSS, and a components.json setup compatible with the shadcn CLI. You add the Loading UI registry to your project, then use the CLI to pull individual components directly into your codebase. Once installed, each component is plain code you own, style against your existing Tailwind tokens, and ship like any other file in your repo, no package import required at runtime. ### Is Loading UI free and open source? Yes, Loading UI is licensed under the MIT license per its GitHub repository, and the project's homepage states it is 'free and open source, forever.' Because the distribution model copies code into your project rather than shipping a versioned npm package you depend on, there is no runtime library cost to your bundle either. ### What is Loading UI best for? Loading UI is best for React and Next.js teams using Tailwind CSS and a shadcn-compatible setup who need consistent, product-quality loading states without rebuilding the same patterns for every screen. It is particularly ergonomic for Next.js loading.tsx files and React Suspense boundaries because there is no runtime import: the component renders immediately with no additional network waterfall. Specialty states like skeleton, terminal, and analyzing-image cover surfaces that generic spinner libraries miss. ### How does Loading UI compare to using Framer Motion for loading animations? Loading UI and Framer Motion solve different problems. Framer Motion is a full animation runtime that lets you build custom animate-in and animate-out sequences from scratch, at the cost of adding its package weight to your bundle. Loading UI gives you pre-built, owned loading states with zero runtime dependency: the code lives in your repo and adds nothing to your JavaScript bundle. For teams that need bespoke, choreographed transitions across the full UI, Framer Motion offers more expressive power. For teams that need reliable, consistent pending states fast and want to keep bundle size flat, Loading UI wins on ergonomics. ### What are the main limitations of Loading UI? Loading UI is React-only and requires Tailwind CSS and a shadcn-compatible components.json setup, so Vue, Svelte, and vanilla JS projects cannot use it without a full rewrite of each component. Because the copy-paste model places every component directly in your repo, animation timing and scale values can drift from each other across a large codebase if you do not maintain a shared token layer from the start. The library is community-maintained, and the contributing guide notes it takes roughly 5 minutes to add a new component, which means individual component quality varies and each should be evaluated before shipping to production. --- [View on Analog](https://analoghq.ai/turbostarter/software-tools/loading-ui)