Introducing Bun UI – A Lightweight, Accessible, and Pre-styled React Component Library in Beta

May 5, 2025

As a developer, I’ve used a wide range of UI libraries over the years, each with its own set of strengths and weaknesses. While some libraries offer vast collections of components, they often come with complexities that slow down development. Others lock advanced features behind paywalls, which is frustrating when all I want is a reliable set of UI components.

That's why I decided to build Bun UI.

Why Build Bun UI?

I’ve worked with libraries that offer a large selection of components. However, these libraries are often overly complex, heavy, and in many cases, require subscriptions for access to more advanced features. While I respect their flexibility, I needed something different—something that would fit my workflow and help me build projects faster without the overhead.

For many of my projects, I didn’t want to copy and customize every component manually. I wanted a library that:

Is fully pre-styled, using TailwindCSS, so I can focus on building features instead of tweaking design.
Comes with accessibility baked in, leveraging Radix UI primitives for robust keyboard and screen reader support.
Provides a complete set of React components—from buttons and dialogs to dropdown menus and tooltips—without needing to hunt down individual pieces.
Does not require a subscription to access advanced or essential components.
Is lightweight, simple, and tailored to the needs of solo developers or small teams who need to move quickly without sacrificing quality.

A Simple, Modular Approach

Bun UI is designed to be lightweight and straightforward. The components are not deeply chained or overly complex. If you need to customize a component beyond what’s provided, it’s easy to copy the source and create a version that fits your needs, without digging into complicated dependencies or deep prop drilling.

This approach is inspired by some of the best ideas in the React UI ecosystem—particularly from libraries like shadcn/ui, but it’s built for simplicity and speed, giving you a functional, accessible library right out of the box.

What Makes Bun UI Stand Out?

Bun UI isn’t trying to be everything for everyone. It’s a pre-styled, packaged component library that solves specific problems:

Pre-styled with TailwindCSS: Every component ships with thoughtful default styling, and you can easily customize it to fit your brand or design system.
Built for Accessibility: Accessibility is a priority. We use Radix UI under the hood to ensure all components are keyboard accessible and screen-reader friendly.
No Paywall for Advanced Features: All components are open and ready to use without needing to sign up or pay for “premium” features. What you see is what you get.
Lightweight and Simple: Bun UI keeps things lean. It’s designed to be fast to implement, with minimal boilerplate and a straightforward API.
Customizable and Flexible: If you need something beyond the provided components, you can easily copy the source and create your own version to suit your project’s needs.

The Beta Version and What’s Coming Next

Bun UI is currently in beta, and the library is growing! The first release covers core components like buttons, inputs, popover, drawer, dropdowns and more. As the library evolves, I’ll continue to add more components, expanding into complex components like data tables and graphs.

You can follow the development and check out the growing component library on bun-ui.com/docs

Final Thoughts

Bun UI is the result of years of searching for the right balance between simplicity, flexibility, and accessibility. It’s built to be a tool that speeds up development without sacrificing quality, and I hope it can help others build beautiful, functional apps just as it has helped me.