uifork

UIFork

UIFork is a CLI tool and React component library for managing UI component versions. Create multiple versions of components, let stakeholders switch between them to test and gather feedback, and promote the best one when ready.

When to Use

• User wants to version React components for A/B testing or stakeholder feedback
• User mentions uifork, component versioning, or UI variations
• User needs help with uifork CLI commands (init, watch, new, fork, promote, etc.)
• User wants to set up uifork in a React app (Vite, Next.js, etc.)

Installation

npm install uifork

Or use yarn, pnpm, or bun.

Quick Setup

1. Add UIFork Component

Add the UIFork component to your React app root. Typically shown in development and preview/staging (not production):

Vite:

import { UIFork } from "uifork";

const showUIFork = import.meta.env.MODE !== "production";

function App() {
  return (
    <>
      <YourApp />
      {showUIFork && <UIFork />}
    </>
  );
}

Next.js (App Router):

// components/UIForkProvider.tsx
"use client";
import { UIFork } from "uifork";

export function UIForkProvider() {
  if (process.env.NODE_ENV === "production") return null;
  return <UIFork />;
}

// app/layout.tsx
import { UIForkProvider } from "@/components/UIForkProvider";

export default function RootLayout({ children }) {
  return (
    <html>
      <body>
        {children}
        <UIForkProvider />
      </body>
    </html>
  );
}

Next.js (Pages Router):

// pages/_app.tsx
import { UIFork } from "uifork";

export default function App({ Component, pageProps }) {
  return (
    <>
      <Component {...pageProps} />
      {process.env.NODE_ENV !== "production" && <UIFork />}
    </>
  );
}

No separate CSS import needed - styles are automatically included.

2. Initialize Component Versioning

npx uifork src/components/Button.tsx

Or use the explicit form:

npx uifork init src/components/Button.tsx

This will:

• Convert the component into a forked component that can be versioned
• Generate a versions.ts file to track all versions
• Optionally start the watch server (use -w flag with either form)

UIFork auto-detects whether the component uses a default export or a named export and generates the correct versioning scaffolding. If the file has multiple exported components and detection is ambiguous, specify which export to fork:

npx uifork init src/components/Button.tsx --export Button
npx uifork init src/components/Button.tsx --export default

3. Use Component Normally

// Default export (auto-detected)
import Button from "./components/Button";

// Named export (auto-detected)
import { Button } from "./components/Button";

// Works exactly as before - active version controlled by UIFork widget
<Button onClick={handleClick}>Click me</Button>;

CLI Commands

All commands use npx uifork:

Initialize a component (shorthand)

Initialize versioning for an existing component by passing the path directly.

npx uifork src/components/Dropdown.tsx
npx uifork src/components/Dropdown.tsx -w  # Start watching after init

Or use the explicit form:

npx uifork init src/components/Dropdown.tsx
npx uifork init src/components/Dropdown.tsx -w  # Start watching after init
npx uifork init src/components/Dropdown.tsx --export Button  # Specify which export to fork

watch [directory]

Start the watch server (enables UI widget communication).

npx uifork watch                    # Watch current directory (port 3030)
npx uifork watch ./src              # Watch specific directory
npx uifork watch --port 3002        # Custom port
npx uifork watch ./src --port 3002  # Directory + custom port

When using a custom port, pass the same port to the UIFork component: <UIFork port={3002} />.

Important: After generating new version files (e.g., manually or via AI agents), run the watch command to regenerate the corresponding versions.ts files.

new <component-path> [version-id]

Create a new empty version file.

npx uifork new Button         # Auto-increment version number
npx uifork new Button v3      # Specify version explicitly

fork <component-path> <version-id> [target-version]

Fork an existing version to create a new one.

npx uifork fork Button v1           # Fork v1 to auto-incremented version
npx uifork fork Button v1 v2        # Fork v1 to specific version
npx uifork duplicate Button v1 v2   # Alias for fork

rename <component-path> <version-id> <new-version-id>

Rename a version.

npx uifork rename Button v1 v2

delete <component-path> <version-id>

Delete a version (must have at least one version remaining).

npx uifork delete Button v2

promote <component-path> <version-id>

Promote a version to be the main component and remove all versioning scaffolding.

npx uifork promote Button v2

This will:

• Replace Button.tsx with content from Button.v2.tsx
• Delete all version files (Button.v*.tsx)
• Delete Button.versions.ts
• Effectively "undo" the versioning system

File Structure

After running npx uifork src/components/Button.tsx (or npx uifork init src/components/Button.tsx):

src/components/
├── Button.tsx              # Wrapper component (import this)
├── Button.versions.ts      # Version configuration
├── Button.v1.tsx           # Original component (version 1)
├── Button.v2.tsx           # Additional versions
└── Button.v1_1.tsx         # Sub-versions (v1.1, v2.1, etc.)

Both default exports and named exports are supported. UIFork auto-detects the export style during init and maintains it across all version files.

Version Naming

• v1, v2, v3 - Major versions
• v1_1, v1_2 - Sub-versions (displayed as V1.1, V1.2 in UI)
• v2_1, v2_2 - Sub-versions of v2

UIFork Widget Features

The UIFork component provides a floating UI widget that allows:

• Switch versions - Click to switch between versions
• Create new versions - Click "+" to create blank version
• Fork versions - Fork existing version to iterate
• Rename versions - Give versions meaningful names
• Delete versions - Remove versions no longer needed
• Promote versions - Promote version to become main component
• Open in editor - Click to open version file in VS Code/Cursor

Keyboard shortcuts: Cmd/Ctrl + Arrow Up/Down to cycle through versions

Settings: Theme (light/dark/system), position, code editor preference

Custom Environment Gating

For more control over when UIFork appears:

// Enable via NEXT_PUBLIC_ENABLE_UIFORK=true or VITE_ENABLE_UIFORK=true
const showUIFork =
  process.env.NODE_ENV !== "production" ||
  process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_ENABLE_UIFORK === "true";

Useful for:

• Showing on specific preview branches
• Enabling for internal stakeholders on staging
• Gating behind feature flags

Common Workflows

Starting Versioning on a Component

1. Install uifork: npm install uifork
2. Add <UIFork /> component to app root
3. Initialize: npx uifork src/components/MyComponent.tsx (or npx uifork init src/components/MyComponent.tsx)
4. Start watch server: npx uifork watch
5. Use the widget to create and switch between versions

Creating a New Version

# Create empty version
npx uifork new Button

# Or fork existing version
npx uifork fork Button v1

Promoting a Version to Production

npx uifork promote Button v2

This removes all versioning and makes v2 the main component.

How It Works

1. ForkedComponent reads active version from localStorage and renders corresponding component
2. UIFork connects to watch server and displays all available versions
3. Selecting a version updates localStorage, triggering ForkedComponent to re-render
4. Watch server monitors file system for new version files and updates versions.ts automatically

After generating new version files: When creating version files manually or via AI agents, run npx uifork watch to regenerate the versions.ts files so the new versions appear in the UIFork widget.