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What is pastecn?
Turn any code into a shareable shadcn registry URL. No setup, no hosting, no friction.
pastecn is a tool that converts code snippets into shadcn/ui-compatible registry endpoints. You paste code, we generate a URL. Anyone with that URL can install your code directly using the shadcn CLI — no repository setup, no configuration files, no deployment pipeline.
The problem it solves
Sharing reusable React components usually means one of two paths:
Publish an npm package
Overhead: versioning, CI/CD, maintenance, discoverability. Great for libraries, overkill for one-off components.
Copy-paste in a message
Fast but fragile. Formatting breaks, dependencies get missed, and the recipient has to manually integrate it.
pastecn sits in between. It gives you the distribution benefits of a registry without the setup cost of maintaining one.
How it works
Paste your code
Open pastecn and paste your component, hook, utility, or any file. The editor supports syntax highlighting for common languages.
Choose the type
Select whether your code is a component, hook, lib utility, or a generic file. This tells shadcn where to place it in the user's project structure.
Get your URL
Click Create. We generate a unique ID, wrap your code in the shadcn registry format, and store it. You get back a URL and install command.
Installing a paste
Anyone can install your code using the shadcn CLI. They run one command and the component lands in the right place, with proper formatting intact.
Namespace shorthand
The @pastecn/ prefix is a registry namespace recognized by shadcn CLI. You can also use the full URL if needed: https://pastecn.com/r/abc123
What you get
Instant distribution
No git repo, no npm publish, no hosting setup. Paste and share immediately.
CLI-native installation
Recipients use the official shadcn tooling they already know. No new tools to learn.
Immutable snapshots
Each paste is permanent and unchanging. No version conflicts or breaking updates.
Preview before installing
Every paste has a preview page with syntax highlighting so recipients can review the code before running the install command.
When to use pastecn
Quick handoffs. Sharing a component with a teammate without creating a PR.
Public examples. Posting a working component in Discord, Twitter, or documentation.
One-off utilities. Distributing helper functions that don't warrant a full package.
Testing registries. Prototyping before building a full registry infrastructure.
Built for speed
pastecn removes the ceremony around code distribution. No accounts, no setup, no waiting. You have code to share, you paste it, you get a URL. The rest is handled by tooling developers already use.
It's infrastructure that gets out of your way.