Reshaped is now open-source

About five years ago, I started Reshaped. I built it for myself, since I had a few projects in urgent need of a component library for both React and Figma. Having worked in the design systems space for over a decade, I had developed a clear sense of what a good design system should be — and what tends to go wrong in others.

I noticed that no matter how trends evolve, around 80% of the web is still built on the same core design practices. So I set out to build a system that covers that 80%, while giving developers the flexibility to handle the last 20% with low-level utilities. From the start, I didn’t want to focus only on accessibility or only on design. Instead, I prioritized alignment between design and engineering, while also solving common UI challenges like theming, dark mode, and micro-animations.

To keep the project sustainable, I made it a paid product: one-time licenses for individuals, and source code licenses for larger teams. This allowed me to focus on supporting a smaller community and dive deeply into every bug report and feature request.

While this model kept me motivated and financially supported, I always hoped to remove the paywall one day.

Two years ago, I took the first step by making the React package free. That unlocked new possibilities—not only did indie developers gain free access, but teams using Reshaped with source code licenses could now install it directly from npm.

Today, I’m taking the next step: making all of Reshaped fully open source. The React library source code is now on GitHub and the Figma library is available in the Figma Community. I’m especially excited because Reshaped bridges both design and engineering, and I hope it helps both communities learn best practices for building design systems that scale while staying minimal.

Making both libraries public also opens the door for me to share more behind-the-scenes work as new features roll out. I think this is particularly valuable when it comes to integration with other tools. Imagine Figma or React releasing new features – you’ll be able to see how they’re implemented in Reshaped before you even need to migrate your company’s design system.

• Reshaped component libraries will continue to grow. Everyone who purchased licenses in the past will still get full access to future updates, and we’ll keep chatting through the same channels. Nothing changes there.
• I’m also interested in taking Reshaped further by introducing more complex, opinionated premium components on top of the core library. Not “50 landing page layouts,” but advanced components that require sophisticated CSS and React logic.

This is a leap of faith for me after five years of working closed-source. It feels like the right time to give everything back to the community—and to have some fun along the way ❤️