# Installation

You can use Shoelace via CDN or by installing it locally.

## CDN Installation (Recommended)

The easiest way to install Shoelace is with the CDN. A lightweight loader will be added to your page that registers components asynchronously as you use them. It's like magic. ✨

Just add the following tags to your page.

```html
<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://unpkg.com/@shoelace-style/shoelace@%VERSION%/dist/shoelace/shoelace.css">
<script type="module" src="https://unpkg.com/@shoelace-style/shoelace@%VERSION%/dist/shoelace/shoelace.esm.js"></script>
```

Now you can [start using Shoelace!](/getting-started/usage.md)

## Local Installation

If you don't want to use the CDN, you can install Shoelace locally with the following command. 

```sh
npm install @shoelace-style/shoelace
```

It's up to you to make the source files available to your app. One way to do this is to create a route in your app called `/assets/shoelace` that serves static files from `node_modules/@shoelace-style/shoelace`. 

Once you've done that, add the following tags to your page. Make sure to update `href` and `src` so they point to the route you created.

```html
<link rel="stylesheet" href="/assets/shoelace/shoelace.css">
<script type="module" src="/assets/shoelace/shoelace.esm.js"></script>
```

## Importing Custom Elements

A [custom elements bundle](https://stenciljs.com/docs/custom-elements) is available so you can import components and register them individually. This is a more flexible alternative to the lazy loading approach, but it requires the use of a bundler such as [Webpack](https://webpack.js.org/) or [Rollup](https://rollupjs.org/guide/en/).

To use the custom elements bundle, install Shoelace locally with the following command.

```sh
npm install @shoelace-style/shoelace
```

To import individual Shoelace components, use this syntax.

```js
import { SlButton, SlDropdown } from '@shoelace-style/shoelace/dist/custom-elements';

customElements.define('sl-button', SlButton);
customElements.define('sl-dropdown', SlButton);
```

For convenience, the bundle also exports a `defineCustomElements()` method. When this method is called, it will automatically define all Shoelace components in the bundle.

```js
import { defineCustomElements } from '@shoelace-style/shoelace/dist/custom-elements';

defineCustomElements();
```

While convenient, importing all components like this will make your bundle larger. For best results, only import the components you're actually going to use.