# General

The Blockstudio Registry is a CLI tool for distributing and installing
WordPress blocks from hosted registries.

It works like [shadcn/ui](https://ui.shadcn.com), but for WordPress blocks.
There's no npm package to install. You run a command, the block source code
gets copied into your project, and you own it completely.

## How it works

1. Block authors publish a `registry.json` at a URL listing their available blocks.
2. You add a `blocks.json` to your theme or plugin pointing at registries you want to use.
3. You run `npx blockstudio add ui/tabs` and the block folder lands in your project.

That's it. The CLI downloads the files, resolves dependencies, and writes them
to disk. It doesn't transform anything. A WordPress block folder is the same
everywhere.

## What it supports

The registry is block-type agnostic. It copies folders. Any block that lives
in a directory works:

- **Blockstudio blocks**: `block.json` + PHP/Twig/Blade template + optional assets
- **`@wordpress/create-block` blocks**: full JS build output with `edit.js`, `save.js`, etc.
- **Plain PHP blocks**: any block registered with `register_block_type()`
- **Static blocks**: blocks with only a `block.json` and no server-side render

The CLI doesn't care what's inside the folder. It reads the file manifest from
the registry and downloads exactly those files.

## WordPress admin

If your project has a `blocks.json` with registries configured, the same
registries also appear in **Tools > Blockstudio > Registry** inside wp-admin.

That admin browser lets you inspect the available blocks and import them
without touching the CLI. The config format stays the same. `blocks.json` is
still the source of truth.

## Quick start

```bash
npx blockstudio init
npx blockstudio add ui/tabs
```

See [Getting Started](/registry/getting-started) for the full setup.