Polaris

Polaris is Shopify's design system, and it is the only one in this directory that comes with a captive audience: every Shopify app embedded in the merchant admin is expected to look like Polaris.

At a glance

Install	npm install @shopify/polaris
Purpose	Shopify admin apps first, general use second
Styling	Sass with design tokens
Figma kit	yes, maintained by Shopify
Licence	custom, see the repository LICENSE file
MCP server	not published

Read the licence, it is not MIT

This is the unusual part. Polaris ships under a custom Shopify licence rather than a standard open source one, and npm reports it as SEE LICENSE IN LICENSE.md rather than an SPDX identifier. Terms have historically restricted use to Shopify-related work. If you were planning to use it on an unrelated product because you like the look, read the file first.

If you build Shopify apps, this is not optional

Merchants expect an embedded app to feel like part of the admin. Polaris is how you get that, and Shopify's own app review guidance leans on it. In that context the question is not whether to use it but how deeply.

Outside that context

The visual language is unmistakably Shopify, and the component set is shaped around commerce: resource lists, index tables, page actions, banners. Useful patterns, but they carry their origin with them.

Choose it if

• You are building a Shopify app, embedded or standalone.
• You want a mature, accessibility-conscious React system and the licence suits you.

Look elsewhere if

• Your product has nothing to do with Shopify. The licence and the visual identity both push back.
• You need a neutral base to brand as your own.