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affectUI vs BoardUI

BoardUI is a React design system for dashboards and agentic interfaces – data tables, charts, calendars, chat pieces and Pro templates – built on Tailwind CSS 4, React Aria and TanStack Table, with a matching Figma file. affectUI is made for the agent side of a product – agent trees, fleets, traces, approvals, inboxes and scheduled runs – with each component one self-contained file that needs only React. Pick BoardUI for a dashboard design system that matches Figma, affectUI for agent views without Tailwind – or use both.

What each one is

  • BoardUI – a React design system with over a hundred components, among them data charts, data tables and grids, date pickers and chat pieces such as a composer with attachments, plus Pro templates and design tokens, designed in Figma. Built on React 19, Tailwind CSS 4, React Aria and TanStack Table, with a free MIT starter on GitHub, a CLI, an MCP server and RTL support
  • affectUI – components, screens and blocks for AI and agent products, each a single .tsx file with its own CSS and motion, taking plain props

Where they differ

  • Scope: BoardUI is a full design system for dashboards and data-heavy apps; affectUI goes deep on what agents do – sub-agents as a tree, several agents side by side, traces, approvals, a decision inbox, scheduled runs, costs and context
  • Setup: BoardUI builds on Tailwind CSS 4, React Aria and TanStack Table; affectUI components carry their own CSS and need only React 19
  • Design files: BoardUI ships its system as a Figma design that matches the code
  • Price: BoardUI has a free starter and a one-time Pro with a year of updates or lifetime access; affectUI has 40 free MIT items and a one-time Pro license for individuals and teams

Where BoardUI fits better

  • You build a dashboard or admin app and want tables, grids, charts and calendars from one design system
  • Your designers work in Figma and want a file that matches the code
  • Your app already runs on Tailwind CSS, or needs right-to-left layouts

Where affectUI fits better

  • Your product shows agents at work – runs, sub-agents, approvals, background tasks – and needs those views designed
  • You don't use Tailwind, or want each component as one file without extra packages
  • Both work together: BoardUI for the dashboard around it, affectUI for the agent views inside it
  • Agent Fleet – Several agents side by side – each card sums up its sub-agents, and a click opens its tree to the right while the last one folds back into its card
  • Trace Waterfall – Where the time and money of an agent run go – every LLM call, tool call and sub-agent as a bar on a live timeline, with tokens and cost per step, the slowest call marked and branches that fold into their parent
  • Approval Card – An agent asks before it acts – risk badge, preview, Approve and Deny with shortcuts, a pausing countdown, and a smooth morph into a resolved row

Questions

Is affectUI an alternative to BoardUI?

For agent views, yes – agent trees, fleets, traces, approvals and inboxes. For a dashboard design system with a matching Figma file, BoardUI covers more, and the two can live in one project.

Does affectUI need Tailwind CSS or React Aria?

No. Each affectUI component carries its own CSS, handles its own keyboard support and needs only React 19.

Do both have an MCP server?

Yes. Both can be added by coding assistants such as Claude Code or Cursor through MCP.

Updated 2026-11-03