Getting started for developers

Get started using the VA Clinical Design System (VACDS) by installing the @department-of-veterans-affairs/clinical-design-system package.

Get started

While our VACDS inherits styles and components from the U.S. Web Design System and VA.gov Design System, the VACDS specifically focuses on providing additional components and styles for clinician-facing applications.

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Prerequisites

1. Create a Github Personal Access Token

In order to use a package from the Github package registry, you need a personal access token (classic).

Follow the documentation to make a personal access token in your personal Github account: Github Personal Access Token Classic

Select the following scope for your token:

• read:packages

Make sure to copy the token generated for the next step

2. Authenticate with your Github Personal Access Token

Create an .env.yarn file from scratch and add it to the root of your project. Add the following line in the file and replace the value with your token.

GITHUB_PACKAGE_TOKEN={add Github token with package read scope}

Run the following command: npm login --scope department-of-veterans-affairs

For reference: Github Authenticating with Personal Access Token