What is the dirham npm package?

dirham is an open source TypeScript library by Pooya Golchian that renders the UAE Dirham currency symbol (U+20C3) across React, Web Components, React Native, Next.js, and vanilla JS. Version 1.5.3 ships animated price counters, masked currency inputs, live exchange rate hooks, a Tailwind plugin, OG card generation, and a CLI. Install with: pnpm add dirham.

What is new in dirham v1.5.3?

v1.5.3 adds AnimatedDirhamPrice (60fps count-up animation), DirhamInput (masked currency input), useDirhamRate (live AED exchange rate hook), Web Components for all four UI primitives, a Tailwind plugin, a Next.js font helper, React Native components, and OG card generation. It also expands the font to 5 variants (Sans, Serif, Mono, Arabic, Default) each with 9 weights.

How do I install dirham in a Next.js project?

Run pnpm add dirham, then import the font helper in your layout: import { dirhamFont } from 'dirham/next'. Pass it to your layout className alongside your other Next.js fonts. For the CSS font fallback, import 'dirham/css' in your global stylesheet. No configuration beyond that is required.

What is the difference between DirhamSymbol and DirhamIcon?

DirhamSymbol renders an inline SVG. It is SSR-compatible, requires no font loading, and is fully tree-shakeable. DirhamIcon renders a font-based glyph — it produces lighter HTML markup but depends on the dirham/css import for the web font. Use DirhamSymbol in server-rendered contexts and DirhamIcon when font loading is already guaranteed.

How does AnimatedDirhamPrice work?

AnimatedDirhamPrice uses requestAnimationFrame for a 60fps count-up animation from 0 to the target amount. Import it from dirham/react: import { AnimatedDirhamPrice } from 'dirham/react'. Render it as: . It accepts the same props as DirhamPrice — locale, decimals, notation, weight — plus duration in milliseconds.

How do I use dirham Web Components in Vue or Svelte?

Import the web component bundle once: import 'dirham/web-component'. Then use the custom elements anywhere in your templates: , , , . In Angular, add CUSTOM_ELEMENTS_SCHEMA to the component decorator.

What VAT utilities does dirham include?

dirham ships addVAT(amount), removeVAT(amount), getVAT(amount), and the UAE_VAT_RATE constant (5%). All three functions accept an optional second argument for a custom rate. They integrate with formatDirham: formatDirham(addVAT(1000)) returns the formatted total including UAE VAT. Pooya Golchian built these specifically for UAE fintech and e-commerce applications.

Does dirham support currency conversion?

Yes. v1.5.3 ships convertFromAED(amount, currency), convertToAED(amount, currency), and fetchExchangeRates(). The useDirhamRate hook wraps fetchExchangeRates in a React state hook that returns the current rate, a loading flag, and an error. Rates are fetched from a public exchange rate API. For production use, Pooya Golchian recommends proxying through your own API route to cache and control rate freshness.

How do I generate an OG card with the Dirham symbol?

Import from dirham/og: import { DirhamPriceCard, generatePriceCardSVG } from 'dirham/og'. DirhamPriceCard is a React component sized for OG images (1200x630). generatePriceCardSVG returns an SVG string you can pass to satori or sharp for edge-rendered OG images in Next.js API routes.

Will my code break when Unicode 18.0 ships natively?

No. dirham uses U+20C3 as the underlying codepoint everywhere — in React components, Web Components, CSS classes, and JS utilities. When operating systems ship Unicode 18.0 font support (expected late 2026 into 2027), you remove the dirham/css import. All other code remains unchanged. The entire migration is a single line deletion.

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dirham v1.5.3: The Complete Guide to UAE Dirham in React, Web Components, and Vanilla JS

Pooya GolchianAI Transformation LeadApril 19, 2026

React
TypeScript
Open Source
Unicode
Currency
UAE
npm
Fintech
dirham
AED
U+20C3
Web Components
Next.js

dirham v1.5.3 — UAE Dirham symbol in React, Web Components, and TypeScript

The UAE Dirham got its Unicode codepoint — U+20C3 — in July 2025. The symbol won't render natively on most devices until Unicode 18.0 font support ships in late 2026. In the meantime, dirham gives you the correct codepoint today, backed by a web font that you'll delete in one line when OS support arrives.

v1.5.3 is a large release. Animated counters, masked inputs, live exchange rates, Web Components for every primitive, a Tailwind plugin, a Next.js font helper, React Native support, and OG card generation. This post covers all of it.

Links: npm · GitHub · Docs

Installation

bash

pnpm add dirham
# or
npm install dirham
# or
yarn add dirham

React Components

DirhamSymbol

Renders an inline SVG. SSR-compatible, no font loading, fully tree-shakeable:

tsx

import { DirhamSymbol } from 'dirham/react';

<DirhamSymbol size={24} weight="bold" />
<DirhamSymbol size={48} weight="thin" />

Nine weight variants map directly to surrounding typography: thin, extralight, light, regular, medium, semibold, bold, extrabold, black.

DirhamIcon

Font-based glyph — lighter markup, requires dirham/css:

tsx

import 'dirham/css';
import { DirhamIcon } from 'dirham/react';

<DirhamIcon size={24} weight="regular" />

DirhamPrice

Combines the symbol with Intl.NumberFormat formatting:

tsx

import { DirhamPrice } from 'dirham/react';

<DirhamPrice amount={1250} />
<DirhamPrice amount={1500000} notation="compact" weight="bold" />
<DirhamPrice amount={100} useCode />
<DirhamPrice amount={750} locale="ar-AE" />

Prop	Default	Description
`amount`	`0`	Numeric value
`locale`	`"en-AE"`	Intl locale string
`decimals`	`2`	Decimal places
`notation`	`"standard"`	`"standard"` or `"compact"`
`useCode`	`false`	Show `AED` instead of the symbol
`weight`	`"regular"`	Symbol stroke weight
`className`	—	Tailwind / CSS classes

AnimatedDirhamPrice

60fps count-up animation from zero to the target amount:

tsx

import { AnimatedDirhamPrice } from 'dirham/react';

<AnimatedDirhamPrice amount={1250} />
<AnimatedDirhamPrice amount={5000000} notation="compact" duration={2000} />

The duration prop controls animation length in milliseconds (default: 1000). All DirhamPrice props apply. Works with server-side rendering — the static value renders immediately, animation triggers on mount.

DirhamInput

Masked currency input that formats keystrokes as the user types:

tsx

import { DirhamInput } from 'dirham/react';

<DirhamInput
  value={amount}
  onChange={(val) => setAmount(val)}
  placeholder="0.00"
  locale="en-AE"
/>

The onChange callback receives the raw numeric value, not the formatted string. Handles decimal separators, thousands grouping, and backspace correctly across en-AE and ar-AE locales.

Web Components

dirham/web-component ships four custom elements. Import the bundle once — it registers all four:

html

<script type="module" src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/dirham/dist/web-component/index.js"></script>

Or in a bundled project:

import 'dirham/web-component';

`<dirham-symbol>`

html

<dirham-symbol size="24" weight="bold"></dirham-symbol>

`<dirham-price>`

html

<dirham-price amount="1250"></dirham-price>
<dirham-price amount="5000000" notation="compact"></dirham-price>
<dirham-price amount="100" use-code></dirham-price>
<dirham-price amount="750" locale="ar-AE"></dirham-price>

Attribute	Default	Description
`amount`	`0`	Numeric value
`locale`	`"en-AE"`	Intl locale
`decimals`	`2`	Decimal places
`notation`	`"standard"`	`"standard"` or `"compact"`
`use-code`	—	Boolean; shows `AED`
`symbol-size`	`"1em"`	SVG width/height
`weight`	`"regular"`	Stroke weight

`<dirham-animated-price>`

html

<dirham-animated-price amount="5000" duration="1500"></dirham-animated-price>

`<dirham-input>`

html

<dirham-input value="1250" locale="en-AE"></dirham-input>

Vue

vue

<script setup>
import 'dirham/web-component';
</script>

<template>
  <dirham-symbol size="24" weight="bold" />
  <dirham-animated-price amount="1250" />
  <dirham-input value="500" />
</template>

Angular

typescript

import { CUSTOM_ELEMENTS_SCHEMA, Component } from '@angular/core';
import 'dirham/web-component';

@Component({
  schemas: [CUSTOM_ELEMENTS_SCHEMA],
  template: `
    <dirham-price amount="1250"></dirham-price>
    <dirham-animated-price amount="5000" duration="2000"></dirham-animated-price>
  `
})
export class AppComponent {}

Svelte

svelte

<script>
  import 'dirham/web-component';
</script>

<dirham-symbol size="24" weight="bold"></dirham-symbol>
<dirham-price amount="1250"></dirham-price>

JavaScript Utilities

typescript

import {
  formatDirham,
  parseDirham,
  copyDirhamSymbol,
  copyDirhamAmount,
  addVAT,
  removeVAT,
  getVAT,
  UAE_VAT_RATE,
  convertFromAED,
  convertToAED,
  fetchExchangeRates,
  DIRHAM_UNICODE,
  DIRHAM_SYMBOL_TEXT,
  DIRHAM_CURRENCY_CODE,
} from 'dirham';

Formatting

typescript

formatDirham(1234.5)                            // '⃃ 1,234.50'
formatDirham(1234.5, { locale: 'ar-AE' })       // '١٬٢٣٤٫٥٠ ⃃'
formatDirham(100, { useCode: true })            // 'AED 100.00'
formatDirham(1500000, { notation: 'compact' })  // '⃃ 1.5M'

parseDirham('⃃ 1,234.50')                       // 1234.5

Clipboard

typescript

await copyDirhamSymbol()           // copies ⃃ (U+20C3)
await copyDirhamSymbol('html')     // copies &#x20C3;
await copyDirhamSymbol('css')      // copies \20C3
await copyDirhamAmount(1250)       // copies '⃃ 1,250.00'

UAE VAT

typescript

UAE_VAT_RATE          // 0.05

addVAT(1000)          // 1050
removeVAT(1050)       // 1000
getVAT(1000)          // 50

// Custom rate
addVAT(1000, 0.10)    // 1100

Currency Conversion

typescript

const rates = await fetchExchangeRates();
convertFromAED(1000, 'USD', rates)   // ~272.00
convertToAED(272, 'USD', rates)      // ~1000.00

useDirhamRate Hook

tsx

import { useDirhamRate } from 'dirham/react';

function PriceDisplay() {
  const { rate, loading, error } = useDirhamRate('USD');

  if (loading) return <span>Loading...</span>;
  if (error) return <span>Rate unavailable</span>;

  return <span>1 AED = {rate} USD</span>;
}

Next.js Integration

typescript

// app/layout.tsx
import { dirhamFont } from 'dirham/next';

export default function RootLayout({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
  return (
    <html lang="en" className={dirhamFont.variable}>
      <body>{children}</body>
    </html>
  );
}

css

/* app/globals.css */
@import 'dirham/css';

Tailwind Plugin

typescript

// tailwind.config.ts
import dirhamPlugin from 'dirham/tailwind';

export default {
  plugins: [dirhamPlugin],
};

The plugin adds font-dirham, dirham-symbol, and weight utilities that match the DirhamSymbol weight system.

Font Variants

Five font styles, nine weights each:

Import	Variant	Use case
`dirham/css`	Default	General purpose
`dirham/font/sans/woff2`	Sans-serif	UI, fintech dashboards
`dirham/font/serif/woff2`	Serif	Editorial, long-form
`dirham/font/mono/woff2`	Monospace	Code, terminal displays
`dirham/font/arabic/woff2`	Arabic	`ar-AE` locale, RTL interfaces

Weights: thin (100) → extralight → light → regular (400) → medium → semibold → bold (700) → extrabold → black (900).

React Native

tsx

import { DirhamSymbol, DirhamPrice } from 'dirham/react-native';

<DirhamPrice amount={1250} style={{ fontSize: 24, color: '#000' }} />

OG Card Generation

tsx

// app/api/og/route.tsx (Next.js Edge Runtime)
import { ImageResponse } from 'next/og';
import { DirhamPriceCard } from 'dirham/og';

export const runtime = 'edge';

export function GET(request: Request) {
  const { searchParams } = new URL(request.url);
  const amount = Number(searchParams.get('amount') || 1250);

  return new ImageResponse(
    <DirhamPriceCard amount={amount} />,
    { width: 1200, height: 630 }
  );
}

For SVG output:

typescript

import { generatePriceCardSVG } from 'dirham/og';

const svg = generatePriceCardSVG({ amount: 1250, currency: 'AED' });

CLI

bash

npx dirham              # Print symbol info and codepoint
npx dirham copy         # Copy ⃃ (U+20C3) to clipboard
npx dirham copy html    # Copy &#x20C3;
npx dirham copy css     # Copy \20C3

All Package Exports

Export	Contents
`dirham`	Core utilities: formatDirham, parseDirham, copyDirhamSymbol, copyDirhamAmount, addVAT, removeVAT, getVAT, UAE_VAT_RATE, convertFromAED, convertToAED, fetchExchangeRates, constants
`dirham/react`	DirhamSymbol, DirhamIcon, DirhamPrice, AnimatedDirhamPrice, DirhamInput, useDirhamRate
`dirham/react-native`	DirhamSymbol, DirhamPrice (React Native)
`dirham/web-component`	`<dirham-symbol>`, `<dirham-price>`, `<dirham-animated-price>`, `<dirham-input>`
`dirham/next`	dirhamFont (Next.js font helper)
`dirham/tailwind`	Tailwind plugin
`dirham/og`	DirhamPriceCard, generatePriceCardSVG
`dirham/css`	CSS with @font-face (default variant)
`dirham/scss`	SCSS with @font-face
`dirham/font/woff2`	Default WOFF2 font file
`dirham/font/sans/woff2`	Sans-serif variant
`dirham/font/serif/woff2`	Serif variant
`dirham/font/mono/woff2`	Monospace variant
`dirham/font/arabic/woff2`	Arabic variant

Migration from v1.3.0

v1.5.3 is backward-compatible. Existing DirhamSymbol, DirhamIcon, DirhamPrice, formatDirham, and Web Component usage requires no changes. New components are additive.

If you were using dirham/css for font loading, keep it. The font system is unchanged — new variants are opt-in via specific import paths.

The Unicode Roadmap

dirham uses U+20C3 everywhere — in React components, Web Components, CSS classes, and JS utilities. When operating systems ship native Unicode 18.0 font support (expected late 2026 into 2027), the migration is a single line:

diff

- import 'dirham/css';

All components, all utilities, all Web Components continue working. The codepoint never changes.

Resources

GitHub · npm · Docs

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FAQ

Questions about this piece

Follow-ups readers ask most often about the argument above.

dirham is an open source TypeScript library by Pooya Golchian that renders the UAE Dirham currency symbol (U+20C3) across React, Web Components, React Native, Next.js, and vanilla JS. Version 1.5.3 ships animated price counters, masked currency inputs, live exchange rate hooks, a Tailwind plugin, OG card generation, and a CLI. Install with: pnpm add dirham.
v1.5.3 adds AnimatedDirhamPrice (60fps count-up animation), DirhamInput (masked currency input), useDirhamRate (live AED exchange rate hook), Web Components for all four UI primitives, a Tailwind plugin, a Next.js font helper, React Native components, and OG card generation. It also expands the font to 5 variants (Sans, Serif, Mono, Arabic, Default) each with 9 weights.
Run pnpm add dirham, then import the font helper in your layout: import { dirhamFont } from 'dirham/next'. Pass it to your layout className alongside your other Next.js fonts. For the CSS font fallback, import 'dirham/css' in your global stylesheet. No configuration beyond that is required.
DirhamSymbol renders an inline SVG. It is SSR-compatible, requires no font loading, and is fully tree-shakeable. DirhamIcon renders a font-based glyph — it produces lighter HTML markup but depends on the dirham/css import for the web font. Use DirhamSymbol in server-rendered contexts and DirhamIcon when font loading is already guaranteed.
AnimatedDirhamPrice uses requestAnimationFrame for a 60fps count-up animation from 0 to the target amount. Import it from dirham/react: import { AnimatedDirhamPrice } from 'dirham/react'. Render it as: <AnimatedDirhamPrice amount={1250} />. It accepts the same props as DirhamPrice — locale, decimals, notation, weight — plus duration in milliseconds.
Import the web component bundle once: import 'dirham/web-component'. Then use the custom elements anywhere in your templates: <dirham-symbol size='24' weight='bold'></dirham-symbol>, <dirham-price amount='1250'></dirham-price>, <dirham-animated-price amount='5000'></dirham-animated-price>, <dirham-input value='1250'></dirham-input>. In Angular, add CUSTOM_ELEMENTS_SCHEMA to the component decorator.
dirham ships addVAT(amount), removeVAT(amount), getVAT(amount), and the UAE_VAT_RATE constant (5%). All three functions accept an optional second argument for a custom rate. They integrate with formatDirham: formatDirham(addVAT(1000)) returns the formatted total including UAE VAT. Pooya Golchian built these specifically for UAE fintech and e-commerce applications.
Yes. v1.5.3 ships convertFromAED(amount, currency), convertToAED(amount, currency), and fetchExchangeRates(). The useDirhamRate hook wraps fetchExchangeRates in a React state hook that returns the current rate, a loading flag, and an error. Rates are fetched from a public exchange rate API. For production use, Pooya Golchian recommends proxying through your own API route to cache and control rate freshness.
Import from dirham/og: import { DirhamPriceCard, generatePriceCardSVG } from 'dirham/og'. DirhamPriceCard is a React component sized for OG images (1200x630). generatePriceCardSVG returns an SVG string you can pass to satori or sharp for edge-rendered OG images in Next.js API routes.
No. dirham uses U+20C3 as the underlying codepoint everywhere — in React components, Web Components, CSS classes, and JS utilities. When operating systems ship Unicode 18.0 font support (expected late 2026 into 2027), you remove the dirham/css import. All other code remains unchanged. The entire migration is a single line deletion.

Installation

React Components

DirhamSymbol

DirhamIcon

DirhamPrice

AnimatedDirhamPrice

DirhamInput

Web Components

<dirham-symbol>

<dirham-price>

<dirham-animated-price>

<dirham-input>

Vue

Angular

Svelte

JavaScript Utilities

Formatting

Clipboard

UAE VAT

Currency Conversion

useDirhamRate Hook

Next.js Integration

Tailwind Plugin

Font Variants

React Native

OG Card Generation

CLI

All Package Exports

Migration from v1.3.0

The Unicode Roadmap

Resources

Stuck between an AI pilot and a system your team can run?

Questions about this piece

01What is the dirham npm package?

02What is new in dirham v1.5.3?

03How do I install dirham in a Next.js project?

04What is the difference between DirhamSymbol and DirhamIcon?

05How does AnimatedDirhamPrice work?

06How do I use dirham Web Components in Vue or Svelte?

07What VAT utilities does dirham include?

08Does dirham support currency conversion?

09How do I generate an OG card with the Dirham symbol?

10Will my code break when Unicode 18.0 ships natively?

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`<dirham-symbol>`

`<dirham-price>`

`<dirham-animated-price>`

`<dirham-input>`