# Design Pipeline

> OpenSpec-style design development pipeline for visual direction, UX research, website cloning and reverse-engineering, interaction polish, frontend implementation, and evidence-backed QA. Use for product UI, marketing pages, dashboards, live-page references, pixel-accurate rebuilds, design reviews, and frontend work that must avoid generic AI-looking output.

- Skill: `2233admin/design-pipeline` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 1717 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add 2233admin/design-pipeline`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/2233admin/design-pipeline/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Marketing & Growth
- Author: 2233admin (https://skillmd.com/u/2233admin)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/2233admin/design-pipeline

---


# Frontend Design Pipeline

This is the project front door. It routes UI work to the smallest relevant workflow, persists decisions as change-local artifacts, and prevents implementation claims that lack evidence. It does not replace specialist design skills; it coordinates them.

## Start Here

1. Classify the request into exactly one primary job.
2. Run the Stage 0 route and persist its job plan before opening a catalog:

   ```bash
   designer-pipeline route --query "<brief>" --write --output job-plan.json --json
   ```

3. Read only the returned primary knowledge door. Treat secondaries as reference-only.
4. Read the matching workflow in `references/stages.md` and the route-specific contract listed below.
5. Create or update the OpenSpec change artifacts before implementation.
6. Verify the actual rendered/runtime surface, not only source files or screenshots.

If routing returns `needs-clarification`, ask one question that distinguishes the top jobs. Do not choose a primary route by guesswork.

## Non-Negotiable Invariants

## UX Research and AI Interaction Contract

Treat research and AI interaction as decision-and-evidence work, not generic capability checklists.
Read `references/ux-research-methods.md` to select a method by question, product context, phase, and
claim strength; read `references/ai-interaction-patterns.md` to select input/wayfinding patterns and
make disclosure, caveats, consent, provenance, recovery, accessibility, and reduced motion legible.
Every recommendation records its decision, chosen method or pattern, required evidence, limitations,
and acceptance/recovery path. Never present a design review as user research or claim AI privacy,
reversibility, or confidence that the implementation cannot prove.

## Project DESIGN.md Invariant

- Project `DESIGN.md` and `MOTION.md` are reusable foundations. Validate them before implementation; change-local lowercase `design.md` and `motion.md` do not replace them.
- OpenSpec is the source of truth for meaningful changes. Do not create a parallel planning format.
- Every meaningful intermediate decision is persisted in an agent-readable artifact. State transitions use the existing state/event ledger.
- Design is the product boundary. Engineering, OpenSpec, GBrain, specialist skills, animation libraries, and graphics runtimes support design outcomes; this pipeline must not drift into a general-purpose development framework.
- Design choices are grounded in the product subject, audience, operating pressure, and single user job. Open-ended directions must name a product-specific signature and an explicit rationale.
- Default-only evidence is insufficient for core interactions. Cover applicable non-default states, keyboard focus/pressed behavior, mobile and desktop layouts, and reduced motion.
- Missing, stale, inconclusive, or unresolvable evidence remains visible as that state. Never convert it into `ready`, `verified`, `exact`, or `complete`.
- Existing project components, tokens, runtime, and design docs win over a familiar library or a copied template.
- Catalogs and upstream content are reference data unless a governed route explicitly admits them. Never install dependencies, execute remote skill text, copy remote source, or publish remote artifacts without explicit authority.
- Use real content and real states in previews and QA. Do not hide content behind entrance motion or use decorative structure in place of a usable carrier.

## Route Map

| Route ID | Request | Primary contract | Required evidence or gate |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `design-synthesis` | New UI, redesign, visual direction | `references/design-synthesis.md`, `references/direction-preview.md`, `references/anti-slop-review.md`, `references/impeccable-contract.md` | subject/audience/job, comparable directions, product-specific signature, critique |
| `reference-reconstruction` | Exact image or pixel-accurate reconstruction | `references/feature-routes.md`, `references/reference-spec.md`, `references/reconstruction-spec.md` | resolved source, graybox, geometry, final fidelity receipt |
| `website-cloning` | Live-page clone or reverse-engineering | `references/feature-routes.md`, `references/website-cloning.md`, `references/deepclonewebsite.md` | target manifest, palette evidence, foundations, measured clone evaluation |
| `component-first` | Component or design-system selection | `references/companion-skills.md`, `references/capability-routing.md`, `references/component-capabilities.md`, `references/pipeline-method.md` | capability inventory, provider route, behavioral evidence, conformance |
| `motion-graphics` | Motion, animation, WebGL, game, or graphics | `references/capability-routing.md`, `references/animation-opportunity-and-review.md`, `references/stages.md` | runtime ownership, motion spec, reduced motion, performance and cleanup |
| `dynamic-web-verification` | Dynamic web verification | `references/stages.md`, `adapters/playwright.cjs`, `references/qa-checklist.md` | runtime readiness, `networkidle`, DOM, screenshot, console, accessibility, network, performance |
| `product-foundation` | Requirements-driven product foundation | `references/design-synthesis.md` | reusable `DESIGN.md`, decision evidence, validation |
| `feedback-loop` | Pipeline bug, missing capability, or reusable gap | `references/feedback-loop.md`, `references/lifecycle.md` | redacted local feedback, regression test, explicit publication authority |

When several routes appear, route once, preserve one primary job, and use the others only as bounded supporting evidence. Read the narrowest returned skill or reference instead of loading every catalog.

## Stage Map

Detailed stage instructions live in `references/stages.md`.

- validate it with `scripts/check-motion-foundation.cjs`;
- if it is missing, synthesize it from product requirements and
  `references/motion-foundation.md`;
- if it is incomplete or contains executable procedural definitions, repair or resynthesize it;
- select stable IDs from `references/motion-primitives.json`;
- never substitute change-level lowercase `motion.md`, a runtime-specific animation snippet, or a
  copied showcase implementation.

Project `MOTION.md` defines reusable motion language. Change-level `motion.md` references its hash
and specializes selected primitives into scenes, layers, tracks, timelines, runtime bindings, and
evidence. Stage 5 implementation requires both foundation checkers to report `ready`.

## Design-System Knowledge and Adoption

Treat component systems as candidate knowledge providers, not automatic project dependencies.
The bundled Astryx snapshot is an attributed, inert reference surface that agents may search before
inventing components. It does not override project `DESIGN.md`, `MOTION.md`, existing components,
tokens, or runtime choices.

Use the public CLI for the complete lifecycle:

- `design-system options` lists the governed styling choices, UI libraries, current shadcn preset
  dimensions, external tool sources, and indexed skill count.
- `design-system resolve-stack` resolves framework, styling, UI library, complete shadcn preset,
  and tool/skill routes into a hash-bound `frontend-stack-decision.json`.
- `design-system profiles` lists governed providers and compatibility constraints.
- `design-system decompose` converts a product brief into a durable capability inventory; a direct
  zero-result does not prove exhaustion when capability searches find candidates.
- `design-system route` selects project, platform, package, or attributed reference routes for the
  decomposed component capabilities.
- `design-system search` searches the bundled Astryx catalog by text, kind, category, or status.
- `design-system normalize` converts a supplied snapshot into the strict namespaced catalog.
- `design-system acquire` runs an explicit contained local provider or the bundled Astryx adapter
  against an existing contained Astryx CLI. It never installs or downloads that CLI.
- `design-system project-tokens` emits DTCG-compatible tokens plus an explicit loss report.
- `design-system decide` records `reference`, `adopt`, `substitute`, or `custom`; runtime use
  requires compatible React/React DOM/StyleX constraints and admitted adapter intake.

DesignMD Directory is an ingestible local knowledge source for five resource kinds: skills,
templates, design examples, guides, and tools. The GitHub example set from `dimabraven/design-md`
is bundled offline. Directory sync remains a live snapshot:

- `designer-pipeline designmd search --query "keyboard-first dark productivity" --json` and
  `designer-pipeline designmd inspect --id design-md:example:linear --json` read the bundled
  examples. `designer-pipeline designmd verify --json` checks that snapshot.
- `designer-pipeline designmd sync --output-root .design-pipeline/designmd --json` crawls the
  DesignMD hubs and writes `designmd-catalog.json` plus local content snapshots.
- `designer-pipeline designmd search --catalog .design-pipeline/designmd/designmd-catalog.json
  --kind skill --query "accessibility" --json` searches the live directory snapshot.
- `designer-pipeline designmd inspect --catalog .design-pipeline/designmd/designmd-catalog.json
  --id designmd:skill:a11y-audit --json` reads one directory entry and its provenance.
- `designer-pipeline designmd verify --catalog .design-pipeline/designmd/designmd-catalog.json
  --json` checks the directory snapshot hashes.

Fetched and bundled DesignMD content is reference-only. Never execute remote page content, wrap
`designmd-cli install`, or copy a Stripe/Linear/Vercel example in as the product `DESIGN.md`.

Resolve reusable component behavior before selecting a library:

- `component decompose` converts a multilingual brief into framework-neutral capability IR and
  closes required keyboard, focus, ARIA, state, and recovery dependencies.
- `component providers` performs a read-only probe of project package metadata and distinguishes
  project-owned, installed, and candidate providers.
- `component resolve` maps each capability to a compatible provider, preserves uncovered
  project-owned fallbacks, and marks uninstalled candidates as adoption-required without running a
  package manager.
- `component verify` requires hash-bound behavioral evidence for every check in the resolution;
  framework source or a static screenshot cannot replace missing interaction evidence.
- `component inventory`, `component bind`, and `component decide` discover explicitly declared
  project reuse, emit framework binding plans without source generation, and record `reuse`,
  `adopt`, `substitute`, or `custom` per capability.

Run component conformance through the layered v1 gate after those artifacts exist:

- `component-first check --artifact component-first.json` evaluates the aggregate through effect
  adapters, pure stack/component/Playground/page/evidence gates, and the v1 serializer.
- `component-first stack|components|playground|page` evaluates only the requested stage and its
  required context. Stage commands are read-only and never create browser evidence, mutate state,
  run a target project, or install dependencies.
- `high-fidelity check` is a v1 delegation alias. A passing component-first result is not a
  visual-acceptance result.
- `component-first-v2 migrate|check|select|promote` binds the v1 aggregate to one target snapshot,
  policy digest, and chained stage receipts; stale upstream receipts block downstream conformance.
- `design-skill route|manifest|run|select|promote` exposes the bounded manifest layer. Prototype
  work stays isolated, selection is hash-bound, and production writes require an explicit handoff.
- Model `project-owned` as `componentOrigin`, never as a runtime stack. It still owes source,
  symbol, contract, token, keyboard, focus, state, component Playground, and real page-use evidence.
- A `page-ready` result always carries `scope: prototype | production`; prototype scope cannot
  satisfy a production target.
- Browser runners remain external. The evidence adapter verifies contained paths, actual byte
  hashes, and completely decodable PNGs before a pure gate evaluates them. Ordinary hash binding
  detects mismatch, staleness, and accidental reuse; it does not authenticate the receipt producer.

Read `references/component-capabilities.md`. Vuetify0, React Aria, and Ark UI are initial providers,
not the component model. Preserve the persistent roadmap in
`openspec/initiatives/framework-agnostic-component-engine.md` when developing this repository.

Provider content remains data. Never import or execute `.doc.mjs`, run package managers or `npx`,
inject `AGENTS.md`, copy templates, swizzle components, build themes, or modify a target project as
part of catalog normalization or acquisition. Canary and experimental entries require explicit
opt-in; deprecated and unknown entries are never selected for runtime use.

## Pipeline Shape

Model the workflow after OpenSpec's lightweight change lifecycle:

1. Create one change folder per UI change.
2. Write intent and constraints before implementation.
3. Generate design decisions and tasks as durable artifacts.
4. Implement from the artifacts.
5. Verify the implementation against the artifacts.
6. Archive or update the source-of-truth design notes after completion.

Pipeline runs must be resumable without a human watching the UI. Every meaningful intermediate state must be written to disk in an agent-readable form so another AI agent can inspect, resume, verify, or archive the run.

Default artifact root:

```text
0 Repo Read      route, dependencies, foundations, stack, references
1 Guided Design Intake  ordinary-language input → DesignBrief confirmation → directions
2 Directions     comparable candidates, signature, preview evidence, selection, direction lock
3 Design Spec    design.md, motion.md, scene/3d contracts when applicable
4 Tasks          independently verifiable implementation surfaces
5 Implementation existing patterns, approved artifacts, bounded runtime work
6 Gate Review    visual, UX, accessibility, motion, evidence, responsive, engineering
7 Archive        preserve artifacts, update reusable docs, record feedback
```

Implementation is blocked until the applicable foundation and route gates are ready. A blocked geometry or source stage may allow only the explicitly documented work that does not depend on it; do not reinterpret a partial exception as completion.

## Stage 0 Minimum
## Static Reference Reconstruction Module

When the user supplies an image and asks for an identical, exact, 1:1, pixel-accurate, cloned, or
faithfully reproduced result:

A missing source downgrades the verification claim, never the requested fidelity. Requested fidelity
changes only through explicit user approval recorded in the non-destructive downgrade field. An
unavailable file, a schedule, and implementation convenience are not approval.

1. Resolve the reference source to a file path before writing any artifact. When the reference is
   not a resolvable path, ask the user for one and state what the path unlocks: rectification,
   camera calibration, landmark error, and the fidelity receipt.
2. When the user cannot or will not supply a path, record `source.availability: pending` with
   `pendingReason` and `requestedFrom` in `reference-evidence.json`, then continue. Do not block the
   remaining work, and never write a fabricated path, dimension, or hash. When the raster later
   lands, run `designer-pipeline reference resolve --path "<file>" --json` instead of hand-editing
   measurements.
3. Read `references/reference-spec.md` and `references/reconstruction-spec.md` completely.
4. Record the image as `role: primary-target`, with both requested and effective fidelity set to
   `exact-reconstruction` in `reference-evidence.json` v2. A reference is inspiration only when the
   user says it is inspiration.
5. Do not generate alternative design directions. The reference already determines the direction.
6. Record the per-region structure table in `reference.md` and the matching `composition` block in
   `reference-evidence.json` before any layout is authored.
7. Separate image, canonical/object, world, and camera spaces. Rectify the source into a canonical
   front view, author the front elevation there, then solve and lock the output camera. A pending
   source blocks rectification and the camera solve; the rest of the module still runs.
8. Run `designer-pipeline reference check`. `blocked` with reason `source-pending` is a recorded
   state with `contractValid: true`, not a contract failure. Exact and adaptive reconstruction
   remain blocked until the geometry stage of `reconstruction.json` passes. Read the exit code as
   returned: `0` success, `1` invalid or error, `2` blocked, `3` a measured fidelity mismatch. `3`
   is a real outcome that reaches the caller and prints `fidelity-limited`; it is not success.
9. Render the layout-only graybox and run
   `designer-pipeline reconstruction check --stage graybox`. This gate precedes change `design.md`
   and precedes materials, glow, bloom, depth of field, scanlines, and cinematic grading. It is the
   only gate on that optical treatment.
10. Write change `design.md` against the graybox capture and cite that capture in it.
11. Before detail geometry, type treatment, or any measured fidelity claim, run
    `designer-pipeline reconstruction check --stage geometry`. It independently recomputes
    distributed landmark error. Against a pending source it reports `blocked` with reason
    `source-pending`, never `fidelity-limited`. This stage does not gate optical treatment; when it
    is blocked and the graybox stage is `ready`, continue.
12. After final rendering, an independent EvidencePort must produce reference, implementation, and
    diff images plus a hash-bound fidelity receipt. Run
    `designer-pipeline reconstruction check --stage final`.
13. Missing evidence is `blocked`; complete measured evidence outside thresholds is
    `fidelity-limited`. Neither state may be described as exact, identical, pixel-perfect, or done.
14. Record the verification claim in `qa.md` from the whole `--stage final` result - its top-level
    status and its `stages` map together: `verified` only when the top-level status is `ready` and
    every reported stage is `ready`, `fidelity-limited` when the top-level status is
    `fidelity-limited` and no stage is `blocked`, and `unverified` for everything else, including a
    single blocked stage and a pending or unresolvable source. Requested fidelity does not move with
    it. Only that complete output is evidence for the claim. `reconstruction check` defaults to
    `--stage geometry`, and no stage-scoped result - the default run, an explicit `--stage geometry`
    or `--stage graybox` run, or a bare `stages.graybox` reading lifted out of any result - may be
    cited as evidence for `verified`.
15. Report the unlock action whenever the source is still pending: supplying the source file path
    and running `designer-pipeline reference resolve --path "<file>" --json` stamps `resolvedAt`
    and unlocks rectification, camera calibration, landmark error, and the fidelity receipt.

## Website Cloning Module

When the user asks to clone, reproduce, rebuild, reverse-engineer, or use one or more live pages as implementation references:

1. Read `references/website-cloning.md` and `references/website-clone-component-spec.md` completely.
   For authenticated, multi-page, whole-site, template-discovery, or reverse-analysis work, also
   read `references/deepclonewebsite.md` and use its direct/structure/full capture boundary.
2. Initialize the run with `scripts/init-website-clone.cjs`; pass direct clone targets with `--url` and supporting inspiration/comparison pages with `--reference-url`. When one target is the user-designated structure or motion template, pass it as the primary `--url`/`--authority-url`, enumerate every allowed difference, protect the required invariants, and select `actual-browser` when live-tab interaction is part of acceptance.
3. Treat `references/website-cloning-manifest.schema.json` as the machine-readable Browser/Builder/Evidence port and fidelity contract.
4. Complete `targets/<target-id>/research/palette-evidence.json` from both DOM/computed-style
   evidence and screenshot/raster-media evidence, then reflect the same roles and values in
   `design-tokens.md`.
5. Run `scripts/check-website-clone-foundations.cjs --change-root <change-root> --json` before
   synthesizing the implementation design or starting BuilderPort work. Project `DESIGN.md`,
   project `MOTION.md`, and every target palette must be `ready`; adaptive mode does not bypass
   this gate.
6. Keep the URL-first user experience, but record each adapter, its available capabilities, and a successful capability probe before claiming exact fidelity.
7. After EvidencePort writes its measured report, run `scripts/evaluate-website-clone.cjs`; this is the only path that may move the manifest to `complete`. The evaluator must also verify implementation-authority identity, protected invariants, allowed differences, replay provenance, and the declared interaction environment; adaptive fidelity does not bypass these checks.
8. If a required port or measurement is missing, keep `blocked`; if complete measurements miss a threshold, use `fidelity-limited`. Never fill missing measurements by visual guesswork.

The website-cloning module is a design-pipeline superset capability. It adds live evidence capture and convergence gates while preserving all existing accessibility, motion, responsive, engineering, and headless-state requirements.

## Requirements-Driven DESIGN.md Synthesis

When the target project has no reusable `DESIGN.md`, or the existing file cannot express the
requested product direction:

1. Read `references/design-synthesis.md` completely.
2. Initialize with `scripts/init-design-synthesis.cjs`, using `--problem` as the primary input.
3. Register live pages with `--reference-url` and existing DESIGN.md examples with `--template`.
   Both are attributed evidence; templates are always inspiration-only.
4. Run `/grill-with-docs <problem>` when material product decisions remain unresolved, persist its
   ADR/glossary/decision evidence, then record `grill-completed`.
5. Run the deterministic scope assessment. Only when the score exceeds the selected budget, say
   “哦，天哪，这比我预期的要大得多。” and request `/wayfinder 为此制作一张地图`.
6. Wayfinder must use a configured issue-tracker host. Never invent a local issue map when that host
   is unavailable.
7. Synthesize 2-3 product-specific directions from requirements, repository constraints, and cited
   evidence. Select one and write the reusable project `DESIGN.md`.
8. Validate it through `scripts/advance-design-synthesis.cjs`, then immediately continue into the
   normal implementation and QA stages unless another material decision is pending.

Keep the artifacts distinct:

- lowercase change `design.md` defines how the active change will be implemented;
- project `DESIGN.md` defines reusable product identity for future coding agents.

The bundled scripts manage deterministic state and validation. The host design agent performs the
creative synthesis; do not disguise a copied template or token dump as generated product design.

## Companion Skills

Reference file: `references/companion-skills.md`.
Capability routing reference: `references/capability-routing.md`.
Machine-readable companion registry: `references/companion-capabilities.json`.
Requirements-driven synthesis reference: `references/design-synthesis.md`.
Feedback and contribution reference: `references/feedback-loop.md`.
Upstream capability sync reference: `references/upstream-capability-sync.md`.
Development compatibility reference: `references/development-compatibility.md`.
Self-check reference: `references/self-check.md`.
QA checklist reference: `references/qa-checklist.md`.
Direct plain-language contract: `references/plain-language.md`.
CJK typography contract: `references/cjk-typography.md`.
Visual direction preview contract: `references/direction-preview.md`.
Governed Playground contract: `references/playground.md`.
Evidence-gated layered adaptation contract: `references/adaptation.md`.
Machine-readable adaptation contract: `references/adaptation-contract.schema.json`.
Framework-agnostic component contract: `references/component-capabilities.md`.
Project motion foundation reference: `references/motion-foundation.md`.
Machine-readable motion foundation schema: `references/motion-foundation.schema.json`.
Motion primitive registry: `references/motion-primitives.json`.
Motion spec reference: `references/motion-spec.md`.
Animation opportunity and review reference: `references/animation-opportunity-and-review.md`.
Reference evidence and spatial-routing spec: `references/reference-spec.md`.
Change visual/screen-space design spec: `references/design-spec.md`.
Change 3D world spec: `references/3d-spec.md`.
Graphics runtime routing reference: `references/graphics-runtime-routing.md`.
Machine-readable graphics runtime catalog: `references/graphics-runtime-catalog.json`.
XY Python charting reference: `references/xy-charting.md`.
Change scene/runtime spec reference: `references/scene-runtime-spec.md`.
Phaser v4 game runtime reference: `references/phaser-v4.md`.
Game UI and narrative profile reference: `references/game-ui-and-narrative.md`.
Curation policy reference: `references/curation-policy.md`.
Contextual anti-slop review reference: `references/anti-slop-review.md`.
Machine-readable anti-slop rubric: `references/anti-slop-rubric.json`.
Impeccable design contract: `references/impeccable-contract.md`.
Impeccable product-design capability map: `references/impeccable-product-design.json` and
`references/impeccable-product-design.md`.

If these design skills are installed, use them as lenses in this order:

1. `impeccable`: command vocabulary, surface modes, refinement semantics, bounded verification, and design-detector workflow.
2. `frontend-design`: visual direction, composition, strong first impression, avoiding generic AI aesthetics.
3. `design-taste-frontend`: anti-template discipline, typography taste, language and visual restraint.
4. `ui-ux-pro-max`: UX heuristics, design-system selection, color and type pairing, stable repeatability.
5. `web-design-guidelines`: production UI rules, layout, semantics, accessibility, responsive behavior.
6. `emil-design-eng`: motion, transitions, input feedback, perceived quality, interaction details.

For dynamic UI, interaction motion, and animation-specific work, apply these motion skills:

- `design-motion-principles`: primary create/audit workflow for purposeful UI motion.
- `emil-design-eng`: design-engineering judgment for animation and interaction polish.
- `animation-vocabulary`: translate vague motion intent into precise timing, easing, choreography, and behavior language.
- `review-animations`: strict post-implementation animation review.
- `references/animation-opportunity-and-review.md`: project-owned gate for screening opportunities before implementation, naming vocabulary/curves, and recording review evidence.
- `apple-design`: Apple HIG-inspired interface principles and fluid system UI motion for web (WWDC-informed).
- `vercel-react-view-transitions`: React and Next.js view-transition implementation patterns.

Choose companions by capability, not by the presence of a familiar skill name. Classify the brief
with `designer-pipeline route` first. Read `references/capability-routing.md` and
`references/job-registry.json` when the change crosses evidence capture, design systems, assets,
motion runtimes, editable design handoff, or hosted delivery. For 2D, 3D, data visualization,
geospatial, GPU, game, or narrative surfaces, also read `references/graphics-runtime-routing.md`
and select a capability family before selecting an adapter.

For product UI, flows, design-system work, user-visible UI changes, or interface reviews, always
apply the bundled interface discipline in `references/interface-discipline.md`. It is present in
the package and does not require a global skill installation. Start with its `better-interface`
router, use full coverage unless a narrow repair qualifies for quick coverage, and use its
change-scoped review protocol for changed UI.

Catalog CLIs are escape hatches. Open them only when `designer-pipeline route` selects that catalog
as the primary knowledge door, or when a listed secondary is needed as reference. Do not search
MengTo, Prism, Astryx, shadcnio, DesignMD, iart, and holosticker as peer Stage 0 searches.

For visual direction, web technique, motion, WebGL, reference analysis, asset, or game work, when
the job dispatcher selects MengTo as primary, search the bundled library before inventing a
workflow:

```bash
designer-pipeline mengto search --query "<capability or brief>" --json
```

Read the narrowest returned `SKILL.md` and only the linked supporting files needed for the task.
Apply its workflow, numeric guidance, pitfalls, and verification gates through the target project's
`DESIGN.md`, `MOTION.md`, OpenSpec artifacts, existing stack, accessibility rules, and budgets.
Never treat a bundled demo, runtime asset, dependency choice, account workflow, or publishing recipe
as automatic project authority. The activation and adaptation rules live in
`references/mengto-skills.md`; explicit-only entries still require the user's matching request and
normal side-effect authority.

For web motion, WebGL motion, kinetic type, or motion-graphics/video craft, when the job
dispatcher selects iart as primary, route before implementing. A domain brief is enough; do not
wait for a skill id:

```bash
designer-pipeline iart route --query "<motion or video brief>" --json
designer-pipeline iart search --query "<narrow playbook>" --json
```

Read `references/iart-motion-skills.md`. Record the selected playbook, alternatives, and runtime,
then load only that `SKILL.md`. Keep project `MOTION.md` authoritative. HTML video, reels,
captions, overlays, and explainers use HyperFrames unless the brief names Remotion, Manim, or
After Effects. A route result is a selection, not install or execution authority.

For product-design intake, Design DNA, token governance, design-corpus learning, or handoff work,
when the job dispatcher selects Prism as primary, route through the bundled Prism System layer
before loading a broad recipe set:

```bash
designer-pipeline prism route --query "<design request>" --json
designer-pipeline prism search --query "<narrow capability>" --json
```

Read `references/prism-system.md`, load only the returned local skill sequence, and execute it
inside the native brief, directions, implementation, and QA stages. Reuse the pipeline's existing
design tokens, catalogs, adapters, evidence, `DESIGN.md`, and `MOTION.md`; never create a parallel
Prism runtime or treat upstream autonomy metadata as side-effect authority.

For an explicit holographic sticker, holofoil, die-cut, pointer-tilt, peel, or matching export
request, when the job dispatcher selects holosticker as primary, inspect the bundled
implementation before creating another shader or geometry path:

```bash
designer-pipeline holosticker inspect --capability "<capability>" --json
```

Read `references/holosticker.md`, adapt only the returned source files, and route them through the
project-pinned `threejs` adapter with `scene.json`, `3d.md`, `motion.md`, and browser evidence. Do not
add the full Studio UI or optional dependencies for an unselected capability.

When `web-design/build-threejs-scroll-worlds` is selected, or Kage is supplied as a reference, also
read `references/kage-scroll-world.md`. It adds the current Kage repository's license boundary and
post-snapshot responsive lessons without importing its unlicensed code or artwork.

For animation implementation, choose library skills by job:

- Use `gsap-core`, `gsap-timeline`, `gsap-scrolltrigger`, `gsap-react`, `gsap-plugins`, `gsap-utils`, `gsap-performance`, and `gsap-frameworks` for advanced choreography, scroll-driven animation, timeline control, React integration, SVG/plugin-heavy work, or when GSAP is already in the project.
- Use `animejs` v4.5 for modular timelines, layout transitions, accessible text splitting, SVG, draggable interactions, scroll observers, WAAPI, deterministic stagger, or adapter-driven targets such as Three.js.
- Use the built-in `reflex-xy` route for Python-native charts, notebooks, static chart export, Reflex applications, or large datasets that need screen-bounded rendering. Read `references/xy-charting.md`; pin the alpha version in the target project and keep a semantic data-table path.
- Use the official `pixijs` router and the matching PixiJS v8 sub-skills only for justified interactive 2D render surfaces such as sprite fields, particles, filters, shaders, canvas editors, or high-object-count scenes. Read `references/pixijs-rendering.md` before selecting it.
- Use the built-in Phaser v4 route for a complete 2D game runtime with scenes, game-loop ownership, input, audio, physics, cameras, scaling, and game-state transitions. Read `references/phaser-v4.md`; do not depend on an unverified community skill pack.
- Use Three.js or React Three Fiber for focused 3D scene rendering; use Babylon.js or PlayCanvas when a fuller 3D engine is justified. Existing project runtimes still win when they meet the capability and budget.
- For explicit holographic sticker work, use `references/holosticker.md` as the pinned Three.js implementation route and select only the required material, die-cut, tilt, peel, or export slice.
- Use `references/game-ui-and-narrative.md` for HUDs, game menus, dialogue systems, visual novels, and Galgame surfaces. Keep dialogue, choice, backlog, save/load, skip, autoplay, and accessibility state independent of animation timing.
- If no animation or rendering library is already present, prefer semantic DOM plus CSS transitions/keyframes for simple state changes; choose Anime.js, GSAP, PixiJS, Phaser, or a 3D runtime only when the required capability justifies it.
- Do not add overlapping runtimes unless `design.md`, `motion.md`, and when required `scene.md` or
  `3d.md` assign distinct responsibilities. One adapter owns each render loop, clock, property,
  lifecycle, and cleanup path.
- Treat an installed but stale `animejs` companion as a warning. Use official v4.5 documentation for missing markers and record the fallback in `qa.md`.
- Treat a partial or stale PixiJS suite as a warning. Use the canonical PixiJS v8 documentation index for missing APIs and record the fallback in `qa.md`.

For React and Next.js work, also apply the installed Vercel / Next.js engineering skills listed in `references/companion-skills.md`:

- `vercel-react-best-practices`
- `vercel-composition-patterns`
- `vercel-react-view-transitions`
- `next-cache-components-adoption`
- `next-cache-components-optimizer`
- `next-dev-loop`

If a companion skill is missing, continue with the same gate manually and note the missing skill in `qa.md`. Do not block the user unless the requested output depends on a missing asset, credential, or external service.

## Stage 0: Repo Read

Before writing design artifacts or code:

- Persist the route job plan and bind `jobPlanSha256`/`jobPlanPath` to later toolchain and execution requests.
- Run `node <design-pipeline>/scripts/check-deps.cjs` from the target project root.
- Identify framework, styling system, component library, routing, design tokens, test surface, and existing UI patterns.
- Resolve visual sources to file paths before writing source-bound evidence. If unavailable, record `source.availability: pending`, its reason, and the unlock action; never invent paths, dimensions, or hashes.
- Check project `DESIGN.md` and `MOTION.md`; route missing or incompatible foundations through synthesis.
- Resolve the frontend/tool/graphics plan with the governed CLI before invoking an external runtime. Probe first; do not install from a route result.
- Use the design-system CLI to decompose capabilities and record adoption as `reference`, `adopt`, `substitute`, or `custom`.
- Run `designer-pipeline component lock` from the approved direction selection, then run `designer-pipeline component fit` for each capability set. The resulting matrix must preserve direction-lock, catalog, project-inventory, and evidence hashes.
- Initialize or update `state.json`, `events.jsonl`, and `handoff.md` through the existing state tools.

Use `references/stages.md` for the full Stage 0 checklist and the required toolchain/execution commands.

## Direction and Copy Rules

- Treat the hero or first viewport as the product thesis, not a generic template slot.
- Choose palette, typography, layout, and motion from the subject and audience. A named style alone is not a rationale.
- Spend boldness in one justified signature element; remove decoration that does not improve understanding or action.
- Use structural markers, labels, and numbering only when they encode true information.
- Write from the user's side of the screen. Controls name real actions, errors name the fix, empty states direct the next action, and the same action keeps the same name through the flow.
- Read `references/plain-language.md` for user-facing copy and `references/cjk-typography.md` for CJK or mixed-script surfaces.

## Browser and Evidence Rules

The browser runner is an evidence port, not a source of authority. For dynamic web apps:

1. Start or verify the target runtime and wait for readiness.
2. Wait for `networkidle` before inspecting dynamic DOM.
3. Discover selectors from the rendered surface.
4. Exercise the required interaction and state transitions.
5. Capture the applicable DOM, screenshot, console, accessibility, network, and performance artifacts.
6. Bind artifacts to hashes and record missing or degraded capabilities explicitly.

`adapters/playwright.cjs` is the project-owned implementation. A static screenshot cannot replace behavioral evidence.

## Public CLI Surfaces

Use the public CLI rather than reaching into implementation modules:

```bash
designer-pipeline route --query "<brief>" --write --output job-plan.json --json
designer-pipeline toolchain resolve --artifact toolchain-request.json --write --output toolchain-plan.json --json
designer-pipeline design-system decompose --query "<brief>" --write --output capability-inventory.json --json
designer-pipeline direction check --stage preview --change-root <change-root> --json
designer-pipeline component lock --artifact direction-lock-request.json --write --output direction-lock.json --json
designer-pipeline component fit --artifact component-fit-request.json --write --output component-fit-matrix.json --json
designer-pipeline component validate-fit --artifact component-fit-matrix.json --json
designer-pipeline reference check --change-root <change-root> --json
designer-pipeline reconstruction check --stage final --change-root <change-root> --json
designer-pipeline playground check --stage integration --change-root <change-root> --json
designer-pipeline scene check --change-root <change-root> --json
```

For the first-wave guided multi-surface flow, use these commands:

```bash
designer-pipeline surface validate --artifact surface.json --json
designer-pipeline intake start --artifact input.json --json
designer-pipeline intake answer --artifact brief.json --answer answer.json --json
designer-pipeline intake confirm --artifact brief.json --json
designer-pipeline template inventory --catalog catalog.json --json
designer-pipeline template search --catalog catalog.json --surface surface.json --request request.json --json
designer-pipeline template select --selection selection.json --json
designer-pipeline template adapt --receipt receipt.json --context context.json --json
designer-pipeline template review --plan plan.json --rev

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