Mobbin

Mobbin

Use Mobbin MCP as the only primary source of design inspiration for UI/UX pattern work. Mobbin is a curated library of shipped mobile and web screens/flows — not portfolio mockups. The MCP returns real references (images + metadata + Mobbin links) so agents stop guessing generic UI.

Hard gate: Do not propose, sketch, or implement new UI direction until Mobbin MCP has returned references for this task — or until the user explicitly waives the gate after you reported MCP unavailable.

Workflow

1. Confirm Mobbin MCP — Discover the Mobbin MCP server and its tools. If the server is missing, unauthorized (needsAuth), or errors, stop UI invention and follow mcp-setup.md. Authenticate when required; do not proceed on memory.
2. Frame the design question — Product surface, platform (ios | web), user job, constraints (brand, density, a11y), and whether you need a single screen, a multi-step flow, or a marketing/site section. Ask only the clarifying questions that change search intent.
3. Search with the right tool — Follow search-playbook.md:
   • search_screens — one screen / layout / component composition
   • search_flows — multi-step journeys (onboarding, checkout, KYC, permissions)
   • search_sections — website sections (pricing, footers, heroes, feature grids)
4. Inspect results — Open/read returned images and mobbin_url links. Prefer concrete UI structure, hierarchy, CTAs, and empty/error states over vague “looks modern.”
5. Synthesize, don’t clone — Extract patterns (hierarchy, progressive disclosure, trust signals, motion of the flow) and adapt to the project’s brand/system. See synthesis.md.
6. Iterate searches — If results are weak, repeated, or off-domain, rewrite the query (more UI detail, named peer apps, exclude prior screen IDs). Run a second/third focused search before designing.
7. Only then design or code — Ground proposals in cited Mobbin references (app name + link). Keep fidelity appropriate (low/mid wire first unless asked for polished UI).

Enforcement Rules

• Must call Mobbin MCP for inspiration, benchmarking, redesign direction, and “how do top apps do X?” questions.
• Must discover tool schemas before calling (do not guess argument names).
• Must set platform to ios or web explicitly; never bury platform in the query string.
• Must write specific queries — one intent per search; name UI elements and relationships; avoid vague style words (modern, clean, beautiful) and negations (without ads).
• Must prefer mode: "deep" for nuanced design questions; use "standard" only for quick breadth or rate-limit recovery ("fast" is deprecated alias of "standard").
• Must cite at least 2–3 concrete references (app + what pattern was taken) before committing to a direction — unless the user asked for a single reference or MCP returned fewer usable hits.
• Must not invent UI from training memory, Dribbble/Behance vibes, or “typical SaaS” defaults when Mobbin MCP is available.
• Must not treat Mobbin as a license to copy proprietary assets, logos, or pixel-identical layouts — patterns and structure only.
• If MCP is unavailable: report blocker + setup steps; offer Mobbin website manual search as interim research only; still do not fabricate references.

Verification

Before finishing design/UI work under this skill:

• Mobbin MCP was actually invoked (tool name + query + platform recorded).
• Tool choice matches need (screen vs flow vs section).
• Queries followed the specificity rules (no vague style keywords, one intent each).
• Results were inspected (images/links), not just app names recited.
• Final direction cites shipped references and explains adapted patterns.
• Implementation respects the project’s existing design system / brand constraints.