Shape

Context: this sub-skill is one lens of the broader ui-craft skill. If the ui-craft skill is also installed, read its SKILL.md first for Discovery + Anti-Slop + Craft Test, then apply the specific lens below.

Shape the UI for $ARGUMENTS before writing code. Load the ui-craft skill.

This command produces a shape artifact, not JSX. The point is to force low-fi thinking — content inventory, layout regions, state coverage, open questions — before any component is written. Skipping this step is how generic AI UIs get built: straight to hi-fi, no discovery, every screen looks the same.

Step 1 — Clarify (3-5 questions). Ask the user before shaping. Don't guess. Minimum questions:

• What's the primary user action on this screen? (One verb, one object.)
• What data is visible by default vs hidden behind a click or tab?
• What does success look like — a state, a redirect, a toast?
• Who's the primary user — first-timer, power user, mobile-first?

Step 2 — Content inventory. Bullet list of every piece of content that will appear. Annotate each by priority:

• P0 — must be visible on first paint. Cut it and the screen fails.
• P1 — one click away (tab, accordion, drawer).
• P2 — settings-level; rarely accessed.

Example:

- P0  Headline (one line, the value prop)
- P0  Primary CTA
- P0  Hero chart / metric
- P1  Secondary nav tabs
- P1  Recent activity list
- P2  Export / integrations menu

Step 3 — ASCII layout. Low-fi sketch showing regions. No specific copy, no colors, no font sizes. One desktop variant + one mobile variant. Use box characters:

Desktop
┌──────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ [logo]                 [nav]         [user]  │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  ┌────────────────┐   ┌───────────────────┐  │
│  │ Headline + sub │   │                   │  │
│  │                │   │   Hero visual     │  │
│  │ [Primary CTA]  │   │                   │  │
│  └────────────────┘   └───────────────────┘  │
│                                              │
│  ── Social proof row ──                      │
│                                              │
│  ┌─── Feature 1 ───┐   ┌─── Feature 2 ───┐   │
│  └─────────────────┘   └─────────────────┘   │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Mobile
┌──────────────────┐
│ [logo]     [☰]   │
├──────────────────┤
│  Headline + sub  │
│                  │
│  [Primary CTA]   │
│                  │
│  ┌── Hero ──┐    │
│  └──────────┘    │
│                  │
│  Social proof    │
│                  │
│  Feature 1       │
│  Feature 2       │
└──────────────────┘

Asymmetry is fine and often better — don't force center-everything.

Step 4 — State list. Enumerate the states this screen must handle. Point at references/state-design.md for the contracts.

• idle — default state, data present.
• loading — skeletons that mirror final layout, 200ms delay before showing.
• empty — first-run or no data; doubles as onboarding.
• error — specific cause + recovery action + support ID.
• partial — some data loaded, some failed (e.g., one widget erred).
• conflict — user-edit collision (rare but load-bearing on collaborative surfaces).
• offline — queue writes, reconcile on reconnect.
• success — confirmation state after the primary action completes.

Mark each as required / optional (why) / N/A.

Step 5 — Open questions. Do NOT start coding until these are answered. Default set:

• Accent color — brand-defined, or to be chosen? (See Discovery in SKILL.md.)
• Typography — existing tokens, or new system? (Reference typography.md.)
• Responsive breakpoints — what's the minimum supported width?
• Stack — CSS only, or Motion / GSAP / Three.js? (Only load stack.md if the user opts in.)
• Data source — real API ready, or mock for shape?
• Keyboard / a11y requirements — anything beyond the baseline from accessibility.md?

Knob awareness.

• At CRAFT_LEVEL ≥ 7, add two more sections:
  • Motion shape — which elements enter, in what order, with what stagger. Pick from the duration scale in references/motion.md.
  • Typography hierarchy plan — display / headline / body / label sizes and weights, before code.
• At CRAFT_LEVEL ≤ 4, strip Step 4 to idle / loading / error only. Skip the motion shape.

Step 6 — Offer to persist to .ui-craft/spec.md (opt-in).

After printing all five steps, offer to write the output as a spec section:

"Write this shape to .ui-craft/spec.md as ## Surface: <name>? (Persists the composition choice, layout, and acceptance bar for the build phase.)"

• User confirms → format the output as a ## Surface: <name> section following the template in ../skills/ui-craft/references/spec.md, then write or append to .ui-craft/spec.md. Confirm in one line: "Written to .ui-craft/spec.md → ## Surface: <name>."
• User declines → do not write any file. The printed output stands. Note: "spec.md not written — the pipeline continues without a persisted acceptance bar."

Print-only is the default when /shape is run standalone. Step 6 is the offer; it does not execute unless the user explicitly confirms.

Output contract.

• Produce a single Markdown block with all five steps, in order. Step 6 is the optional offer that follows.
• Do NOT write JSX, CSS, or component code in this command.
• End the output with: "Ready to build? Review the shape, confirm the open questions, then run /ui-craft:audit (or use Build mode) once the code exists."

Next step: /craft — build the surface you just wireframed (rung 1).