Frontend Implementation

Frontend Implementation Skill

Domain-specific guidance for frontend UI development, component implementation, and user interactions.

When To Use This Skill

Load this Skill when task has tags:

• frontend, ui, react, vue, angular, web
• component, jsx, tsx, styling, responsive

Validation Commands

Run Tests

# Full test suite
npm test

# With coverage
npm test -- --coverage

# Watch mode
npm test -- --watch

# Specific test file
npm test -- UserProfile.test.tsx

# Specific test pattern
npm test -- -t "should render profile"

Build Project

# Production build
npm run build

# Development build
npm run build:dev

# Type checking (TypeScript)
npm run type-check

# Linting
npm run lint

Run Application

# Development server
npm start

# With specific port
PORT=3001 npm start

Success Criteria (Before Completing Task)

✅ ALL tests MUST pass (0 failures) ✅ Build MUST succeed without errors ✅ No TypeScript/linting errors ✅ Component renders without errors ✅ Responsive design works (mobile, tablet, desktop) ✅ Accessibility standards met (ARIA labels, keyboard navigation)

Common Frontend Tasks

Component Development

• Create functional components (React hooks, Vue composition API)
• Props and state management
• Event handling
• Conditional rendering
• List rendering with keys

Styling

• CSS modules or styled-components
• Responsive design (media queries)
• Mobile-first approach
• Consistent with design system

Forms and Validation

• Form state management (Formik, React Hook Form)
• Input validation (client-side)
• Error display
• Submit handling

API Integration

• Fetch data with useEffect/axios
• Loading states
• Error handling
• Data transformation

Testing Principles for Frontend

Component Testing (Preferred)

✅ Test user interactions:

test('submits form with valid data', () => {
  render(<LoginForm />)

  fireEvent.change(screen.getByLabelText('Email'), {
    target: { value: 'user@example.com' }
  })
  fireEvent.change(screen.getByLabelText('Password'), {
    target: { value: 'password123' }
  })
  fireEvent.click(screen.getByText('Login'))

  expect(mockSubmit).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
    email: 'user@example.com',
    password: 'password123'
  })
})

What to Test

✅ DO test:

• Component renders without errors
• Correct content displays
• User interactions work (clicks, inputs)
• Conditional rendering logic
• Form validation
• Error states
• Accessibility (ARIA attributes, keyboard navigation)

❌ DON'T test:

• Implementation details (state variable names)
• Third-party library internals
• Styling specifics (unless critical)

Test User-Facing Behavior

// ✅ GOOD - Tests what user sees
expect(screen.getByText('Welcome, John')).toBeInTheDocument()
expect(screen.getByRole('button', { name: 'Submit' })).toBeEnabled()

// ❌ BAD - Tests implementation details
expect(component.state.username).toBe('John')
expect(mockFunction).toHaveBeenCalledTimes(1)

Common Blocker Scenarios

Blocker 1: API Not Ready

Issue: Frontend needs API endpoint that doesn't exist yet

What to try:

• Check if backend task is marked complete
• Mock API responses for development
• Create mock data file

If blocked: Report to orchestrator - backend task may be incomplete

Blocker 2: Design Assets Missing

Issue: Need icons, images, colors not provided

What to try:

• Check design system documentation
• Use placeholder assets temporarily
• Check with design team

If blocked: Report to orchestrator - need design assets or specifications

Blocker 3: TypeScript Type Errors

Issue: Complex types from API don't match frontend expectations

What to try:

• Check API response format (console.log actual response)
• Generate types from API schema (OpenAPI, GraphQL)
• Use unknown type and validate at runtime

Common causes:

• API changed but types not updated
• Optional fields not marked with ?
• Nested objects not properly typed

Blocker 4: Test Environment Issues

Issue: Tests fail in CI but pass locally

What to try:

• Check Node version consistency
• Check test environment variables
• Check for timing issues (add waitFor)
• Check for browser-specific APIs used without polyfills

Blocker 5: Responsive Design Conflicts

Issue: Component works on desktop but breaks on mobile

What to try:

• Test in browser dev tools mobile view
• Check media queries
• Check for fixed widths vs responsive units
• Check for overflow issues

Blocker Report Format

⚠️ BLOCKED - Requires Senior Engineer

Issue: [Specific problem - API endpoint 404, missing design specs, etc.]

Attempted Fixes:
- [What you tried #1]
- [What you tried #2]
- [Why attempts didn't work]

Root Cause (if known): [Your analysis]

Partial Progress: [What work you DID complete]

Context for Senior Engineer:
- Error output: [Console errors, network errors]
- Screenshots: [If visual issue]
- Related files: [Files involved]

Requires: [What needs to happen]

Quick Reference

React Functional Component

import React, { useState, useEffect } from 'react';

interface UserProfileProps {
  userId: string;
  onUpdate?: (user: User) => void;
}

export const UserProfile: React.FC<UserProfileProps> = ({ userId, onUpdate }) => {
  const [user, setUser] = useState<User | null>(null);
  const [loading, setLoading] = useState(true);
  const [error, setError] = useState<string | null>(null);

  useEffect(() => {
    fetch(`/api/users/${userId}`)
      .then(res => res.json())
      .then(data => {
        setUser(data);
        setLoading(false);
      })
      .catch(err => {
        setError(err.message);
        setLoading(false);
      });
  }, [userId]);

  if (loading) return <div>Loading...</div>;
  if (error) return <div>Error: {error}</div>;
  if (!user) return <div>User not found</div>;

  return (
    <div className="user-profile">
      <h2>{user.name}</h2>
      <p>{user.email}</p>
    </div>
  );
};

Form with Validation

import { useState } from 'react';

export const LoginForm = ({ onSubmit }) => {
  const [email, setEmail] = useState('');
  const [password, setPassword] = useState('');
  const [errors, setErrors] = useState({});

  const validate = () => {
    const newErrors = {};
    if (!email) newErrors.email = 'Email required';
    if (!email.includes('@')) newErrors.email = 'Invalid email';
    if (!password) newErrors.password = 'Password required';
    if (password.length < 8) newErrors.password = 'Min 8 characters';
    return newErrors;
  };

  const handleSubmit = (e) => {
    e.preventDefault();
    const newErrors = validate();
    if (Object.keys(newErrors).length > 0) {
      setErrors(newErrors);
      return;
    }
    onSubmit({ email, password });
  };

  return (
    <form
      <div>
        <label htmlFor="email">Email</label>
        <input
          id="email"
          type="email"
          value={email}
          => setEmail(e.target.value)}
          aria-invalid={!!errors.email}
          aria-describedby={errors.email ? "email-error" : undefined}
        />
        {errors.email && <span id="email-error" role="alert">{errors.email}</span>}
      </div>
      <div>
        <label htmlFor="password">Password</label>
        <input
          id="password"
          type="password"
          value={password}
          => setPassword(e.target.value)}
          aria-invalid={!!errors.password}
        />
        {errors.password && <span role="alert">{errors.password}</span>}
      </div>
      <button type="submit">Login</button>
    </form>
  );
};

Accessibility Checklist

✅ ARIA labels for all interactive elements ✅ Keyboard navigation works (Tab, Enter, Escape) ✅ Focus indicators visible ✅ Color contrast meets WCAG AA standards ✅ Screen reader compatible ✅ Semantic HTML (button, nav, main, header) ✅ Alt text for images ✅ Form labels associated with inputs

Common Patterns to Follow

1. Mobile-first responsive design
2. Component composition over inheritance
3. Props for configuration, state for interaction
4. Lifting state up when shared between components
5. Error boundaries for error handling
6. Loading states for async operations
7. Accessibility by default (ARIA, keyboard support)

What NOT to Do

❌ Don't use inline styles for complex styling ❌ Don't forget key prop in lists ❌ Don't mutate state directly ❌ Don't skip accessibility features ❌ Don't hardcode API URLs (use environment variables) ❌ Don't skip loading and error states ❌ Don't forget mobile responsiveness

Focus Areas

When reading task sections, prioritize:

• requirements - What UI needs to be built
• technical-approach - Component structure, state management
• design - Visual specifications, layout
• ux - User interactions, flows

Remember

• Test user interactions - what users see and do, not implementation
• Accessibility is mandatory - ARIA labels, keyboard navigation
• Mobile-first - design for mobile, enhance for desktop
• Error and loading states - always handle async operations
• Report blockers promptly - missing APIs, design assets, specifications
• Follow existing patterns - check codebase for similar components
• Validation is mandatory - ALL tests must pass before completion

Additional Resources

For deeper patterns and examples, see:

• PATTERNS.md - React hooks patterns, state management (load if needed)
• BLOCKERS.md - Detailed frontend-specific blockers (load if stuck)
• examples.md - Complete component examples (load if uncertain)