UI Craft
Use the project's visual and copy authorities, shipped primitive inventory, and real runtime behavior. Preserve keyboard/focus operation, supported states, meaningful labels, contrast, reduced motion, and token ownership.
For a small edit, inspect the affected component/state and reuse existing decisions. A new surface or substantial redesign may need a short user job, scene, register, or visual dials when those resolve an actual design choice; they are not required artifacts for every tweak.
- Read the relevant design/token/copy contract. When generated documentation and runtime tokens disagree, follow the project's canonical-source rule and regenerate through its owning tool.
- Reuse existing primitives and supported states. Do not invent controls, metrics, helper copy, brand variants, or host chrome to satisfy a prototype.
- Match verification to changed interaction/visual behavior: render the affected states, check keyboard/focus where interaction changes, and compare a named reference when required. Reuse current evidence; whole-surface matrices and all-breakpoint sweeps need corresponding scope.
- Review actual hierarchy, overflow, token drift, misleading interaction, and accessibility defects. Avoid a fixed scorecard that turns subjective preferences into universal merge blockers.
- Update design authorities only for an actual token/pattern change, through their generator when owned by codegen. A missing optional reference does not justify scaffolding a new design system.
References by Need
Use the matching section and its necessary dependencies. The table is a lookup, not a list to load in full. assets/state-matrix.md, assets/pre-ship-checklist.md, and assets/ui-audit-template.md are optional working formats for substantial design/audit tasks; ordinary changes can use concise evidence.
| When |
File |
Covers |
| Designing a novel surface / auditing usability |
references/usability-foundations.md |
Nielsen 10, Laws of UX, progressive disclosure, mental models |
| Any interactive widget (dialog, menu, combobox, tabs, slider) |
references/accessibility-floor.md |
WCAG 2.2 AA non-negotiables, ARIA patterns, verification recipes |
| Buttons/inputs/dialogs/nav/tables/cards/dropdowns/tabs/toasts |
references/component-patterns.md |
States, keyboard contract, a11y, and slop per component |
| Writing or reviewing user-visible text |
references/microcopy-quality.md |
Banned vocabulary, per-surface tone, error/empty/CTA templates |
| Auditing AI-generated UI |
references/ai-slop-patterns.md |
Before/after + remediation for the 14 patterns, detection prompts |
| A choice feels like a category-average default |
references/anti-defaults.md |
17 literal artifacts to refuse on sight |
| Building an AI/agent surface |
references/human-ai-ux.md |
Microsoft 18 + IBM 4 pillars, streaming/citation/confidence UI |
| Reading/extending DESIGN.md, tokens, shadcn/Radix, codegen rules |
references/design-system-integration.md |
DESIGN.md sections, token discipline, Figma/Code Connect |
| No token system, or extending a scale |
references/visual-craft.md |
Type/color/spacing/radius/elevation/motion defaults |
| Adding or reviewing animation |
references/motion-patterns.md |
Duration bands, easing, CSS/Framer/@starting-style, reduced-motion |
| Implementing or reviewing dark mode |
references/dark-mode.md |
Surface-lightness elevation, accent desaturation, dangerous pairs |
| Unprofiled ship, CWV regress, heavy dep on a hot route |
references/performance.md |
CWV floors, 80ms threshold, font zero-CLS, pre-ship gate |
| "We need a [Linear/Notion]-like X" |
references/archetypes.md |
7 archetypes, each a six-slot signature contract |
Helpers
Resolve these from the actual skill directory (<ui-craft-dir>); run only for the question in scope:
node <ui-craft-dir>/scripts/check-contrast.mjs — read-only contrast calculation for changed rendered colors.node <ui-craft-dir>/scripts/detect-token-drift.mjs — read-only drift scan; use project lint/codegen evidence when it already owns the invariant.python3 <ui-craft-dir>/scripts/validate-metadata.py — authoring metadata validation.
Follow explicit user decisions and project authorities for trade-offs. Record material limitations honestly; do not force a scene interview, design audit, or another approval solely because this skill was used.
1---2name: ui-craft3description: Design, build, review, or refactor visible UI, including pages, components, forms, loading/error states, and AI chat/streaming interfaces. Excludes backend, infrastructure, CLI/TUI, and docs-only work.4---56# UI Craft78Use the project's visual and copy authorities, shipped primitive inventory, and real runtime behavior. Preserve keyboard/focus operation, supported states, meaningful labels, contrast, reduced motion, and token ownership.910For a small edit, inspect the affected component/state and reuse existing decisions. A new surface or substantial redesign may need a short user job, scene, register, or visual dials when those resolve an actual design choice; they are not required artifacts for every tweak.1112- Read the relevant design/token/copy contract. When generated documentation and runtime tokens disagree, follow the project's canonical-source rule and regenerate through its owning tool.13- Reuse existing primitives and supported states. Do not invent controls, metrics, helper copy, brand variants, or host chrome to satisfy a prototype.14- Match verification to changed interaction/visual behavior: render the affected states, check keyboard/focus where interaction changes, and compare a named reference when required. Reuse current evidence; whole-surface matrices and all-breakpoint sweeps need corresponding scope.15- Review actual hierarchy, overflow, token drift, misleading interaction, and accessibility defects. Avoid a fixed scorecard that turns subjective preferences into universal merge blockers.16- Update design authorities only for an actual token/pattern change, through their generator when owned by codegen. A missing optional reference does not justify scaffolding a new design system.1718## References by Need1920Use the matching section and its necessary dependencies. The table is a lookup, not a list to load in full. `assets/state-matrix.md`, `assets/pre-ship-checklist.md`, and `assets/ui-audit-template.md` are optional working formats for substantial design/audit tasks; ordinary changes can use concise evidence.2122| When | File | Covers |23| --------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ |24| Designing a novel surface / auditing usability | `references/usability-foundations.md` | Nielsen 10, Laws of UX, progressive disclosure, mental models |25| Any interactive widget (dialog, menu, combobox, tabs, slider) | `references/accessibility-floor.md` | WCAG 2.2 AA non-negotiables, ARIA patterns, verification recipes |26| Buttons/inputs/dialogs/nav/tables/cards/dropdowns/tabs/toasts | `references/component-patterns.md` | States, keyboard contract, a11y, and slop per component |27| Writing or reviewing user-visible text | `references/microcopy-quality.md` | Banned vocabulary, per-surface tone, error/empty/CTA templates |28| Auditing AI-generated UI | `references/ai-slop-patterns.md` | Before/after + remediation for the 14 patterns, detection prompts |29| A choice feels like a category-average default | `references/anti-defaults.md` | 17 literal artifacts to refuse on sight |30| Building an AI/agent surface | `references/human-ai-ux.md` | Microsoft 18 + IBM 4 pillars, streaming/citation/confidence UI |31| Reading/extending DESIGN.md, tokens, shadcn/Radix, codegen rules| `references/design-system-integration.md`| DESIGN.md sections, token discipline, Figma/Code Connect |32| No token system, or extending a scale | `references/visual-craft.md` | Type/color/spacing/radius/elevation/motion defaults |33| Adding or reviewing animation | `references/motion-patterns.md` | Duration bands, easing, CSS/Framer/`@starting-style`, reduced-motion|34| Implementing or reviewing dark mode | `references/dark-mode.md` | Surface-lightness elevation, accent desaturation, dangerous pairs |35| Unprofiled ship, CWV regress, heavy dep on a hot route | `references/performance.md` | CWV floors, 80ms threshold, font zero-CLS, pre-ship gate |36| "We need a [Linear/Notion]-like X" | `references/archetypes.md` | 7 archetypes, each a six-slot signature contract |3738## Helpers3940Resolve these from the actual skill directory (`<ui-craft-dir>`); run only for the question in scope:4142- `node <ui-craft-dir>/scripts/check-contrast.mjs` — read-only contrast calculation for changed rendered colors.43- `node <ui-craft-dir>/scripts/detect-token-drift.mjs` — read-only drift scan; use project lint/codegen evidence when it already owns the invariant.44- `python3 <ui-craft-dir>/scripts/validate-metadata.py` — authoring metadata validation.4546Follow explicit user decisions and project authorities for trade-offs. Record material limitations honestly; do not force a scene interview, design audit, or another approval solely because this skill was used.
pedronauck