Sfnext Create Vertical

Create a Vertical Skill

This skill is the entrypoint for creating a new Storefront Next vertical — a brand theme or storefront variant (e.g. Beauty, Furniture, Grocery) layered on top of the shared template without forking shared code.

A vertical is built almost entirely from design tokens. The golden rule of the token system makes the whole approach possible:

Never use a raw hex value, RGB value, or hardcoded color in any component or CSS file. Always use a semantic Tailwind utility that maps to a CSS variable.

See Token System Reference for the full token map and semantic class meanings.

What a vertical is — and is not

Only src/theme/tokens/brand.css changes between verticals. Everything else is shared infrastructure.

Before you start — read the token layer first

1. Read src/theme/tokens/brand.css — understand the current palette structure before defining new values.
2. Read src/theme/tokens/core.css — understand how brand values map to semantic roles.
3. Read src/theme/tailwind.css — understand the CSS variable → Tailwind utility bridge.

Do not define any new token values until you have read these three files.

Workflow

1. Establish the brand palette

Capture from the brand:

• Brand name
• Light/dark foreground + background pairs
• Signature accent / primary color
• Header surface treatment (dark vs light header)
• Logo treatment and typography

Update only values in src/theme/tokens/brand.css — do not rename variables.

WCAG contrast check. After defining the palette, verify AA contrast (4.5:1 for normal text):

• Primary button: bg-primary / text-primary-foreground
• Body text: text-foreground on bg-background

Use the WebAIM contrast checker or equivalent.

2. Add optional typography overrides

If the vertical uses custom fonts:

• Add font loading/import in the app entry.
• Update --font-sans / --font-serif values in brand.css.

3. Keep local development stable with fixtures

Vertical work usually happens before real SCAPI credentials are wired up. Use static fixtures so home and PDP render reliably:

• Create src/config/<vertical>-fixtures.ts with VERTICAL_NAV_CATEGORIES and VERTICAL_PRODUCT (typed as ShopperProducts.schemas['Product']).
• Short-circuit the _app.tsx loader to return fixture categories.
• Short-circuit the _app.product.$productId.tsx loader to resolve the fixture product.

Restore the normal SCAPI calls once real credentials are available.

4. Run the component extension audit before coding

For each area you intend to change, decide one of three outcomes before writing code:

Does the change only affect visual tokens (color, font, spacing)?
  └─ YES → Token / CVA-only change. brand.css handles most of it.
  └─ NO  → Is the structural change needed by only one vertical?
              └─ YES → src/extensions/<vertical>/ via UITarget injection. Never touch core.
              └─ NO  → Add a slot / render-prop to the BASE component, each vertical fills it.
              └─ UNSURE → Build vertical-specific first; promote to base on the second consumer.

See Component Authoring Reference for the layer model and the extend-before-create rule.

5. Validate

• Run pnpm dev and verify home + PDP rendering in light and dark mode.
• Confirm there are no hardcoded color classes (no bg-black, text-white, raw hex).
• Run Storybook snapshot checks for changed components.

6. Sync the Figma kit

After code-side token decisions are stable, duplicate and sync the Figma kit. Use the sfnext-create-figma-kit skill (in the storefront-next-figma plugin). Always sync tokens first, then logo, then shared-component overrides, then new page-level frames.

Execution modes

The same workflow runs in two modes:

• Assisted (IDE automation): follow the phase order strictly; use automation for repeatable edits and audits; keep human approval points for architecture decisions (extension vs base).
• Manual: use the workflow as a checklist; record each decision in a lightweight table (component area · decision type · target path · rationale); apply edits by hand.

Required outcomes

• Brand token updates isolated to brand.css (and optional vertical override files).
• No primitive forks under src/components/ui/.
• Fixture short-circuit works locally without SCAPI dependency.
• Extension-vs-base decisions documented and approved.
• Figma sync executed after code decisions are finalized.

Verification

Before marking the task complete, run from the monorepo root:

pnpm typecheck
pnpm lint
pnpm test-storybook:snapshot:agent

All three must pass with zero errors and zero warnings.

Related Skills

• storefront-next:sfnext-components - Engineering component patterns (createPage, Suspense, shadcn)
• storefront-next:sfnext-extensions - Extension system and UITarget injection
• storefront-next-figma:sfnext-create-figma-kit - Syncing the brand tokens into the Figma kit

Reference Documentation

• Token System Reference - Full token map, semantic class meanings, dark mode rules
• Component Authoring Reference - Layer model, CVA, extend-before-create
• Project Structure Reference - Monorepo and theme file layout
• Troubleshooting Reference - Token, snapshot, and lint pitfalls