Design Scan

design-scan

Turn a live URL into design.md, a spec detailed enough to replicate the site's visual design and motion. Follow these steps exactly.

1. Parse the URL

Read the target URL from the user's args. If none is present, ask for it and stop. Accept bare hostnames and normalize to https:// if no scheme is given.

2. Dependency check (one-time)

Resolve the skill dir = the directory containing this SKILL.md. Do NOT assume it equals the current working directory; the user runs the skill from their own project.

If <skill-dir>/node_modules does not exist, install from the skill dir:

npm install --prefix <skill-dir>
npx --prefix <skill-dir> playwright install chromium

Tell the user this is a one-time setup and that the Chromium download is ~300MB, so it may take a minute. Skip this step entirely if node_modules already exists.

3. Run the scan

From the skill dir, run:

node <skill-dir>/scripts/scan.mjs <url> --out <cwd>/design-scan-output/<hostname>

<hostname> is the URL's host (e.g. linear.app). <cwd> is the user's project directory, not the skill dir — output belongs in the user's project. Relay progress to the user as it streams; typical runtime is 1–4 minutes.

If the script exits non-zero, show its one-line error and the likely fix:

• Bot-blocked / challenge page (Cloudflare, empty content, timeout on load): suggest trying a different URL or a specific subpage that isn't gated.
• Unreachable URL (DNS/connection error): confirm the URL is correct and public.
• Missing Chromium (Playwright error about a missing browser): run npx --prefix <skill-dir> playwright install chromium and retry.

4. Read the results — with token discipline

The scan writes a lot; do NOT read all of it. Read in this order and stop when you have enough:

1. <out>/scan.json first — always. It is the aggregate: pages list, designTokens, fonts, typography (computed per-role type styles from the home page — use this for real rendered sizes; design tokens alone can understate viewport-scaled headings), colorPalette, animations (libraries, keyframes, waapi, transitions, hoverStyles, scrollEvidence), layout, components, meta. This is your primary source of truth for all numeric values. Reading notes: waapi entries are deduped with a count field — a high count means the animation is a repeated pattern, not a one-off. colorPalette roles are mechanical (text/bg/border/accent-cta) — identify the brand/accent colors yourself from saturated values and the button signatures; don't transcribe roles blindly.
2. Screenshots, in priority order:
   • Home page: read desktop.png, tablet.png, mobile.png, and fullpage.png — always (the Responsive section needs all three breakpoints).
   • Every other page: read desktop.png only.
   • Scroll frames (scroll-01.png …): read 2–3 representative frames (early / middle / late), only for the home page, and only if scan.json shows actual scroll-triggered motion: animations.scrollEvidence has scrollTimeline/aosAttrs true or a scrollLibrary, or a scroll library (AOS, GSAP, Lenis, Locomotive) appears in animations.libraries. Non-empty keyframes/waapi alone is not evidence — most sites have hover/loader animations that never fire on scroll. When in doubt, skip.
3. Never read every screenshot of every page. Never open pages/<slug>/data.json unless scan.json is missing a specific detail you need for one section — then read only that page's data.json.

5. Write design.md

Write to <cwd>/design.md. If a design.md already exists there, ask before overwriting. Follow the template below verbatim in structure.

Quality bar (non-negotiable):

• Every animation entry cites real values from scan.json — duration, delay, easing, keyframe offsets. Never write "smooth fade" or "subtle slide" without the numbers behind it.
• The color palette uses exact hex values with usage roles and counts from colorPalette.
• Typography names exact families, weights, and sizes from fonts and the computed type data.
• Where scan.json and the screenshots disagree, trust scan.json for values (colors, sizes, timings) and the screenshots for hierarchy and feel (what's prominent, the overall mood).

design.md template

# Design Spec: <site>

## Overview
One paragraph: brand feel, visual density, dark vs light, overall personality.

## Layout System
Max content widths; grid vs flex patterns and column counts; header behavior
(sticky? transparent-to-solid on scroll?); vertical rhythm and the spacing scale
between sections.

## Typography
| Role | Family | Size | Weight | Line height | Letter spacing |
|------|--------|------|--------|-------------|----------------|
| Display / H1 | … | … | … | … | … |
| Heading / H2 | … | … | … | … | … |
| Body | … | … | … | … | … |
| Caption / small | … | … | … | … | … |

Font loading source (Google Fonts, self-hosted @font-face, system stack).

## Color Palette
| Swatch (hex) | Role | Usage count |
|--------------|------|-------------|
| #… | Background | … |
| #… | Text | … |
| #… | Accent / brand | … |

### Design tokens (CSS custom properties)
| Token | Value | Role |
|-------|-------|------|
| --… | … | … |

## Components
For each key component (nav, hero, buttons, cards, footer, …):
- **Name** — description; key computed styles (padding, radius, border, shadow,
  background); which screenshot shows it (path).

## Animation & Motion
Libraries detected: <list from animations.libraries, or "none — CSS only">.

Per animation:
- **Name / target** — trigger (load | scroll | hover); duration; delay; easing;
  keyframes summary with real offsets (e.g. `0%: opacity 0, translateY 24px →
  100%: opacity 1, translateY 0`).

Hover states: what changes on :hover and the transition used.
Transition conventions: default duration/easing applied across interactive elements.

## Responsive Behavior
What changes at 768px (tablet) and 390px (mobile) based on the tablet/mobile
screenshots — nav collapse, column reflow, type scaling, hidden elements.

## Assets & References
- Screenshots: paths under `design-scan-output/<hostname>/pages/…`
- og:image, favicon (from meta).

## Implementation Notes
Suggested stack mapping — e.g. a Tailwind config snippet wiring the tokens above,
and which animation library best replicates the observed motion.

6. Report and offer next step

Tell the user:

• design.md was written at <cwd>/design.md.
• Screenshots and raw data live in <cwd>/design-scan-output/<hostname>/ for reference.
• Offer: "Want me to scaffold a project that implements this design.md?"