# Sb Setup
> Set up Storybook on a React+Vite app that has none — defer to `npx storybook ai setup`, then align viteFinal/providers/MCP and ask where stories live. Use for 'set up Storybook', 'install Storybook', or NO_STORYBOOK.
- Skill: `strongeron/sb-setup` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 6 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add strongeron/sb-setup`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/strongeron/sb-setup/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Web & Frontend
- License: MIT
- Author: strongeron (https://skillmd.com/u/strongeron)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/strongeron/sb-setup
---
# sb-setup — native-first install
This skill is a thin **align+verify** layer. It does NOT re-implement a bootstrap wizard.
## Bootstrap — defer to Storybook
```bash
test -d .storybook && grep -q '"storybook"' package.json 2>/dev/null && echo PRESENT || echo NO_STORYBOOK
# NO_STORYBOOK → defer to Storybook's OWN official onboarding. `storybook` is the official npm
# package (@storybook/cli) — not a URL, not bundled or controlled by this skill; the USER runs it.
# This skill ships ZERO runtime dependencies and makes no network calls of its own. See SECURITY.md.
npx storybook ai setup # Storybook 10.4 agentic onboarding (the official `storybook` package)
```
## Know what the native flow already does
Before layering anything on top, read `references/native-ai-setup-prompt.md` — the
**captured `storybook ai setup` prompt** (default `optimized-tests` variant), with its 8 rules of
engagement, 8-step plan (discover → shared preview → portals → MSW → write ≤10 colocated stories +
one `CssCheck` → `play` discipline → batch-verify → cleanup), 5 done-when criteria, and verbatim
code examples. Our job is to NOT redo any of that — only add the under-documented align bits below.
## Then align + verify (the under-documented bits)
Load `references/install-wizard.md` for the full align layer (load it **only when you're actually
aligning a fresh `storybook ai setup`** — **Do NOT load it** to answer a one-off "is my Storybook
configured right?" question; the checklist below is enough for that):
- **runtime discovery FIRST** — `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT:-${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}}/scripts/discover-runtime.py` →
`.storybook/runtime.json`: the native Step-1 facts as ground truth (provider tree + `from`, root-CSS
mechanism (JS import vs `index.html` ``), portal target ids, network/MSW surface). The three
bullets below come **from** it — verify against it, don't re-derive by reading the entry by hand.
- **viteFinal** — strip plugins Storybook can't use; keep aliases.
- **provider decorators** — wrap stories in the app's Router/Theme/Query providers (from `runtime.json.providers`).
For a **class-based dark theme** (toggling `.dark` on ``, colors from CSS vars), the decorator alone
isn't enough: also theme the canvas root in `.storybook/preview-head.html` (`html, body, .sb-show-main {
background: var(--color-background) }` + `html.dark { color-scheme: dark }`), or `centered` stories render a
dark sliver in a white field and `padded`/`fullscreen` ones a white frame. (Snippet in `install-wizard.md` item 9.)
- **bare-OKLCH / shadcn-channel token bridge** — for a project whose `:root` declares **bare channel
triplets** (`--background: 0.99 0.003 234`, no `oklch()` wrapper) under shadcn's `--background`/`--card`/…
names with **no `--color-*` namespace** reaching the iframe, the wrappers' `--color-*` chrome refs resolve
to nothing and every surface renders unstyled (the #1 "first run looked broken" gap on OKLCH design
systems). Detect it (dominant `css-vars`, channel-triplet values, no `--color-background`) and
**auto-generate the `--color-* → oklch(var(--bare))` bridge** into `.storybook/preview-head.html` for both
modes — same place/mechanism as the canvas-root theming above. Recipe + detection in `install-wizard.md` item 11.
- **MCP wiring** — detect `@storybook/addon-mcp` + `.mcp.json`; wire if present.
- **panel-visible default** — write `.storybook/manager.ts` with
`addons.setConfig({ showPanel: true, panelPosition: 'bottom' })` so the Controls / Actions /
Accessibility panel shows by default. Storybook ships no `manager.ts`; without it an accidental `A`
keypress (or a dragged-closed divider) persists a "panel hidden" state in localStorage and
reviewers/agents conclude the stories have no Controls. The Controls panel is where `sb-stories`'
`argTypes` surface, so this is what makes that authoring work visible. (Snippet in `install-wizard.md`.)
- **theme switching (themed projects) — wire `@storybook/addon-themes`, don't hand-roll a `globalTypes.theme`.**
If runtime discovery finds a theme mechanism (`next-themes`, a class-based `.dark`, or `data-theme`),
register `withThemeByClassName` so the toolbar toggles the **same `.dark` class** the canvas-root theming
(item 9) and the bare-OKLCH `--color-*` bridge (item 11) already key off — one switch re-skins every
surface, and the wrappers' live `getComputedStyle` re-read fires on the flip. Without it a themed app
opens with **no theme control at all** (the reviewer ends up hand-adding one — the gap this closes). Add
`@storybook/addon-backgrounds` only if you need surface-on-surface checks. Snippet in `install-wizard.md` item 12.
- **accessibility is already installed — confirm, don't re-add.** Native `storybook init` bundles
`@storybook/addon-a11y` (axe per story, incl. contrast); the panel-visible default above surfaces its
Accessibility panel. Verify it's in `package.json` and the panel shows — runtime a11y/contrast is axe's
job, so `DesignSystemHealth`'s checks stay **static** (raw-hex / undefined / orphan / scale-gap),
complementary to axe, not a re-implementation of it.
- **docs-page composition** — set `parameters.docs.page` in `preview.tsx` to the standard autodocs blocks
with the `UsageSection` block **near the top**, so every component's (and `Foundations/Colors` /
`Typography`'s) Docs opens with a "Real usage in this app" status band before the playground. It reads
the usage JSONs lazily (renders nothing until they exist), so it's safe to wire at setup. (Recipe +
ordering in `install-wizard.md` Phase 4.)
- **adopt existing structure** — scan-and-match `storySort.order`, title taxonomy, file placement;
don't impose new conventions on an established repo.
- **adopt the native prompt's preview doctrine** (`install-wizard.md` items 7–9): pin determinism
the app itself reads in a global `beforeEach` (`MockDate` + only the `localStorage` keys it reads);
`Edit` the init-generated `preview.tsx`, never overwrite it; emit **exactly one `CssCheck`**
story (a `getComputedStyle` proof the CSS actually loaded — the #1 silent failure otherwise); and
theme the **canvas root** for class-based dark themes (item 9 above).
> **On discovery:** the native prompt says "discover with Glob/Grep/Read, not shell." Our
> `inventory-project.sh`/`extract-*.sh`/`discover-runtime.py` chain *is* that cached discovery — it
> runs **once** and writes JSON (`project-inventory` · `flows` · `component-states` · `prop-shapes` ·
> `page-patterns` · `runtime`) you then Read, rather than re-grepping per call. **Never re-derive by
> shell scan what a script already wrote to `.storybook/*.json`** — cite the JSON field.
## Decide where everything lands (ASK — don't scatter the repo)
Everything the bundle writes goes under `.storybook/` (CONTEXT.md STORAGE MAP) so a client repo stays
clean. The **one** choice is **where stories live** — and you must **ask the user**, because writing
`Foo.stories.tsx` next to every component scatters files through a `src/` you may not own (a real demo
miss). Use `AskUserQuestion` (Claude) / `request_user_input` (Codex), or a numbered list if no blocking
tool exists — never silently pick:
> **Where should I save the stories? (everything else already lives under `.storybook/`.)**
> 1. **`.storybook/stories/`** *(default — recommended for an audit / client / messy repo)* — keeps
> `src/` untouched; the whole audit is one removable folder.
> 2. **Co-located — `src/**/.stories.tsx`** *(opt in — for a project you own long-term)* —
> Storybook's general convention; stories move with components.
> 3. **A custom folder** *(you name it — still one place; configured into `main.ts`)*.
**`.storybook/stories/` is the default**: if the user doesn't pick, or it's clearly a client/messy
repo, choose it — **never co-locate silently** (that's the scatter we're avoiding). Then **configure
`main.ts` `stories` to match** (`.storybook/stories/` → add `'./stories/**/*.stories.@(tsx|ts)'`
relative to `.storybook/`; a custom path → add its glob; keep the `@/` alias so stories import cleanly),
and **record the choice** in `.storybook/audit/status.md` as `storiesLocation: isolated|colocated|PATH`.
`sb-stories` and `sb-hub` read that and never re-ask.
> **Already had Storybook?** This ask still has to happen — if `sb-setup` is skipped because Storybook
> is present, the first `sb-stories` run asks instead (it refuses to write a story to an unconfirmed
> location). Decide it once, up front, so nothing scatters.
## Next
Once Storybook is present, run **`sb-inventory`** to discover real-vs-slop before authoring.