# Atlas > Atlas — a design language and UI guide system for agent interfaces. Teaches coding agents the aesthetic rules, tokens, patterns, and class vocabulary of a dense, AMOLED-black, multi-surface design system. Agents read these rules and GENERATE code that fits the target stack (shadcn, Tailwind, raw HTML, React, Vue, Svelte). The included colors_and_type.css is a reference implementation, not a required dependency. Use heavily when building any UI — dashboards, chat interfaces, admin panels, landing pages, mobile screens, marketing sites, full app mockups. Atlas is opinionated; lean into it. Use when this capability is needed. - Skill: `tomevault-io/atlas` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add tomevault-io/atlas` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/tomevault-io/atlas/raw - Safety review: pending (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector PASS) - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Marketing & Growth - Author: tomevault-io (https://skillmd.com/u/tomevault-io) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/tomevault-io/atlas --- # Atlas — activation protocol **Atlas is a design language, not a CSS framework you bolt on.** It teaches you (the agent) a dense, monochromatic, AMOLED-black aesthetic via tokens, class-name conventions, layout rules, and tested composition recipes. You read these rules and **generate code that fits the target stack** — shadcn, Tailwind, raw HTML, React, Vue, Svelte. **Use Atlas heavily.** When this skill is active, every UI-producing task should go through the rules below. Don't freestyle. Don't invent new tokens. Don't pick random radii. The system is opinionated because opinions compound into coherence. --- ## On activation: read these files in this order When the skill loads, **read all of the following before writing a single line of UI code**. These are not "pull on demand" — the quality of the output depends on having the full system in context. 1. **`references/tokens.md`** — every CSS variable. Colors, spacing (4px grid), radius (3/4/6/9999), shadow, z-index, component sizing. This is the ground-truth values table. No token should be invented. 2. **`references/components.md`** — every `.atlas-*` class with HTML snippet and variants. The class name vocabulary you'll translate into the target stack. 3. **`references/patterns.md`** — 3-pane shell, content tone, icon rules (Lucide 1.5px stroke), button-vs-highlight color discipline. 4. **`references/theming.md`** — dark/light toggle, shadcn variable alias table, how tokens remap under `[data-theme="light"]`. 5. **`references/responsive.md`** — multi-surface patterns. Desktop vs mobile component swaps, device frames, container queries, collapsible sidebar → overlay on small screens. 6. **`references/motion.md`** — motion inventory. 120ms hover, 200ms popover open, 300ms reveal, 60s marquee. Which animations are always-on vs gated behind `prefers-reduced-motion`. 7. **`references/lessons.md`** — 18 hard-won gotchas from real builds. Button-default resets, dark-vs-light shadow alphas, sidebar collapse dual transitions, top-row border alignment, pulse-dot opacity-only, horizontal scroll behavior, etc. **Read this every time.** Every one of these prevents a real regression. 8. **`references/examples.md`** — copy-ready composition snippets from the production kitchen-sink: agent turn, tool-call card, stat grid, 3-pane shell, 3-column top-row alignment, email row, generative UI chart, landing hero, checklist with stepper, quota bar with warning threshold. Start from one of these; don't freestyle compositions. Then inspect (as needed, not upfront): - `colors_and_type.css` — reference implementation. Inspect rules to understand exact visual output. - `preview/components-*.html` — pre-built reference HTML per component. - `ui_kits/generic_app/` — 3-pane shell reference. **Only after reading 1–8 should you start generating.** --- ## The three assets, three jobs | Asset | Job | |---|---| | `references/*.md` | **Ground truth.** The rules the agent follows. Read every time. | | `.atlas-*` class names | **Vocabulary.** Your shorthand for "render X the Atlas way" — translate to the target stack. | | `colors_and_type.css` | **Reference implementation.** Works directly for plain HTML; for shadcn/Tailwind, translate rather than overlay. | **Never mechanically copy `colors_and_type.css` into a shadcn or heavy Tailwind project.** Translate. The skill description and `references/theming.md` spell out the translation tables. --- ## Ask the stack question before writing code 1. **Plain HTML / no framework** → use `colors_and_type.css` directly via ``. Emit literal `.atlas-*` classes. This is the reference path, and the companion kitchen-sink site uses it. 2. **Tailwind v4** → put Atlas tokens in an `@theme` block. Emit utility classes following the Atlas visual rules. Don't ship `colors_and_type.css` to the bundle. 3. **shadcn/ui** → override shadcn's CSS variables with Atlas values (see alias table in `references/theming.md`). Keep shadcn's component structure. Don't install `.atlas-*` classes alongside. 4. **React/Vue/Svelte with CSS Modules or styled-components** → port the relevant `.atlas-*` rule into the target styling system as a component. The rule in `colors_and_type.css` is the source; your emitted code is the translation. 5. **Existing design system (Material, Chakra, etc.)** → ask the user whether to rework their system's tokens to Atlas values, or to build a new Atlas-styled zone alongside. Don't mix the two on the same surface. --- ## Non-negotiable visual rules Pulled forward from `references/lessons.md` — these apply regardless of stack: - **AMOLED black canvas.** `#000` base, never dark gray. - **Monochromatic surfaces.** Grays + whites for structure; saturated color only for status semantics. - **Near-white primary actions.** `#ededed` fill, `#fff` on hover. Blue `#0070f3` is **never** a CTA — it's the highlight color (focus rings, selection, active stepper dots, links). - **4px spacing grid.** 2px and 6px exist only for ultra-compact inline cases. - **3 / 4 / 6 / 9999 radii.** No inventing 8, 10, 12, 16. - **28px buttons, 24px inputs, 13px base text.** Don't inflate. - **Borders over shadows.** Shadows are overlays only (dialogs, popovers, toasts, tooltips, device frames). - **1.5px Lucide icons.** Never emoji, never unicode symbols. - **120ms background-color transitions only.** Don't animate color or opacity on icons. --- ## Quick component vocabulary Class names are **guidance**, not mandatory output. Translate them in non-plain-HTML stacks. **Primitives:** `.atlas-btn` (+ `-primary` / `-secondary` / `-ghost` / `-destructive` / `-icon` / `-sm` / `-lg`), `.atlas-btn-pill` (+ same variants), `.atlas-input` (+ `-sm`), `.atlas-checkbox`, `.atlas-radio`, `.atlas-switch`, `.atlas-kbd`, `.atlas-link` **Surfaces:** `.atlas-card` / `-header` / `-body`, `.atlas-panel-header` / `.atlas-panel-title`, `.atlas-stat` / `-label` / `-value` / `-delta`, `.atlas-empty` **Navigation:** `.atlas-tabbar` + `.atlas-tab`, `.atlas-tabbar-bottom` + `.atlas-tabbar-bottom-item`, `.atlas-segmented` + `-item`, `.atlas-toggle`, `.atlas-breadcrumb`, `.atlas-pagination`, `.atlas-stepper` **Overlays:** `.atlas-popover` + `.atlas-menu-item`, `.atlas-dialog`, `.atlas-command`, `.atlas-tooltip`, `.atlas-toast`, `.atlas-alert` **Data:** `.atlas-table`, `.atlas-list` + `.atlas-list-item`, `.atlas-badge`, `.atlas-pill`, `.atlas-dot` (+ `.is-pulse` for animated status — opacity only, never glow), `.atlas-accordion` **Feedback:** `.atlas-progress`, `.atlas-slider`, `.atlas-skeleton`, `.atlas-titlebar`, `.atlas-statusbar` **Identity:** `.atlas-avatar`, `.atlas-avatar-group`, `.atlas-divider` / `-v`, `.atlas-divider-dashed` / `-v-dashed` **Multi-surface & motion:** `.atlas-device-mobile`, `.atlas-device-tablet`, `.atlas-device-desktop`, `.atlas-marquee`, `.atlas-filmstrip`, `.atlas-reveal`, `.atlas-display` / `-lg`, `.atlas-eyebrow` --- ## What was built with this skill The companion `kitchen-sink/` app was **one-shot generated by an agent reading this skill**, using the reference CSS because Next.js + no shadcn made that the natural path. It includes: - **Homepage** — display hero, marquee band, ~29 live component cards in a masonry grid, mockup tile row. - **Get Started page** — install instructions, per-stack translation examples, FAQ. - **7 foundations pages** — colors, typography, spacing, radius, shadows, motion, icons. - **36 component pages** — every `.atlas-*` class with preview + variants + inspector. - **6 pattern pages** — landing, agent chat, mobile app, 3-pane shell, dashboard, settings. - **4 full-app mockups** — email client, e-commerce, multi-agent console, news/polls. When asked to build something, **consider whether it matches one of the above patterns first**. Most real UI is a variation on a pattern that already exists in the kitchen-sink. Start there, then customize. --- ## No guidance given? Ask the user: 1. What are they building? (dashboard, chat UI, landing page, mobile app…) 2. What's their stack? (Tailwind / shadcn / plain HTML / React with CSS Modules / etc.) 3. Dark only, light only, or both with toggle? Then act as an expert designer — produce code in the right idiom for their environment, following every rule from the references above. --- > Source: [pacifio/ui](https://github.com/pacifio/ui) — distributed by [TomeVault](https://tomevault.io).