# Migration Styling > Phase 5 of 1st-gen to 2nd-gen component migration. Use to migrate CSS to the 2nd-gen structure, apply Spectrum 2 tokens, and ensure stylelint passes. Use when this capability is needed. - Skill: `tomevault-io/migration-styling` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add tomevault-io/migration-styling` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/tomevault-io/migration-styling/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Web & Frontend - Author: tomevault-io (https://skillmd.com/u/tomevault-io) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/tomevault-io/migration-styling --- # Migration styling ([Phase 5](../../../CONTRIBUTOR-DOCS/03_project-planning/02_workstreams/02_2nd-gen-component-migration/README.md)) [Phase 5](../../../CONTRIBUTOR-DOCS/03_project-planning/02_workstreams/02_2nd-gen-component-migration/README.md) of the 1st-gen → 2nd-gen component migration. The goal is to migrate CSS to the 2nd-gen structure, replace hard-coded values with tokens, and ensure the component's CSS passes stylelint with no errors. ## Mindset You are translating, not redesigning. Your job is not to invent new visual decisions. **Before writing any CSS**, read the migration plan at `CONTRIBUTOR-DOCS/03_project-planning/03_components/[component]/migration-plan.md`. It is the scope authority for this phase. For Phase 5, extract: - **Visual scope** — what visual changes are approved vs. out of scope - **Custom-property decisions** — which custom properties to keep, rename, or remove - **Intentional divergences** — places where 2nd-gen deliberately differs from 1st-gen - **Planned surface-area reductions or splits** — variants, sizes, or features that are being dropped or deferred If the plan is missing, stale, or intentionally incomplete, derive the needed context from source material, call out the missing plan as a risk, and proceed only for the fields you can resolve confidently. See [`migration-plan-contract`](../migration-prep/references/migration-plan-contract.md) for the full drift rule and when to pause. With that context established, read [`references/tldr-component-css-guidelines.md`](references/tldr-component-css-guidelines.md) — a TL;DR of the most critical rules from `CONTRIBUTOR-DOCS/02_style-guide/` with correct/incorrect code examples and links to the full docs for each rule. This is the CSS rules authority for this phase; follow it in preference to any conflicting guidance in the rendering analysis doc. Then use the `rendering-and-styling-migration-analysis.md` file for the component-specific technical detail of what to migrate. When a token you need does not exist, use the `ask-questions` skill to flag it with the user. ## When to use this skill - Phase 4 (migration-a11y) is complete - The user asks to "migrate styles" or "migrate CSS" for a component - The user asks to apply Spectrum 2 tokens or fix stylelint errors - The user refers to "Phase 5" of the 2nd-gen component migration workstream ## When NOT to use - Phase 4 is not complete — accessibility behavior should be implemented before styling so a11y constraints can inform CSS decisions - You are working on `render()` or template structure — check the workflow doc for rendering context ## How to invoke - "Migrate styles for [component]" - "Phase 5 for [component] migration" - "Apply Spectrum 2 tokens for [component]" --- ## Workflow **Step 0 — Read the migration plan first.** Before touching any CSS, open `CONTRIBUTOR-DOCS/03_project-planning/03_components/[component]/migration-plan.md` and extract the four Phase 5 fields listed in the Mindset section above. Note any open questions or intentional divergences so you can surface them proactively rather than discovering drift mid-work. **Step 1 — Check for drift before committing to an approach.** If your planned CSS changes would exceed the migration plan's approved visual scope or contradict its custom-property decisions, call out the drift explicitly and follow [`migration-plan-contract`](../migration-prep/references/migration-plan-contract.md) before writing any code. Do not silently resolve open questions in CSS. **Step 2 — Verify or create the stories file.** The Phase 5 quality gate requires visual verification in Storybook, which needs a stories file. Check whether `2nd-gen/packages/swc/components/[component]/stories/[component].stories.ts` exists. - **If it exists**, confirm it renders the component in Storybook with no console errors before touching CSS. - **If it does not exist**, create it now using [`assets/stories-template.md`](assets/stories-template.md) before starting CSS work. Follow the template's "Decisions to make" section and its checklist. **Phase 5 stories scope** — the stories file at this phase should contain: Playground, Overview, Anatomy, Options (one story per constant array in the types file), States, and any Behaviors that exercise CSS-visible properties. Do **not** add story-level JSDoc and do **not** write the Accessibility story body — these are deferred to Phase 7, which authors the per-component MDX file (`.mdx`) as the docs surface. Leave a `// TODO` comment referencing Phase 7. **Step 3 — Align render template class names with CSS selectors.** Before writing CSS, read the component's `render()` method and note every class name emitted. The CSS you write must use those exact names. Mismatches cause styles to silently not apply — there is no error. Common case: confirming that subcomponent class names follow the single-hyphen separator convention (e.g. `.swc-Button-label`, `.swc-Badge-label`) — not BEM double-underscore. If any class name in `render()` uses `__`, rename it to `-` in both the template and the CSS at the same time. Check both directions: - CSS selector → does `render()` emit this class? - `render()` class name → does the CSS have a matching selector? If a rename is needed, make the template change first, confirm the component still renders correctly in Storybook, then write the CSS. **Step 3.5 — Check for shared CSS.** If the component shares structural CSS with one or more other components (for example, a shared bar/track layout), check `2nd-gen/packages/swc/stylesheets/_lit-styles/` for an existing shared fragment before duplicating rules. Files in `_lit-styles/` are Lit CSS fragments composed into component `static styles` arrays; they reach inside shadow roots and are never emitted as standalone CSS. To use one, import it as a JS module in the component's TypeScript file — do **not** use a CSS `@import` statement: ```ts import sharedStyles from '../../stylesheets/_lit-styles/[name].css'; import styles from './[component].css'; public static override get styles(): CSSResultArray { return [sharedStyles, styles]; } ``` If no fragment exists yet but the shared pattern is real, create a new file in `_lit-styles/` and wire it up in all consuming components. Do not put `_lit-styles/` files in `core/` — they depend on `--swc-*` design tokens, which live in the `swc/` layer. See [Non-component stylesheets](../../../CONTRIBUTOR-DOCS/02_style-guide/01_css/07_stylesheets.md#adding-a-shared-lit-css-fragment) for full guidance. **Step 4 — Execute the phase.** Follow **[Phase 5: Styling](../../../CONTRIBUTOR-DOCS/03_project-planning/02_workstreams/02_2nd-gen-component-migration/02_step-by-step/01_washing-machine-workflow.md#phase-5-styling)** in the washing machine workflow doc — it covers what to do, what to check, common problems, and the quality gate for this phase. Before finalizing the CSS, check for a Spectrum 2 design guideline that is not visible from token diffs: **text-based components must have no block padding.** If the component has no visible bounding box (no background color, no border on its outer container — status light, checkbox, radio, and field label are the canonical cases), remove any `min-block-size` and `padding-block` rules. The block height must derive from `font-size` and `line-height` alone. Keeping those rules is a migration artifact, not a valid override. See [anti-pattern 12](../../../CONTRIBUTOR-DOCS/02_style-guide/01_css/05_anti-patterns.md#12-block-padding-on-text-based-components) for the full rationale and correct approach. When converting `--spectrum-*` properties to `token()` calls (by stripping the `--spectrum-` prefix), verify each resulting token name against the known-valid set. If a `token()` call produces an error in the VS Code extension, run the `fix:tokens` script first before doing any manual correction: ```bash # From 2nd-gen/packages/tools/swc-tokens/: node scripts/fix-token-refs.js --dry-run # preview changes node scripts/fix-token-refs.js # apply ``` The script reads `renamed` and `deleted` maps from the installed token data and handles all mechanical cases automatically: - **Renamed token**: `token("old")` → `token("new")` (authoritative, no review needed) - **Deleted, `"0"` replacement**: `token("zero-val")` → `0` (zero-pixel spacing; do not use `token("0")`) - **Deleted, named replacement**: `token("old")` → `token("suggestion")` (curated; verify semantics) - **Deleted, `null` replacement**: adds a `/* TODO */` inline comment for manual review Only address `/* TODO */` comments manually — those are tokens with no known replacement where you must decide whether to drop the property, restructure, or hardcode a specific value. **Step 5 — Document exposed custom properties.** After writing the CSS, add a `@cssprop` JSDoc tag to the SWC component class (`2nd-gen/packages/swc/components/[component]/[Component].ts`) for every exposed `--swc-*` property. Place all `@cssprop` tags on the primary SWC class export (not the core base class). Each tag should name the property and give a one-line description of what it controls, including its default token where relevant. ```ts /** * @cssprop --swc-badge-height - Block size of the badge. Defaults to the medium component height token. * @cssprop --swc-badge-background-color - Background fill. Defaults to the neutral subdued background token. */ export class Badge extends BadgeBase { … } ``` Storybook picks these up automatically and surfaces them in the API docs panel. Do not add `@cssprop` tags for private `--_swc-*` properties — those are internal only. --- > Source: [adobe/spectrum-web-components](https://github.com/adobe/spectrum-web-components) — distributed by [TomeVault](https://tomevault.io).