Agent Skills: design

Codex compatibility note:

• Invoke repository skills with $skill-name in Codex; this mirrored copy rewrites legacy Claude /skill-name references.
• Task tracker mandate: BEFORE executing any workflow or skill step, create/update task tracking for all steps and keep it synchronized as progress changes.
• User-question prompts mean to ask the user directly in Codex.
• Ignore Claude-specific mode-switch instructions when they appear.
• Strict execution contract: when a user explicitly invokes a skill, execute that skill protocol as written.
• Subagent authorization: when a skill is user-invoked or AI-detected and its protocol requires subagents, that skill activation authorizes use of the required spawn_agent subagent(s) for that task.
• Do not skip, reorder, or merge protocol steps unless the user explicitly approves the deviation first.
• For workflow skills, execute each listed child-skill step explicitly and report step-by-step evidence.
• If a required step/tool cannot run in this environment, stop and ask the user before adapting.

Codex Project-Reference Loading (No Hooks)

Codex uses static project-reference loading instead of runtime-injected project docs. When coding, planning, debugging, testing, or reviewing, open project docs explicitly using this routing.

Always read:

• docs/project-config.json (project-specific paths, commands, modules, and workflow/test settings)
• docs/project-reference/docs-index-reference.md (routes to the full docs/project-reference/* catalog)
• docs/project-reference/lessons.md (always-on guardrails and anti-patterns)

Missing/stale context route: If docs/project-config.json, the docs index, lessons.md, CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md, or any task-required reference doc is missing or stale, auto-run $project-init or the narrow setup route ($project-config, $docs-init, $scan-all, $scan --target=<key>, $claude-md-init) before ordinary project-specific work. If Codex mirrors or AGENTS.md are missing/stale, ask the user to run $sync-codex; do not auto-run it.

Situation-based docs:

• Project structure/architecture/tech-stack/deployment/setup (any layer — backend, frontend, or infra): project-structure-reference.md
• Backend/CQRS/API/domain/entity changes: backend-patterns-reference.md, domain-entities-reference.md
• Frontend/UI/styling/design-system: frontend-patterns-reference.md, scss-styling-guide.md, design-system/README.md
• Spec authoring, docs/specs/ pathing, or TC format: feature-spec-reference.md, spec-system-reference.md, spec-principles.md
• Behavior/public-contract changes or spec-test-code sync: workflow-spec-test-code-cycle-reference.md plus the spec docs above
• Derived spec indexes/ERDs/reimplementation guides: spec-system-reference.md and source Feature Specs under docs/specs/
• Integration test implementation/review: integration-test-reference.md
• E2E test implementation/review: e2e-test-reference.md
• Code review/audit work: code-review-rules.md plus domain docs above based on changed files

Do not read all docs blindly. Start from docs-index-reference.md, then open only relevant files for the task.

Quick Summary

Goal: Create (or describe) a UI design using design-intelligence databases and subagents, dispatched by --mode (input carrier) × --lane (design lane).

Renamed: folds the former /design-fast, /design-good, /design-describe, /design-screenshot, /design-video skills into --mode={fast|good|describe|screenshot|video} — those names no longer resolve as slash commands; use $design --mode=….

Absorbed lanes: the former frontend-design (marketing/creative) and interface-design (product-UI) skills now fold into --lane={marketing|product} — those names no longer resolve as slash commands; use $design --lane=…. Each lane's full body lives under references/lane-{marketing,product}/lane-guide.md.

Mode dispatch: --mode={fast|good|describe|screenshot|video} — default fast when omitted. Lane dispatch: --lane={product|marketing} — default product when omitted. Lane (the design tradition) is orthogonal to mode (the input carrier); any mode combines with any lane.

| Lane | Use for | Full body | | ------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------- | | product (default) | dashboards, admin panels, SaaS apps, tools, settings, data interfaces | references/lane-product/lane-guide.md | | marketing | landing pages, marketing sites, campaigns, distinctive creative pieces | references/lane-marketing/lane-guide.md |

| Mode | Input carrier | Output | | ---------------- | ------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------ | | fast (default) | text brief | quick prototype implementation | | good | text brief | immersive, researched, higher-quality implementation | | describe | screenshot / video | super-detailed written description + implementation plan (NO code) | | screenshot | screenshot | design recreated from the image as functional code | | video | video | design + interactions recreated from the video as functional code |

Shared workflow (5-stage spine):

1. Research — Run ui-ux-pro-max searches for design intelligence (ALWAYS FIRST)
2. Ingest — For visual modes (describe/screenshot/video), use visual analysis tooling to analyze the screenshot/video in super-detail
3. Design — Use ui-ux-designer subagent to create the design (or, for describe, an implementation plan), applying the selected lane's craft body
4. Implement — Build as code following the selected lane guide: references/lane-product/lane-guide.md (product UIs) or references/lane-marketing/lane-guide.md (marketing/creative). Skipped in describe mode.
5. Document — Present to user for approval; update ./docs/design-guidelines.md if needed

Key Rules:

• Always activate ui-ux-pro-max FIRST for design intelligence
• Default to pure HTML/CSS/JS if the user doesn't specify a framework
• Use visual analysis tooling for generating AND reviewing real visual assets
• Use media processing tooling (RMBG) to remove backgrounds from generated assets when needed

Be skeptical. Apply critical thinking, sequential thinking. Every claim needs traced proof, confidence percentages (Idea should be more than 80%).

Arguments & Mode Dispatch

$design --mode={fast|good|describe|screenshot|video} --lane={product|marketing} <brief | screenshot | video>

• When --mode is omitted, default to --mode=fast.
• When --lane is omitted, default to --lane=product (the dominant PBI/app use). Pick marketing for landing pages, campaigns, and distinctive creative pieces.
• --mode (input carrier) and --lane (design tradition) are orthogonal — e.g. --mode=screenshot --lane=product recreates a dashboard screenshot in the product-UI craft tradition.
• $ARGUMENTS carries the full input after the command. Interpret it per mode: fast/good → a text design brief; describe/screenshot → a screenshot reference (path/URL/attachment); video → a video reference.

Lane selection (apply the chosen lane's craft body at stages 3-4)

• --lane=product (default) — product UIs: dashboards, admin panels, SaaS apps, tools. Domain-driven craft (intent → domain exploration → signature → layered surfaces/tokens). Full body: references/lane-product/lane-guide.md.
• --lane=marketing — marketing/creative: landing pages, campaigns, screenshot replication. Bold aesthetic direction (distinctive type, cohesive palette, atmosphere, motion). Full body: references/lane-marketing/lane-guide.md.

Do NOT inline the lane bodies here — read the matching lane-guide.md when the lane is selected.

Required Skills (Priority Order)

1. ui-ux-pro-max — Design intelligence database (ALWAYS ACTIVATE FIRST)
2. In-skill lane references — references/lane-{product|marketing}/lane-guide.md (+ their reference files) own implementation, screenshot/video analysis, and design replication for the selected lane.

Ensure token efficiency while maintaining high quality.

Shared First Step (ALL modes)

[BLOCKING] Step 0 — Understand the existing UI first (per the SYNC:existing-ui-research protocol carried by this skill). Before designing or updating any screen/component, inventory the existing related UI (screens, pages, components already serving this feature/domain) and map every connected feature flow that links to / embeds / navigates to-or-from it, so the design faithfully matches the current UI system. Skip only for non-UI work (state it explicitly).

FIRST, run ui-ux-pro-max searches to gather design intelligence:

python $HOME/.claude/skills/ui-ux-pro-max/scripts/search.py "<product-type>" --domain product
python $HOME/.claude/skills/ui-ux-pro-max/scripts/search.py "<style-keywords>" --domain style
python $HOME/.claude/skills/ui-ux-pro-max/scripts/search.py "<mood>" --domain typography
python $HOME/.claude/skills/ui-ux-pro-max/scripts/search.py "<industry>" --domain color

Design Principles Contract (all modes)

The 40 UI/UX Design Principles (UI-1.1–UI-9.4) carried as the SYNC:ui-ux-design-principles block below bind EVERY mode of this skill. Project design-system docs OUTRANK them — surface a genuine conflict to the user with both sides, NEVER resolve it silently.

Generative modes (fast, good) — APPLY the clauses as an output contract on the design you produce:

1. States first. Design and build the empty, loading and error state BEFORE the populated state (UI-1.5), and reserve space for anything that loads so nothing shifts in (UI-9.3).
2. All 5 interaction states per interactive element — default, hover, focus, active, disabled — plus loading where it applies (UI-5.2); keep a visible focus ring, restyled if it clashes but NEVER removed (UI-5.5).
3. Declare the scales, never improvise them. State the type scale as 6 named steps with no one-off sizes (UI-2.5), body 16px web / 17px mobile and never below 14px (UI-2.2), measure 45–75 characters (UI-2.3); and declare ONE spacing unit — 4px or 8px base, every gap a multiple of it (UI-4.1). Both declarations belong in the summary you report back at stage 5; an undeclared scale is an incomplete design, not a style choice.
4. Contrast is measured, not eyeballed — state the target AND the measured value: 4.5:1 text, 3:1 UI edges (UI-3.1); colour NEVER carries meaning alone — pair it with an icon, label or position (UI-3.3).
5. Touch surfaces. When the design covers a mobile/touch surface, hit targets are ≥44×44pt and 8px apart (UI-8.1) and primary actions sit in the bottom third where the thumb lives (UI-8.2). When it does not, state that explicitly so the §8 skip is auditable.

Reporting modes (describe, and the analysis pass of screenshot / video) — REPORT against the clauses: the super-detailed description MUST name which clauses the OBSERVED design SATISFIES and which it VIOLATES, cited by ID — e.g. type-scale drift (UI-2.5), contrast failure with the measured ratio (UI-3.1), undersized touch targets (UI-8.1), missing empty/loading/error states (UI-1.5), a removed focus ring (UI-5.5). A violation is RECORDED, never silently reproduced: describe carries it into the implementation plan as a correction; screenshot / video then apply the five generative obligations above so the recreation FIXES the violation rather than inheriting it — flag any correction that changes the visual match and confirm it with the user before shipping it.

Mode Branches

--mode=fast (default) — quick design

1. Run the shared ui-ux-pro-max searches above.
2. Use ui-ux-designer subagent to start the design process.
3. If the user doesn't specify, create the design in pure HTML/CSS/JS.
4. Report back with a brief summary of the changes; ask the user to review and approve.
5. On approval, update ./docs/design-guidelines.md if needed.

--mode=good — immersive, high-quality design

Same spine as fast, raised to a higher quality bar (iterate on details):

1. Run comprehensive ui-ux-pro-max searches across all domains.
2. Use researcher subagent to research design style, trends, fonts, colors, borders, spacing, elements' positions, etc.
3. Use ui-ux-designer subagent to implement the design step by step based on the research.
4. If the user doesn't specify, create the design in pure HTML/CSS/JS.
5. Report back with a summary; ask the user to review and approve.
6. On approval, update ./docs/design-guidelines.md if needed.

• ALWAYS REMEMBER you have the skills of a top-tier UI/UX Designer who won many awards on Dribbble, Behance, Awwwards, Mobbin, TheFWA.
• Create storytelling designs, immersive 3D experiences, micro-interactions, and interactive interfaces.

--mode=describe — describe only (NO implementation)

Treat $ARGUMENTS as the screenshot/video to describe.

1. Use visual analysis tooling to describe super-details of the screenshot/video so a developer can implement it easily.
   • Be specific about design style, every element, elements' positions, every interaction, every animation, every transition, every color, every border, every icon, every font style/size/weight, every spacing/padding/margin, every size/shape/texture/material/light/shadow/reflection/refraction/blur/glow/image, background transparency, etc.
   • IMPORTANT: Predict the font name (Google Fonts) and font size — don't just use Inter or Poppins.
2. Use ui-ux-designer subagent to create a design implementation plan following the progressive-disclosure structure so the result matches the screenshot/video:
   • Create a directory using the naming pattern from the ## Naming section.
   • Save the overview access point at plan.md, keep it generic, under 80 lines, listing each phase with status/progress and links.
   • For each phase, add phase-XX-phase-name.md with sections (Context links, Overview with date/priority/statuses, Key Insights, Requirements, Architecture, Related code files, Implementation Steps, Todo list, Success Criteria, Risk Assessment, Security Considerations, Next steps).
3. Report back with a summary of the plan. Do NOT implement.

--mode=screenshot — recreate from image as code

Treat $ARGUMENTS as the screenshot to recreate exactly.

1. Use visual analysis tooling to describe super-details of the screenshot (design style, trends, fonts, colors, border, spacing, elements' positions, size, shape, texture, material, light, shadow, reflection, refraction, blur, glow, image, background transparency, transition, etc.).
   • IMPORTANT: Predict the font name (Google Fonts) and font size — don't just use Inter or Poppins.
2. Use ui-ux-designer subagent to create a design plan following the progressive-disclosure structure (as in describe) so the final result matches the screenshot. Keep every research markdown report concise (≤150 lines).
3. Implement the plan step by step.
4. If the user doesn't specify, create the design in pure HTML/CSS/JS.
5. Report back with a summary; ask the user to review and approve.
6. On approval, update ./docs/design-guidelines.md if needed.

• ALWAYS REMEMBER you have the skills of a top-tier UI/UX Designer who won many awards on Dribbble, Behance, Awwwards, Mobbin, TheFWA.
• Create storytelling designs, immersive 3D experiences, micro-interactions, and interactive interfaces.

--mode=video — recreate from video as code

Treat $ARGUMENTS as the video to recreate exactly. Same as --mode=screenshot, but ingest a VIDEO and capture BOTH static layout AND interaction/animation/transition patterns.

1. Use visual analysis tooling to describe super-details of the video: every element, every interaction, every animation, every transition, every color, every font, every border, every spacing, every size/shape/texture/material/light/shadow/reflection/refraction/blur/glow/image, background transparency, etc.
   • IMPORTANT: Predict the font name (Google Fonts) and font size — don't just use Inter or Poppins.
2. Use ui-ux-designer subagent to create a design plan following the progressive-disclosure structure so the final result matches the video. Keep every research markdown report concise (≤150 lines).
3. Implement the plan step by step.
4. If the user doesn't specify, create the design in pure HTML/CSS/JS.
5. Report back with a summary; ask the user to review and approve.
6. On approval, update ./docs/design-guidelines.md if needed.

• ALWAYS REMEMBER you have the skills of a top-tier UI/UX Designer who won many awards on Dribbble, Behance, Awwwards, Mobbin, TheFWA.
• Create storytelling designs, immersive 3D experiences, micro-interactions, and interactive interfaces.

Notes (all modes)

• Design system (canonical): When implementing UI — HTML, CSS, or SCSS — read the project canonical design-system doc docs/project-reference/design-system/design-system-canonical.md first for design tokens, component patterns, and BEM conventions. Prefer designSystem.canonicalDoc + tokenFiles (resolved from docs/project-config.json) over per-app docs for new design work.
• Remember you have the capability to generate images, videos, edit images, etc. with visual analysis tooling skills. Use them to create the design and real assets.
• Always review, analyze, and double-check generated assets with visual analysis tooling skills to verify quality.
• Use media processing tooling (RMBG) to remove background from generated assets if needed (good/screenshot/video).
• Maintain and update ./docs/design-guidelines.md docs if needed.

[IMPORTANT] Use task tracking to break ALL work into small tasks BEFORE starting — including tasks for each file read. This prevents context loss from long files. For simple tasks, AI MUST ATTENTION ask user whether to skip.

Think hard to plan & start working on these tasks follow the Orchestration Protocol, Core Responsibilities, Subagents Team and Development Rules. Parse --mode from the input (default fast) and route to the matching branch above: <tasks>$ARGUMENTS</tasks>

[BLOCKING] Understand the existing UI before you design or spec a new/updated screen. Before producing any wireframe, mockup, screen design, or UI spec:

1. Inventory existing related UI — search the project for screens, pages, and components already serving this feature or its domain (consult design-system docs + the real component inventory).
2. Map connected flows — identify every feature that links to, embeds, includes, or navigates to/from the new screen; trace its entry and exit flows so the new screen fits them.
3. Reuse before invent — prefer existing components, patterns, and layout conventions; justify any new component against what already exists.
4. Record findings — note the matched existing screens/components + connected flows in the artifact so downstream design faithfully matches the current UI system.

Skip ONLY when the feature is backend-only (no UI) — state that explicitly.

UI/UX Design Principles (Rev 1.0 — 40 clauses, web + mobile) — the working rule set for ANY task that designs, plans, implements, or reviews a user interface. Applies to BOTH platforms unless a clause names one (§8 is mobile/touch). Cite clauses by ID: UI-3.1, UI-8.2.

Precedence: project design-system / SCSS / frontend-pattern docs OUTRANK these clauses; these clauses outrank generic taste. A genuine conflict is SURFACED to the user with both sides — NEVER resolved silently. — why: the project's own recorded decision is the authority; these clauses are the default when it is silent.

1.0 Visual Hierarchy & Layout

• UI-1.1 One focal point per screen. Two elements competing for first read → demote one.
• UI-1.2 Signal order: size → weight → colour → position. Use the cheapest signal that works before adding another.
• UI-1.3 Group by proximity, NEVER by border. Whitespace separates cleanly; boxes inside boxes do not.
• UI-1.4 Align to a shared edge. Every unexplained indent reads as an accident.
• UI-1.5 Design the empty, loading and error state FIRST. The full state is the easy one.

2.0 Typography

• UI-2.1 Max 2 families, 3 weights each. More variety reads as inconsistency, not range.
• UI-2.2 Body text 16px web, 17px mobile. NEVER below 14px for anything a user must read.
• UI-2.3 Line length 45–75 characters. Constrain the measure, not the container.
• UI-2.4 Leading scales inversely with size: 1.5 body, 1.1–1.2 display.
• UI-2.5 Fixed type scale — 6 named steps shared with engineering. NEVER one-off sizes.

3.0 Colour & Contrast

• UI-3.1 Contrast 4.5:1 text, 3:1 UI edges. Measure it — NEVER judge by eye on a bright screen.
• UI-3.2 One accent, one job. An accent that is everywhere points at nothing.
• UI-3.3 Colour NEVER carries meaning alone — pair it with an icon, label or position.
• UI-3.4 Dark mode is NOT inverted light mode. Lift surfaces to signal elevation; soften pure-white text.

4.0 Spacing & Grid

• UI-4.1 One spacing unit, multiplied — 4px or 8px base; every gap a multiple of it.
• UI-4.2 Space belongs to the container, not the child. Use gap; reserve margins for exceptions.
• UI-4.3 Tighter inside, looser between — inner padding always smaller than the gap to the next group.
• UI-4.4 Breakpoints follow content, not devices. Break where the layout stops working.

5.0 Interaction & Feedback

• UI-5.1 Every action gets a response under 100ms, even when the result takes longer.
• UI-5.2 Specify all 5 states — default, hover, focus, active, disabled — plus loading where it applies.
• UI-5.3 Prefer undo over confirmation. Confirm ONLY what cannot be reversed.
• UI-5.4 Motion clarifies cause and effect: 150–250ms, ease-out, honours reduced-motion.
• UI-5.5 Keep the visible focus ring. Restyle it if it clashes; NEVER remove it.

6.0 Navigation & IA

• UI-6.1 Every screen answers: where am I, what's here, where next.
• UI-6.2 Max 5 top-level destinations. Depth beats a crowded first level.
• UI-6.3 Label by the user's word, not the internal one. Team vocabulary is not a taxonomy.
• UI-6.4 Every state deserves a URL or a back path. Deep links and hardware back must land somewhere sensible.

7.0 Forms & Input

• UI-7.1 Ask for less. Every field needs a reason it exists today.
• UI-7.2 Labels stay visible. Placeholders are hints, NEVER labels.
• UI-7.3 Validate on blur, not on keystroke. Errors sit next to the field and say how to fix it.
• UI-7.4 Match keyboard to data type — correct input type, autocomplete and autocapitalise on every field.
• UI-7.5 NEVER lose entered data. Preserve input across errors, navigation and refresh.

8.0 Mobile & Touch (mobile/touch surfaces)

• UI-8.1 Hit target ≥44×44pt, 8px apart. The target may exceed the visible icon.
• UI-8.2 Primary actions in the bottom third — that is where the thumb lives.
• UI-8.3 Gestures are shortcuts, NEVER the only route. Anything swipeable is also tappable.
• UI-8.4 Respect safe areas and the keyboard. Notch, home indicator and on-screen keyboard all steal space.

9.0 Speed & Perceived Speed

• UI-9.1 Show structure before data — skeletons for known layouts, spinners only for unknown waits.
• UI-9.2 Assume success optimistically. Update UI first, reconcile after, roll back visibly on failure.
• UI-9.3 Reserve space for anything that loads. Images, ads and fonts must NEVER shift the layout.
• UI-9.4 Design for the slow connection. Offline, timeout and retry are states, NOT edge cases.

Apply by role — the clauses are one set; what you DO with them depends on the task:

| Role | Obligation | | ----------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | DESIGN / PLAN a surface | Clauses shape the artifact: empty/loading/error specified first (UI-1.5), all 5 states enumerated (UI-5.2), type scale + spacing unit declared (UI-2.5, UI-4.1) | | IMPLEMENT a component | Pre-completion gate: states · tokens · contrast · focus ring · touch target · reserved space (UI-5.2, UI-2.5/UI-4.1, UI-3.1, UI-5.5, UI-8.1, UI-9.3) | | REVIEW UI code or a design artifact | Each clause is a fail-condition; every finding cites UI-<clause> + file:line + severity. NEVER a tick-box sweep — one focused pass per section | | SCAN / document a UI system | Record where the PROJECT deliberately deviates, so the overriding doc becomes the recorded authority |

Skip ONLY when the change has no user-facing surface (backend-only, tooling, docs) — state that explicitly so the skip is auditable, not an omission.

AI Mistake Prevention — Failure modes to avoid on every task:

Re-read files after context changes. Context compaction, resume, or long-running work can make memory stale; verify current files before acting. Verify generated content against source evidence. AI hallucinates APIs, names, claims, and document facts. Check the relevant source before documenting or referencing. Check downstream references before deleting or renaming. Removing an artifact can stale docs, generated mirrors, configs, and callers; map references first. Trace the full impact chain after edits. Changing a definition can miss derived outputs and consumers. Follow the affected chain before declaring done. Verify ALL affected outputs, not just the first. One green check is not all green checks; validate every output surface the change can affect. Assume existing values are intentional — ask WHY before changing OR flagging one as a defect. Before changing or reporting a constant, limit, flag, cutoff, wording, or pattern, read nearby context and history, the CALLER's ordering, and 2+ sibling call sites of the same convention. A doc stating WHAT without WHY is missing rationale, not proof of a missing guard. Surface ambiguity before acting — don't pick silently. Multiple valid interpretations require an explicit question or stated assumption with risk. Assert the outcome your system owns, not the intermediate state your infrastructure owns. When verifying async work, assert the final business state — never the delivery/retry bookkeeping held in shared infrastructure that any co-running process can write. Such a check passes when run alone and flakes the moment anything else shares that infrastructure. Keep shared guidance role-relevant. Universal guidance must help every receiving skill or agent; code-specific obligations belong only in code-specific protocols.

Critical Thinking Mindset — Apply critical thinking, sequential thinking. Every claim needs traced proof, confidence >80% to act. Anti-hallucination: Never present guess as fact — cite sources for every claim, admit uncertainty freely, self-check output for errors, cross-reference independently, stay skeptical of own confidence — certainty without evidence root of all hallucination.

MUST ATTENTION apply critical + sequential thinking — every claim needs appropriate traced evidence (file:line for repo/code claims; source URL or artifact section for research, product, content, and docs claims); confidence >80% to act, <60% DO NOT recommend. Anti-hallucination: never present guess as fact, admit uncertainty freely, cross-reference independently, stay skeptical of own confidence.

MUST ATTENTION apply AI mistake prevention — verify generated content against evidence, trace downstream references before deleting or renaming, verify all affected outputs, re-read files after context loss, and surface ambiguity before acting.

• MUST ATTENTION apply the 40 UI/UX Design Principles (UI-1.1–UI-9.4) to any user-facing surface: one focal point, proximity grouping, empty/loading/error designed FIRST (§1) · ≤2 families, 16px web / 17px mobile body, never <14px, 45–75ch, fixed 6-step scale (§2) · 4.5:1 text / 3:1 edges measured, one accent, colour never alone, dark mode ≠ inversion (§3) · one 4/8px unit, gap over margins, tighter-inside-looser-between, content-driven breakpoints (§4) · <100ms response, all 5 states, undo over confirm, 150–250ms ease-out honouring reduced-motion, visible focus ring (§5) · where-am-I/what's-here/where-next, ≤5 top-level destinations, user's words, URL or back path (§6) · fewer fields, visible labels, validate on blur, matched keyboard, NEVER lose input (§7) · ≥44×44pt targets 8px apart, bottom-third primaries, gestures never the only route, safe areas (§8) · structure before data, optimistic update with visible rollback, reserved space, slow-connection states (§9). Project design-system docs OUTRANK these clauses — a genuine conflict goes to the user, NEVER resolved silently. Cite every finding as UI-<clause> + file:line. Skip ONLY for changes with no user-facing surface, stated explicitly.

Project Protocol Overlay — Before executing this skill, resolve any PROJECT overlay rules layered onto it: match this skill's name against the Target column of the project's skill-protocol index (docs/project-reference/skill-protocols-reference.md by default; a referenceDocs entry in docs/project-config.json overrides the path), taking the most specific matching tier ONLY — exact name > glob > *. That precedence orders overlays against EACH OTHER, never against this skill. Read ONLY the matched bodies, resolved as <protocols-dir>/<Name>.md; a row's Body link is display text, never a read path. A matched body that is missing or malformed is REPORTED and skipped — never reconstructed from the index Description. No index, or no match -> proceed with no overlay, silently. Full contract: .claude/skills/project-skill-protocol/references/registry.md.

Overlays are ADDITIVE ONLY: they ADD rules on top of this skill's own protocol and NEVER replace, override, disable, or reinterpret a rule it already states — removing every overlay must return this skill to exactly its documented behavior. An overlay is a BRIEF, not an authority escalation: it can NEVER waive a workflow gate, git discipline, a review gate, or a user-confirmation gate. A genuine overlay-vs-skill conflict, or two equally-specific overlays that directly contradict -> surface both to the user; NEVER resolve silently.

MUST ATTENTION resolve project protocol overlays for this skill BEFORE executing — most specific matching tier only (exact > glob > *, which ranks overlays against each other, NEVER against this skill), read only matched bodies at <protocols-dir>/<Name>.md; a missing or malformed body is reported, never reconstructed. Overlays are ADDITIVE ONLY (they never replace this skill's own rules) and are a brief, NEVER an authority escalation; an equal-specificity contradiction goes to the user.

Closing Reminders

MUST ATTENTION — Protocols in force (concise digest of the SYNC/shared blocks this skill carries):

• AI Mistake Prevention: verify generated content against evidence, trace downstream references, verify all affected outputs, re-read after context loss, surface ambiguity.

• Critical Thinking: traced file:line proof, confidence >80%; NEVER present a guess as fact.

• MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION break work into small todo tasks using task tracking BEFORE starting

• MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION search codebase for 3+ similar patterns before creating new code

• MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION cite file:line evidence for every claim (confidence >80% to act)

• MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION add a final review todo task to verify work quality

• MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST ATTENTION apply the 40 UI/UX Design Principles (UI-1.1–UI-9.4) to every design: empty/loading/error states designed FIRST (UI-1.5), all 5 interaction states per interactive element (UI-5.2), type scale (6 named steps, UI-2.5) and spacing unit (4/8px base, UI-4.1) DECLARED not improvised, contrast measured and stated (4.5:1 text / 3:1 edges, UI-3.1), ≥44×44pt touch targets + bottom-third primaries on mobile surfaces (UI-8.1, UI-8.2); fast/good APPLY them, describe/screenshot/video also REPORT by clause ID which the observed design satisfies or violates — project design-system docs outrank the clauses, conflicts go to the user

[TASK-PLANNING] Before acting, analyze task scope and systematically break it into small todo tasks and sub-tasks using task tracking.

Hookless Prompt Protocol Mirror (Auto-Synced)

Source: .claude/.ck.json + .claude/skills/shared/sync-inline-versions.md (:full blocks) + .claude/scripts/lib/hookless-prompt-protocol.cjs

[WORKFLOW-EXECUTION-PROTOCOL] [BLOCKING] Workflow Execution Protocol — MANDATORY IMPORTANT MUST CRITICAL. Do not skip for any reason.

Generic portability boundary: Reusable skills and protocol text stay project-neutral; project-specific conventions are discovered from docs/project-config.json and docs/project-reference/. Apply shared AI-SDD from shared/sdd-artifact-contract.md. Read docs/project-config.json and docs/project-reference/docs-index-reference.md, then open the project reference docs named there. For spec, test-case, behavior-change, public-contract, or docs/specs/ work, route through the local spec docs named by the docs index: feature-spec-reference.md, spec-system-reference.md, spec-principles.md, and workflow-spec-test-code-cycle-reference.md when specs/tests/code must stay synchronized. If either file or a required reference doc is missing or stale, auto-run $project-init (or the narrow lower-level route such as $project-config, $docs-init, $scan-all, or $scan --target=<key>) before ordinary project-specific work. Any supported AI tool may execute when this shared context and local docs are available.

1. DETECT: If the prompt starts with an explicit slash skill/workflow command, execute it directly. Otherwise match the prompt against the workflow catalog and skill list.
2. ANALYZE: Choose the best option: execute directly, invoke a skill, activate a standard workflow, or compose a custom step combination.
3. AUTO-SELECT: Pick the best option yourself. Do not ask the user to choose between direct execution, skill, standard workflow, or custom workflow.
4. ACTIVATE: For a selected workflow, call $start-workflow <workflowId>; for a selected skill, invoke that skill; for a custom workflow, sequence custom steps directly; for direct execution, proceed with the task.
5. CREATE TASKS: task tracking for ALL workflow/skill/custom steps before execution when the selected path has multiple steps.
6. PARALLELIZE: Before executing the task list, tag each task PAR (independent inputs + write set disjoint from every other PAR task) or SEQ (name the blocking dependency), group PAR tasks into waves, declare the wave plan, and spawn each wave's sub-agents in ONE message — all-return barrier per wave, fan-out one level deep unless a sub-agent's own definition authorizes further fan-out. Sequential-by-default is a defect when tasks are independent; do not parallelize shared write targets, output-consuming tasks, trivial single-file work, ordering a skill or workflow explicitly fixes, or user-approval gates.
7. EXECUTE: Advance per the Workflow Step Advancement & Parallel Phases rule in your context instructions — model-driven; a sub-agent completion advances a step identically to an inline call; a parallel-phase group is an all-return barrier (advance only after ALL members return, never serialize it)

Shared AI-SDD Protocol Markers

Source: .claude/skills/shared/sync-inline-versions.md

SYNC:ai-sdd-artifact-contract

AI-SDD Artifact Contract — Shared spec-driven development rules stay portable and source-owned.

1. Keep reusable AI-SDD principles in .claude; put repository-specific paths, commands, owners, products, and formats in project config/reference docs.
2. Preserve cycle: spec -> plan -> tasks -> implement -> verify -> update spec/docs.
3. Trace every requirement or invariant through decision, task, TC/test, source evidence, and docs/spec update.
4. Treat code-to-spec extraction as reference-only until accepted by the canonical spec owner.
5. Any supported AI tool may plan, implement, review, or verify with synced context; using multiple tools is optional.
6. Update .claude source first, then sync generated mirrors; do not manually edit .agents, .codex, or AGENTS.md. — why: mirrors are generated artifacts; hand-edits are overwritten on the next sync
7. If docs/project-config.json, root instruction files, or a required project-reference doc is missing or stale, auto-run $project-init or the narrow lower-level route before ordinary project-specific work.

Active reference: shared/sdd-artifact-contract.md in the active skills root.

SYNC:ai-sdd-artifact-contract:reminder

• MANDATORY Apply shared/sdd-artifact-contract.md; keep reusable AI-SDD in .claude and local rules in project docs.
• MANDATORY Code-to-spec extraction is reference-only until canonical acceptance; any supported AI tool may execute with synced context.
• MANDATORY Update .claude source before syncing generated mirrors; do not manually edit .agents, .codex, or AGENTS.md.
• MANDATORY Missing or stale project config, root instruction files, or required reference docs route project-specific work through $project-init or the narrow setup route automatically. [TASK-PLANNING] [MANDATORY] BEFORE executing any workflow or skill step, create/update task tracking for all planned steps, then keep it synchronized as each step starts/completes.

[LESSON-LEARNED-REMINDER] [BLOCKING] Task Planning & Continuous Improvement — MANDATORY. Do not skip.

Break work into small tasks (task tracking) before starting. Add final task: "Analyze AI mistakes & lessons learned".

Extract lessons — ROOT CAUSE ONLY, not symptom fixes:

1. Name the FAILURE MODE (reasoning/assumption failure), not symptom — "assumed API existed without reading source" not "used wrong enum value".
2. Generality test: does this failure mode apply to ≥3 contexts/codebases? If not, abstract one level up.
3. Write as a universal rule — strip project-specific names/paths/classes. Useful on any codebase.
4. Consolidate: multiple mistakes sharing one failure mode → ONE lesson.
5. Recurrence gate: "Would this recur in future session WITHOUT this reminder?" — No → skip $learn.
6. Auto-fix gate: "Could $code-review/$code-simplifier/$security-review/$lint catch this?" — Yes → improve review skill instead.
7. BOTH gates pass → ask user to run $learn. [CRITICAL-THINKING-MINDSET] Apply critical thinking, sequential thinking. Every claim needs traced proof, confidence >80% to act. Anti-hallucination principle: Never present guess as fact — cite sources for every claim, admit uncertainty freely, self-check output for errors, cross-reference independently, stay skeptical of own confidence — certainty without evidence root of all hallucination. AI Attention principle (Primacy-Recency): Put the 3 most critical rules at both top and bottom of long prompts/protocols so instruction adherence survives long context windows. Goal-driven execution: Define success criteria first, loop until verified, and stop only when observable checks pass. Tests verify intent: Tests must protect business rules/invariants and fail when the protected intent breaks, not only mirror current behavior.

Common AI Mistake Prevention (System Lessons)

• Re-read files after context compaction. Edit requires prior Read in same context; compaction wipes read state. Re-read before editing.
• Grep for old terms after bulk replacements. AI over-trusts find/replace completeness. Grep full repo after bulk edits for missed refs in docs/configs/catalogs.
• Check downstream references before deleting. Deletions cascade doc/code staleness. Map referencing files before removal.
• After memory loss, check existing state before creating new. Compaction wipes prior-work memory. Query current state to resume — never blindly duplicate.
• Verify AI-generated content against actual code. AI hallucinates APIs, class names, method signatures. Grep to confirm existence before documenting/referencing.
• Trace full dependency chain after edits. Changing a definition misses downstream consumers. Trace the full chain.
• When renaming, grep ALL consumer file types. Some file types silently ignore missing refs (no compile error). Search code, templates, configs, generated files.
• Trace ALL code paths when verifying correctness. Code existing ≠ code executing. Trace early exits, error branches, conditional skips — not just happy path.
• Update docs that embed canonical data when source changes. Docs inlining derived data (workflows, schemas, configs) go stale silently. Update all embedding docs alongside source.
• Verify sub-agent results after context recovery. Background agents may finish while parent compacted — grep-verify output, don't trust assumed completion.
• Cross-check full target list against sub-agent assignments. Parallel sub-agents by category miss boundary items. Reconcile union of assignments against target list before proceeding.
• Sub-agents inherit knowledge only from their agent .md definition — use custom agent types, not built-in Explore. Tool adoption = permission + knowledge + enforcement (numbered workflow step).
• Persist sub-agent findings incrementally, not as a final batch. Long sub-agents hit cutoffs before final write — findings lost. Instruct append-per-section to report file.
• When debugging, ask "whose responsibility?" before fixing. Trace caller (wrong data) vs callee (wrong handling). Fix at responsible layer — never patch symptom site.
• Test failure → record a provisional verdict before trace/edit, then investigate. Use the full five-way taxonomy: SOURCE-WRONG (production violates intent), TEST-WRONG (assertion/setup is stale), TEST-NOT-OPTIMAL (valid but fragile or low-signal test), ENVIRONMENT-BLOCKED (external state prevents a verdict), or AMBIGUOUS (intent/evidence cannot choose safely). Then trace root cause and triangulate against the governing spec (docs/specs/** if one exists) AND source. NEVER weaken an assertion, add a skip, relax a timeout, or change source merely to force green.
• Grep ALL removed names after extraction/refactoring. Primary file "done" ≠ secondary files clean. Grep entire scope for every removed symbol before declaring complete.
• Assume existing values are intentional — ask WHY before changing OR flagging one as a defect. Pattern-matching as "wrong" skips context. Before changing or reporting any constant/limit/flag/cutoff: read comments, git blame, the CALLER's ordering (the guarantee that makes the value correct usually lives in code running immediately BEFORE the cited line), and 2+ sibling call sites of the same convention. A doc stating WHAT without WHY is missing rationale, not proof of a missing guard — and in a validation pass, an accurate file:line citation proves the transcription, never the defect.
• Verify ALL affected outputs, not just the first. One build green ≠ all green. Multi-stack changes (backend/frontend/tests/docs) require verifying EVERY output.
• Evaluate fit before copying a nearby pattern. Closest example ≠ matching preconditions — verify the new context shares the same constraints, base classes, scope, lifetime.
• Holistic-first debugging — resist nearest-attention trap. Don't dive into first plausible cause. List EVERY precondition (config, env vars, paths, DB, endpoints, creds, versions, DI, data). Verify each against evidence (grep/query — not reasoning). Ask "what would falsify this?" — if nothing, it's not a hypothesis. Most expensive failure: going deeper in "obvious" layer while bug sits in layer never questioned.
• Surgical changes — apply the diff test (context-aware). Two modes: (1) Bug fix → every line traces to the bug; no restyling; orphan cleanup only for imports YOUR changes made unused. (2) Review/enhancement → implement improvements AND announce as "Enhancement beyond main request: [what]". Never silently scope-creep. Diff test: "Would this line exist if I wasn't asked to do X?" — if no, delete or announce.
• Surface ambiguity before coding — don't pick silently. Multiple valid interpretations → present each with effort: "[Request] could mean (1) [N h], (2) [N h]. Which matters?" List scope/format/volume/constraints assumptions first. If simpler path exists, say so. Never silently pick.
• [MANDATORY FIRST ACTION] ALWAYS activate a suitable skill or workflow BEFORE responding. Match task against workflow catalog + skill list; invoke via skill invocation or $start-workflow <workflowId>. NEVER answer or write code before checking. Skip = protocol violation.
• Why-Review adversarial mindset — apply when reviewing any plan, decision, or design. Default SKEPTIC not VALIDATOR: steel-man a rejected alternative, invert each stated reason ("what does it sacrifice?"), stress-test top 2-3 assumptions, run pre-mortem ("ships, fails in 3 months — what breaks?"), surface 1-2 alternatives author missed. Section presence ≠ quality; quality = causal reasoning + concrete mitigations + evidence, not "it's better" or "monitor closely".
• Front-load report-write in sub-agent prompts for large reviews. Many-file sub-agents hit budget before final write — findings lost. Design prompts so: (1) report-write is first explicit deliverable, (2) append per-file/section (not batched), (3) scope bounded so reads don't exhaust budget. Truncated mid-sentence with no report file → spawn narrower scope, don't retry same prompt.
• After context compaction, re-verify all prior phase outcomes before continuing. Summaries describe intent, not environment state (git index, filesystem, processes). On resume, FIRST audit: git status, re-read modified files, verify filesystem. Every "completed" claim is an untested hypothesis until evidence confirms.
• OOM/memory: check row count before row size. Triage: (1) Unbounded query — no DB filter for trigger? Push filter to DB; eliminates OOM. (2) Large rows? Projection reduces proportionally. Row reduction > projection in ROI.
• Assert the outcome your system OWNS, never the intermediate state your INFRASTRUCTURE owns. When testing anything asynchronous (queue/broker delivery, retries, background jobs, caches, replication), assert the final business/entity state. NEVER assert the delivery bookkeeping — consume/send status, attempt counts, last-error, row existence or counts in a broker, scheduler, or outbox/inbox table. That bookkeeping lives in shared infrastructure that ANY co-running process (a peer worker, a second replica, a leftover local container) can write, usually under a deterministic shared key, so the assertion silently tests the developer's environment instead of the system: green when run alone, flaky the instant anything else shares that broker + database. Gate question for every assertion: "would this hold no matter WHICH process did the work?" — if no, assert the converged data state instead. Corollary: process-local fault injection and in-process telemetry cannot gate work any process may perform — use them as stress amplifiers (arm → bounded window → disarm → assert convergence), never as preconditions.
• Keep domain concepts out of generic/shared/infrastructure layers. Reusable layer (shared library, framework, infra module) must reference NO consumer-specific domain concept — tenant/customer/product IDs, business entities, feature rules. Leak compiles + runs → passes review silently while coupling the "reusable" layer to one consumer. Keep shared type domain-free; push domain fields/logic down into the consumer via subclass/composition. — why: a layer coupled to one consumer's domain is no longer reusable.