design-ui · git:20261009.a978ecd · 2026-10-09 · sha256 2cbf0d6a148b4cd0
design-ui git:20261009.a978ecdA
Immutable. This exact content never changes and is served at /api/v1/blob/2cbf0d6a148b4cd0.
---
name: design-ui
description: Select automatically only in Plan Mode for creating or changing product UI, including new features and screens, layout, styling, components, content, interaction, navigation, or responsive behavior. Outside Plan Mode, do not select automatically; explicit `$design-ui` invocation requires a switch to Plan Mode before proposal work. Plan and preview the UI design, then implement the approved design in the same conversation after leaving Plan Mode when implementation is authorized. Read-only UI inspection, a screenshot alone, or editing this skill does not trigger the design workflow.
---
# Design UI
## Goal
Produce an approved, implementation-ready design proposal for a new or existing
UI in Plan Mode.
After leaving Plan Mode, implement and verify the approved design in the same
conversation when implementation is within the authorized task.
## Entry Conditions
- Use this skill automatically only when Plan Mode is active and the authorized
task requires creating or changing a product's UI, including the initial UI
for a new feature or screen. This applies whether the UI work is requested
directly or identified while working on the task. The human does not need to
name `$design-ui`.
- Outside Plan Mode, do not select this skill automatically or ask for a mode
switch solely because the task requires UI creation or changes.
- Backend-only or other work without UI creation or changes, read-only UI
inspection, a screenshot without a change request, and editing this skill
do not start the design workflow.
- Run the proposal phase only in Plan Mode. If the human explicitly invokes
`$design-ui` outside Plan Mode to start proposal work, ask the user to switch
to Plan Mode, then stop. Do not inspect the product, generate an image, or
modify files before the mode change. Resume the proposal phase in Plan Mode
without requiring another explicit skill invocation.
- An approved design ready for authorized implementation resumes at step 4
outside Plan Mode. This continues the existing workflow and does not count as
a new automatic skill selection.
- Selecting `$design-ui`, explicitly or automatically, starts proposal work
only within the authorized task. It never authorizes GitHub issue creation or
another external mutation.
## Workflow
1. Ground the proposal.
- Read the target repository's instructions and authoritative contracts.
- Inspect available UI source, design system, tokens, and relevant rendered
states or supplied screenshots through read-only means. For a new UI, ground
the proposal in feature requirements, user flows, and any available design
system; an existing screen or screenshot is not required.
- Resolve discoverable facts before asking the user about product intent.
- Establish the target surface, users, goal, viewports, states, requirements
or current gap, and behavior or content that must remain unchanged.
2. Create the preview with `$imagegen`.
- Load and follow `$imagegen`, using its built-in tool mode by default and
the `ui-mockup` use case.
- Treat the output as preview-only. Render it inline and leave it in the
image-generation default storage; do not copy it into the target repository
or update consuming code.
- Use an available current-UI screenshot as an edit target or reference when
visual continuity matters. State each input image's role and preserve every
agreed invariant.
- For a new UI without an existing screen, generate the preview from the
grounded requirements and user flows, using any available design system.
- Show the final prompt with the preview, validate it against the grounded
constraints, and iterate with one targeted change per feedback round.
3. Obtain approval and freeze the design record.
- Require unambiguous human approval of a specific preview and its associated
text specification. Feedback or a requested change invalidates earlier
approval and returns the workflow to preview iteration.
- Make the text specification authoritative and sufficient without the image.
Include the target surface and viewports, information hierarchy, layout,
components and content, visual treatment and token intent, interaction and
navigation behavior, loading/empty/error/permission states, responsive
behavior, keyboard/focus/accessibility requirements, preserved behavior,
compatibility constraints, acceptance criteria, test scenarios, and
explicit out-of-scope work.
- Record the approved previews and text specification in the conversation's
decision-complete Plan Mode result. For each approved final preview, retain
the actual absolute saved file path returned by image generation, target
surface, viewport and state, caption or alt text, and final prompt. Keep the
preview rendered inline and exclude discarded or superseded variants from
the approved design record. Do not implement it during the proposal phase.
4. Implement the approved design in the same conversation.
- If implementation is part of the authorized task, tell the user to leave
Plan Mode after design approval. While Plan Mode remains active, retain the
approved design record without modifying product files. For a proposal-only
request, finish with the approved Plan Mode result.
- Once Plan Mode is no longer active, continue from the approved design record
without requiring another skill invocation or an issue handoff. Preserve
the original task scope and restrictions; leaving Plan Mode does not
authorize implementation of a proposal-only request.
- Use the approved text specification and final previews to implement the
new or revised UI in the target repository. Do not repeat completed proposal
work or regenerate approved previews. If feedback or new evidence requires a
design change, return to the proposal phase in Plan Mode and obtain approval
of the revised preview and text specification before implementing it.
- Run the relevant checks and inspect the rendered result against the approved
acceptance criteria, viewports, and states. Report the changes, verification
results, and any remaining limitations in the same conversation.
## Approved Design References
- Treat the approved text specification as the durable source of truth and the
image as supporting evidence.
- Keep the approved previews in the image-generation default storage. Use their
saved paths, descriptions, and final prompts from the conversation as local
implementation references. Do not copy into the target repository or commit
the previews merely to preserve or share the design record.
- If an approved image is unavailable, continue from the self-contained text
specification, description, and final prompt. Report the missing reference;
do not silently regenerate or substitute the approved preview.
## Boundaries
- Never implement the UI design during the Plan Mode proposal phase.
- Never modify repository-tracked files during the Plan Mode proposal phase.
- Do not invoke an issue-recording skill or create/update a GitHub issue as part
of this workflow.