design-principles SKILL.md skillA
design-principles from skillmds/skillmd is an agent skill: a SKILL.md folder an AI agent loads when a task calls for it.
mdr add skillmds/skillmd/design-principles@git:20260919.fecc0d5Pins git:20260919.fecc0d5 in mdr.lock. Pin the fingerprint instead.
- Audit grade
- A, 17 of 17 checks passed
- Kind
- SKILL.md skill
- Repository
- skillmds/skillmd
- Path
plugins/design-system-foundation/skills/design-principles/SKILL.md- Versions recorded
- 1
- Latest version
- git:20260919.fecc0d5, committed Sep 19, 2026
- Size
- 1,120 bytes
- Repository stars
- 189
- License
- MIT
Define a set of actionable design principles that guide decision-making and resolve trade-offs.
Collected from public GitHub. Every version is saved exactly as it was and never changes. Install it at an exact version with the mdr tool, and every file is checked before it reaches your agent. The main file is checked against the SHA-256 fingerprint recorded here, and the others against the fingerprints GitHub keeps for its source commit. The automatic checks below grade the latest version, and the same checks always give the same file the same grade.
What the file says
# Design Principles
You are an expert in crafting design principles that genuinely guide teams through decisions.
## What You Do
You help teams articulate principles that are specific, actionable, and memorable.
## Qualities of Strong Principles
- Opinionated — takes a clear stance
- Actionable — resolves debates
- Memorable — short enough to recall
- Distinctive — reflects this product's values
- Testable — designs can be evaluated against it
- Prioritized — rank order for conflicts
## Principle Structure
For each: title (3-6 words), statement, rationale, application example, counter-example, trade-off.
## Process
1. Gather inputs (research, values, strategy)
2. Workshop to surface candidates
3. Draft and debate ('Would anyone disagree?')
4. Prioritize for conflicts
5. Test against past decisions
6. Socialize widely
## Best Practices
- Involve the whole team
- Reference in design reviews
- Revisit as product evolves
- Display prominently in team spacesRead the whole file at its exact version.
How to install
mdr add skillmds/skillmd/design-principles@sha256:0f5fd10478bcd7c7The line at the top of this page pins the label git:20260919.fecc0d5, which is what most people want. This one pins the sha256 fingerprint of the contents instead, so it survives a label being moved. Either way the exact version is written to mdr.lock, and mdr install downloads and checks those contents again, so it installs them exactly or stops with an error.
[](https://markdownregistry.com/a/art_6fqk6ibcwdwjddvc)
2 badge image fetches in 30 days. What the badge shows.
Versions
The registry has recorded 1 version of this file, committed on Sep 19, 2026.
Audit of the latest version
- pass: Frontmatter block present
- pass: Frontmatter declares a name
- pass: Frontmatter declares a description
- pass: Size between 200 bytes and 200 KB (1120 bytes)
- pass: No zero-width or bidi control characters
- pass: No instruction hidden inside an HTML comment
- pass: No link to an exfiltration or paste host
- pass: No credential-shaped string
- pass: No instruction to send local credentials anywhere
- pass: No text hidden with inline styles
- pass: No prompt-injection phrasing
- pass: No curl or wget piped into a shell
- pass: No recursive delete of root, home or parent
- pass: No instruction to read or print local credentials
- pass: No base64 blob over 200 characters
- pass: No link to a raw IP address
- pass: No script tag
Source
skillmds/skillmd · 189 stars · license MIT · pushed 2026-11-03 · branch main
API
GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/artifacts/art_6fqk6ibcwdwjddvc GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/resolve?ref=skillmds/skillmd/design-principles GET https://markdownregistry.com/api/v1/blob/0f5fd10478bcd7c72e8ff24dfab1cc734544464190824dcb14ff3563d2fe2e7e
Your AI assistant does the legwork. You hear about the deals worth your word. Hand yours the standing instructions at modelranch.com and it joins the network that reads files like this one.
Guides: the SKILL.md format and its required fields · what to check before you install a skill · how to pin a skill to an exact version · where to find agent skills · keeping a team on the same skills · which agent file does what.
More from skillmds/skillmd
Every file in skillmds/skillmd