| name | wabot-design |
| description | A ready-made design system for building good-looking web UIs in Wabot apps. Ships tokens (color, type, spacing, radii, motion), accessible components (buttons, badges, cards, forms, tables), and layout primitives so elements look polished by default. Use when generating UI, pages, forms, prototypes, slides, or any visual artifact for a Wabot project. |
| user-invocable | true |
wabot-design
A ready-to-use design system for Wabot apps: download it once and build against its tokens,
components, and layout primitives — tuned so your UI looks good by default, with no per-project
theming work. It is distributed at https://design.wabot.dev/assets/, but you copy it into the
project and render from that local file, never a runtime CDN link.
1. Set up the design system (download once, keep it local and upgradable)
Seed the project with the published stylesheet, then reference the local file everywhere. This
keeps the app working offline and under a strict CSP, pins it to a known version, and lets you
extend it.
mkdir -p src/design
curl -fsSL https://design.wabot.dev/assets/colors_and_type.css -o src/design/wabot-design.css
src/design/wabot-design.css is the file the project uses — it carries the color + type tokens and the base component/layout classes used throughout this skill.- Upgrade by re-running the download (it overwrites the file). Treat it as generated: don't hand-edit it. Keep any customizations in a separate
wabot-design.overrides.css loaded after it, so an upgrade never clobbers your changes.
- If the published system ever splits into several stylesheets, download each into
src/design/ and link/inline them together.
- Its
@font-face rules load Geist + Geist Mono from https://design.wabot.dev/assets/fonts/. For fully offline fonts, download those into src/design/fonts/ and point the @font-face URLs at them.
Use it in plain HTML / prototypes / slides
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="./wabot-design.css" />
</head>
<body data-theme="light">
</body>
</html>
Use it in a Wabot UI app
Full-stack Wabot UIs server-render Preact (see the wabot-ui skill). Inject the design system once
by inlining the local file in a layout — the framework's recommended way to ship a design-system
stylesheet — and reuse the global classes alongside your CSS modules:
import fs from 'node:fs'
import { uiController, Outlet } from '@wabot-dev/framework/ui'
const designCss = fs.readFileSync(new URL('./design/wabot-design.css', import.meta.url), 'utf8')
function AppLayout() {
return (
<>
<style dangerouslySetInnerHTML={{ __html: designCss }} />
<main data-theme="light">
<Outlet />
</main>
</>
)
}
@uiController({ path: '/', app: true, layout: AppLayout })
export class AppController {
}
In JSX use class, not className. Global utility classes (.btn, .card, …) and CSS-module styles coexist freely.
2. The non-negotiables
The defaults that keep the system cohesive and elements looking right. Break them only when the user explicitly asks.
- No borders. Not on cards, not on inputs, not on tables, not anywhere. If separation is needed, use background-color contrast (
.bg-canvas → .bg-sunken → .bg-canvas).
- No shadows. No
box-shadow of any kind, including soft ones.
- No hover state changes. No darken / lift / underline on hover. Keep
:focus-visible (a 2px accent ring) and :active (a small color shift confirming press) only.
- Primary actions are near-black. A solid dark pill with white text (
.btn, or <button type="submit">). In dark mode the action inverts to a light pill on a dark background.
- The accent (
--c-brand, #EE5B29 by default) is for highlights only — focus rings, inline-link ink, and at most one call-to-action per view. It's a token: re-theme it to your own color. Never make it the primary button color.
- Sentence case for buttons, headings, labels, and body — no Title Case. The only caps in the system are the small, letter-spaced eyebrows and table headers it sets automatically (see §4); never type ALL CAPS yourself.
- No emoji as iconography. No unicode characters as icons. Status = a colored dot + a word. If a real icon is needed, use Lucide (https://unpkg.com/lucide-static/icons/) and tell the user it's a substitution.
- Voice: terse, second-person, no marketing fluff. Strings read like CLI prompts. "Create project", "No items yet", "Pause service". Never "Awesome! Let's get started 🎉".
3. Tokens
All tokens are CSS variables on :root (light) and [data-theme='dark']. Colors ship as RGB triplets so any color can be alpha-mixed.
Colors — semantic aliases (use these in app code)
| Variable | Light value | Use |
|---|
--c-bg | warm paper | page canvas |
--c-bg-raised | white | cards, panels, form fields |
--c-bg-sunken | hair darker | sidebars, banded sections |
--c-bg-contrast | medium beige | heavy bands, inputs in dark mode |
--c-bg-inverse | near-black warm | footers, dark feature bands |
--c-fg | near-black | headings, primary text |
--c-fg-body | dark grey | body text |
--c-fg-muted | medium grey | secondary text, labels |
--c-fg-faint | light grey | placeholders, captions |
--c-brand | #EE5B29 | accent (default) — re-theme freely |
--c-brand-ink | darker accent | inline links |
--c-action | near-black | primary button background |
--c-action-soft | warm beige | secondary button background |
--c-focus | accent | focus rings |
Compose:
color: rgb(var(--c-fg));
background: rgb(var(--c-brand) / 0.12);
Colors — semantic state
| Token | Use |
|---|
--c-success-bg / --c-success-fg | "Active", "Success" |
--c-warning-bg / --c-warning-fg | "Paused", "Low balance" |
--c-danger-bg / --c-danger-fg | "Failed", "Deleting" |
--c-info-bg / --c-info-fg | "In progress", neutral notice |
Typography
| Token | Size | Use |
|---|
--fs-xs | 12 | eyebrows, table headers, captions |
--fs-sm | 13 | meta, small body, table cells |
--fs-base | 15 | body (default) |
--fs-md | 16 | emphasized body, button labels |
--fs-lg | 18 | h5, intro paragraphs |
--fs-xl | 22 | h4 |
--fs-2xl | 28 | h3 |
--fs-3xl | 36 | h2 |
--fs-4xl | 48 | h1, page titles |
--fs-5xl | 64 | hero display |
Fonts: --font-sans (Geist) and --font-mono (Geist Mono). Use mono for code, IDs, numerics, and inputs that accept code.
Headings are 600/700 with letter-spacing: -0.022em. The negative tracking is the most important type detail — without it, large Geist looks loose.
Spacing — 4px grid
--sp-1 (4) · --sp-2 (8) · --sp-3 (12) · --sp-4 (16) · --sp-5 (20) · --sp-6 (24) · --sp-8 (32) · --sp-10 (40) · --sp-12 (48) · --sp-16 (64) · --sp-20 (80) · --sp-24 (96)
Radii
--r-sm (4 — chips) · --r-md (8 — buttons, inputs, cells; default) · --r-lg (12 — cards, fieldsets) · --r-xl (18 — large panels) · --r-pill (999 — badges)
Motion
--motion-fast (120ms ease-out, color shifts) and --motion-base (180ms ease-out, focus/nav). Nothing else — no springs, no choreography. The system respects prefers-reduced-motion: reduce.
4. Components — copy/paste patterns
Buttons
<button type="submit">Save changes</button>
<button class="btn">Save changes</button>
<button class="btn btn-secondary">Cancel</button>
<button class="btn btn-ghost">View details</button>
<button class="btn btn-brand">Get started</button>
<button class="btn btn-danger">Delete</button>
<button class="btn btn-sm">Retry</button>
<button class="btn btn-lg">Continue</button>
<button class="btn" disabled>Saving…</button>
Status dots and badges
<span class="badge badge-success"><span class="dot dot-success"></span>Active</span>
<span class="badge badge-warning"><span class="dot dot-warning"></span>Paused</span>
<span class="badge badge-danger"><span class="dot dot-danger"></span>Failed</span>
<span class="badge badge-info"><span class="dot dot-info dot-pulse"></span>In progress</span>
<span class="badge badge-brand">Beta</span>
<span class="badge">meta</span>
.dot-pulse adds the live-state opacity pulse — use for in-progress states ("Building", "Uploading", "Deleting").
Cards
<div class="card">
<p class="card-label">Balance</p>
<div class="mono numeric">$48.21</div>
</div>
<div class="card card-sunken">…</div>
Forms
<fieldset>
<legend>Sign in</legend>
<label for="phone">Phone number</label>
<input id="phone" type="tel" placeholder="+1 555 0142" />
<button type="submit">Send sign-in code</button>
</fieldset>
No <div class="form-group"> wrappers; semantic HTML carries it.
Sections — separation by contrast
<section class="bg-canvas">…</section>
<section class="bg-sunken">…</section>
<section class="bg-canvas">…</section>
<section class="bg-inverse">…</section>
Or .bg-brand for an accent hero, .bg-contrast for a heavier band.
Tables
<table>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Name</th>
<th>Status</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>api-server</td>
<td>
<span class="badge badge-success"><span class="dot dot-success"></span>Active</span>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Headers are uppercase tracked labels automatically. Rows zebra-stripe via background contrast, never borders.
Key/value metadata
<dl class="kv">
<dt>Source</dt>
<dd>github.com/acme/web</dd>
<dt>Branch</dt>
<dd>main</dd>
<dt>Region</dt>
<dd>us-east-1</dd>
</dl>
<dd> renders in mono automatically.
Inline code / blocks
<p>Set <code>LOG_LEVEL=info</code> in your env.</p>
<pre><code>npm run build
npm run start</code></pre>
<pre> is near-black on light text — the terminal block of the system. Use sparingly.
Layout primitives
<div class="stack">…</div>
<div class="stack-sm">…</div>
<div class="stack-lg">…</div>
<div class="row">…</div>
<div class="cluster">…</div>
<div class="split">…</div>
Always prefer flex/grid with gap over inline siblings — it survives direct-manipulation edits cleanly.
5. Content rules
Copy defaults that keep the UI clear:
- You-form. "Your projects", "Your balance". Never "we" or "our team".
- Direct verbs as button text. "Create project", "Pause service", "Sign in". Never "Click here" / "Continue →".
- Sentence case everywhere.
- Currencies show the ISO code as a small grey suffix.
$45.00 USD, not $45.
- Dates short, locale-aware.
Nov 14, not November 14th, 2026.
- No emoji.
- Empty states are flat statements. "No items yet." Pair with one button. No illustration. No "Get started by…" paragraph.
- Errors are blunt. Show the raw server message inside
<p class="text-error"><strong>Error:</strong> {message}</p>.
- Localize cleanly. Write copy that translates without English idioms if the app is multilingual.
6. Iconography
The system ships almost no icons. When you need one:
- Use Lucide (https://unpkg.com/lucide-static/icons/) inline as SVG, 24×24 grid, 2px stroke, rounded line caps. Lucide pairs cleanly with Geist.
- Never use emoji or unicode characters as icons. Status is conveyed with a
.dot + a word.
When you introduce an icon the design doesn't already have, flag the substitution to the user.
7. Dark mode
Set data-theme="dark" on <html> or <body>. All tokens swap automatically; no other code changes.
The dark canvas is intentionally a warm charcoal (#1A1918) — not pure black. The dark "action" inverts: a light pill (--c-fg-inverse) on the dark canvas.
8. When this skill is invoked with no other guidance
Ask the user what they want to build. Useful follow-ups:
- What surface — an app screen, a form, a landing page, docs, a slide deck?
- Depth — a single component, a screen, a whole flow?
- Light or dark mode?
Then produce the artifact in HTML, slides, or production code — whatever the user asked for — following the non-negotiables in section 2.
