m3-template

name

m3-template

description

Action skill: produces a complete, ready-to-use M3 page or screen scaffold. Invoke when the user says "scaffold an M3 page", "scaffold an M3 screen", "give me a Material Design template", "give me a Material Design layout", "create a dashboard in M3", "create a settings screen in M3", "create a list-detail screen in M3", "create a feed screen in M3", "M3 page boilerplate", or any similar request to generate a concrete screen.

M3 Template -- Procedure for Claude

This skill instructs Claude to produce a complete adaptive M3 screen scaffold. Follow each step in order before emitting code.

---

Step 0 -- Resolve target parameters

Determine these four before writing any code. Infer the most reasonable default if the user has not specified; do not ask unless resolution is genuinely ambiguous.

1. Canonical layout: list-detail / supporting-pane / feed / dashboard / settings / auth. Default: settings if not implied by context.
2. Target size classes: which breakpoints must be supported. Default: Compact through Expanded (mobile to tablet/desktop).
3. Stack: React with @aphrody-code/m3-react, or plain web components (md-* + Lit), or plain HTML. Default: React if the project uses React; plain HTML otherwise.
4. Primary content: what lives in each pane (brief description). Infer from context.

---

Step 1 -- Lay out the adaptive shell

Build the outer scaffold first. It must contain:

• Navigation component, swapped per size class:
  • Compact (< 600 px): md-navigation-bar (bottom, full width)
  • Medium (600 -- 839 px): md-navigation-rail (left side)
  • Expanded+ (>= 840 px): md-navigation-drawer permanent (left side)
• Top app bar (md-top-app-bar): present on Compact and Medium; on Expanded+ it may be omitted if the drawer header carries the title.
• Content area: one pane on Compact, two panes on Expanded+.
• FAB (md-fab or md-extended-fab): include if the layout has a primary create/add action.

Use Tailwind utilities on <div> wrappers and host elements for host-level layout (flex, grid, gap, width, padding). Use min-h-screen, flex, flex-col, flex-row, gap-*, p-4, etc. on the 4 dp grid (Tailwind spacing unit 1 = 4px = 4 dp).

Use @media or @container queries in a <style> block (or a CSS module) to swap the navigation pattern at 600 px and 840 px. Toggle a CSS class (nav-compact / nav-medium / nav-expanded) on the shell element rather than conditionally mounting components in JS.

---

Step 2 -- Use only M3 components, tokens, and icons

Constraints that must hold for every line of output:

• Components: md-* custom elements (plain web) or Md* React wrappers (from @aphrody-code/m3-react). Never use <button>, <input>, etc., directly when an md-* equivalent exists.
• Color: always var(--md-sys-color-*). Never hardcode a color value (#hex, rgb(...), oklch(...), named CSS color). Never use a Tailwind color utility (bg-blue-500) for component color -- only for layout.
• Typography: var(--md-sys-typescale-*) or the md-* component's own typography. Never hardcode font-size or font-weight.
• Icons: <md-icon>icon_name</md-icon> with Material Symbols ligature names (snake_case). Never inline SVG.
• No sx prop. No Emotion. No MUI.
• No style="" inline overrides except when setting a --md-sys-color-* token on a subtree (e.g., for a local dark-on-light inversion).

---

Step 3 -- Canonical pane composition

Implement the pane layout for the chosen canonical layout:

List-detail

• Compact: one pane at a time. Show the list by default; navigate to detail on item tap (back button in top app bar returns to list). Use md-list + md-list-item for the list; md-divider between sections.
• Expanded+: two panes side by side. List pane ~360 px fixed or min-w-[280px] max-w-xs; detail pane fills remaining space. Use md-navigation-drawer or a sidebar <aside> for the list pane if it is persistent.

Supporting pane

• Compact: single pane (main content only). Supporting panel collapses into a bottom sheet (md-dialog with type="alert" or a custom sheet) or is omitted.
• Expanded+: main pane ~2/3 width, supporting pane ~1/3 width. Use md-card (outlined) for the supporting pane container. Split with a md-divider (vertical) or a gap.

Feed

• Compact: single column of md-card items, full width minus 16 px margin on each side.
• Medium: two-column grid grid-cols-2 gap-4.
• Expanded+: three-column grid grid-cols-3 gap-6 or auto-fill with grid-cols-[repeat(auto-fill,minmax(280px,1fr))].

Dashboard

• Compact: single column, stacked metric cards.
• Expanded+: mixed grid -- summary md-card spanning 2 cols, charts/ tables filling remaining cells. Use md-card (elevated or filled).

Settings

• Compact: single column. Group settings under <section> with a md-divider and a <p> category label styled label-large via var(--md-sys-typescale-label-large-*).
• Expanded+: two-column. Left column: category list (use md-list); right column: selected category's settings (use md-list, md-switch, md-slider, md-select).

Auth (login / sign-up)

• Compact: centered card full-width, max-w-sm mx-auto, containing md-filled-text-field inputs and an md-filled-button CTA.
• Expanded+: split -- illustration/brand left half, form right half.

---

Step 4 -- Make it adaptive with media/container queries

Add a <style> block (or CSS module) covering the M3 breakpoints. Show/hide or swap components by toggling display: none / display: flex and visibility on the navigation components. Keep all three navigation components in the DOM and let CSS decide which one is visible -- this avoids hydration/mount cost on resize.

/* default = Compact */
md-navigation-rail,
md-navigation-drawer {
  display: none;
}
md-navigation-bar {
  display: flex;
}

@media (min-width: 600px) {
  md-navigation-bar {
    display: none;
  }
  md-navigation-rail {
    display: flex;
  }
}

@media (min-width: 840px) {
  md-navigation-rail {
    display: none;
  }
  md-navigation-drawer {
    display: flex;
  }
}

For pane splits, add .pane-container layout rules inside @media (min-width: 840px) to switch from flex-col to flex-row.

---

Step 5 -- Verify build compatibility

After emitting code, state which command confirms the template compiles:

• React stack: cd examples/showcase && bun run build (or bun run typecheck).
• Plain HTML / web components: open in a browser or run a Bun static server (Bun.serve).

Remind the caller to run bun install first if @aphrody-code/m3-react or @material/web are not yet in node_modules.

---

Skeleton examples

Example A -- Settings screen (React, Compact through Expanded)

// packages/react usage; host layout = Tailwind; theming = --md-sys-color-*

import {
  MdNavigationBar,
  MdNavigationRail,
  MdNavigationDrawer,
  MdNavigationTab,
  MdTopAppBar,
  MdList,
  MdListItem,
  MdSwitch,
  MdDivider,
  MdIcon,
} from "@aphrody-code/m3-react";

export function SettingsPage() {
  return (
    <div className="flex min-h-screen" style={{ background: "var(--md-sys-color-surface)" }}>
      {/* Navigation -- all three rendered; CSS picks the visible one */}
      <MdNavigationDrawer className="nav-drawer hidden md-expanded:flex" opened>
        <MdNavigationTab>
          <MdIcon slot="active-icon">settings</MdIcon>
          <MdIcon slot="icon">settings</MdIcon>
          Settings
        </MdNavigationTab>
      </MdNavigationDrawer>

      < =>
        
          settings
          settings
          Settings
        
      

      {/* Main content */}
      
        
          arrow_back
          Settings
        

        
          
            
              Account
            
            
              
                person
                Profile
              
              
              
                lock
                Privacy
                
              
            
          
        
      

      {/* Bottom navigation bar (Compact only) */}
      
        
          settings
          settings
          Settings
        
      
    
  );
}

/* Adaptive navigation visibility */
.nav-rail,
.nav-drawer {
  display: none;
}
.nav-bar {
  display: flex;
}

@media (min-width: 600px) {
  .nav-bar {
    display: none;
  }
  .nav-top-bar {
    display: none;
  }
  .nav-rail {
    display: flex;
  }
}

@media (min-width: 840px) {
  .nav-rail {
    display: none;
  }
  .nav-drawer {
    display: flex;
  }
}

---

Example B -- List-detail screen (plain web components, Compact and Expanded)

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
  <head>
    <meta charset="utf-8" />
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" />
    <script type="module" src="/node_modules/@material/web/aphrody-components.js"></script>
    <link rel="stylesheet" href="/styles.css" />
  </head>
  <body>
    <div class="shell">
      <!-- Navigation bar (Compact) -->
      <md-navigation-bar class="nav-bar">
        <md-navigation-tab active>
          <md-icon slot="active-icon">inbox</md-icon>
          <md-icon slot="icon">inbox</md-icon>
          Inbox
        
      

      
      
        
          inbox
          inbox
          Inbox
        
      

      
      
        
        
          Inbox
          
            
              mail
              Message from Alice
              Hey, wanted to check in...
            
            
            
              mail
              Project update
              The build passed on CI...
            
          
        

        
        
          
            Select a message to read.
          
        
      
    
  

/* styles.css */
:root {
  color-scheme: light dark;
  background: var(--md-sys-color-surface);
  color: var(--md-sys-color-on-surface);
}

.shell {
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: column;
  min-height: 100dvh;
}

.content-area {
  flex: 1;
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: column;
}

.nav-rail {
  display: none;
}
.nav-bar {
  display: block;
}
.detail-pane {
  display: none;
}

@media (min-width: 600px) {
  .nav-bar {
    display: none;
  }
  .nav-rail {
    display: block;
  }
  .shell {
    flex-direction: row;
  }
  .content-area {
    flex-direction: row;
  }
}

@media (min-width: 840px) {
  .detail-pane {
    display: flex;
    flex: 1;
  }
  .list-pane {
    width: 360px;
    flex-shrink: 0;
    border-right: 1px solid (--md-sys-color-outline-variant);
  }
}

---

Rules summary (never violate)

• No hardcoded colors. All color from var(--md-sys-color-*).
• No sx prop, no Emotion, no MUI imports.
• Layout on <div> wrappers via Tailwind or plain CSS. Never on md-* internals (Shadow DOM boundary).
• Icons via <md-icon> with Material Symbols ligature names only.
• Navigation components: all three in DOM, CSS toggles visibility.
• Touch targets >= 48 px on Compact (built into md-* components).
• bun only for installs and builds -- never npm or pnpm.

---

Related skills

• responsive-adaptive: breakpoint values, grid/margin rules, decision checklist.
• m3-design-guide: color tokens, typography tokens, elevation, theming.
• m3-spec-check: validate that output conforms to M3 spec before shipping.