clerk-ui-skills

name	clerk-ui-skills
description	Clerk's UI design system. Use when building interfaces inspired by Clerk's aesthetic - light mode, Inter font, 4px grid.
license	MIT
metadata	{"author":"design-skills","version":"1.0.0","source":"https://clerk.com"}

Clerk UI Skills

Opinionated constraints for building Clerk-style interfaces with AI agents.

When to Apply

Reference these guidelines when:

• Building light-mode interfaces
• Creating Clerk-inspired design systems
• Implementing UIs with Inter font and 4px grid

Colors

• SHOULD use light backgrounds for primary surfaces
• MUST use #FEFEFE as page background (surface-base)
• MUST use #C4A9F3 for primary actions and focus states (accent)
• SHOULD reduce color palette (currently 12 colors detected)
• MUST maintain text contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for accessibility

Semantic Tokens

Token	HEX	RGB	Usage
surface-base	#FEFEFE	rgb(254,254,254)	Page background
surface-raised	#090909	rgb(9,9,9)	Cards, modals, raised surfaces
text-primary	#5C5C5C	rgb(92,92,92)	Headings, body text
text-secondary	#98979D	rgb(152,151,157)	Secondary, muted text
text-tertiary	#2F2F2F	rgb(47,47,47)	Additional text
border-default	#E4E4E1	rgb(228,228,225)	Subtle borders, dividers
accent	#C4A9F3	rgb(196,169,243)	Primary actions, links, focus

Typography

• MUST use Inter as primary font family
• SHOULD use single font family for consistency
• MUST use 66px / 700 for primary headings
• MUST use 26px / 700 for body text
• SHOULD reduce font weights (currently 4 detected)
• MUST use text-balance for headings and text-pretty for body text
• SHOULD use tabular-nums for numeric data
• NEVER modify letter-spacing unless explicitly requested

Text Styles

Style	Font	Size	Weight	Color	Count
heading-1	Inter	66px	700	#262628	1
body	Inter	26px	700	#292929	1
text-19px	Inter	19px	500	#4D4D4D	1
text-18px	Inter	18px	500	#303030	1
text-18px	Inter	18px	400	#525252	1
text-17px	Inter	17px	500	#E9E9E9	1
text-17px	Inter	17px	400	#838285	1
text-16px	Inter	16px	500	#2F2F2F	1
text-16px	Inter	16px	300	#F5F5F5	1
text-15px	Inter	15px	400	#BDBDBD	1

Typography Reference

Font Families:

• Inter (used 28x)

Font Sizes: 9px, 11px, 12px, 14px, 15px, 16px, 17px, 18px, 19px, 26px, 66px

Spacing

• MUST use 4px grid for spacing
• SHOULD use spacing from scale: 1px, 2px, 4px, 5px, 16px, 37px, 49px, 51px
• SHOULD use 5px as default gap between elements
• NEVER use arbitrary spacing values (use design scale)
• SHOULD maintain consistent padding within containers

Borders

• MUST use border-radius from scale: 4px, 6px, 7px
• MUST use 1px border width consistently
• SHOULD use 6px as default border-radius
• NEVER use arbitrary border-radius values (use design scale)
• SHOULD use subtle borders (1px) for element separation

Border Radius Reference

Scale: 4px, 6px, 7px

Layout

• MUST design for 1920px base viewport width
• SHOULD use consistent element widths: 8px, 52px, 44px, 363px, 71px
• SHOULD maintain text-heavy layout with clear hierarchy
• NEVER use h-screen, use h-dvh for full viewport height
• MUST respect safe-area-inset for fixed elements
• SHOULD use size-* for square elements instead of w-* + h-*

Detected Layout Patterns

• Main Content: width: 1920px, height: 584px

Components

• MUST use 0px height for input fields

Buttons

Variant	Background	Text	Border	Height	Radius
Ghost	transparent	#BDBDBD	none	-	-

Inputs

• Height: 0px

Interactive States

Focus

• MUST use 2px outline with accent color (#C4A9F3)
• MUST use 2px outline-offset
• NEVER remove focus indicators

Hover

• Buttons (primary): lighten background by 10%
• Buttons (secondary): use #090909 background
• List items: use #090909 background

Disabled

• MUST use opacity: 0.5
• MUST use cursor: not-allowed

Interaction

• MUST use an AlertDialog for destructive or irreversible actions
• SHOULD use structural skeletons for loading states
• MUST show errors next to where the action happens
• NEVER block paste in input or textarea elements
• MUST add an aria-label to icon-only buttons

Animation

• NEVER add animation unless it is explicitly requested
• MUST animate only compositor props (transform, opacity)
• NEVER animate layout properties (width, height, top, left, margin, padding)
• SHOULD use ease-out on entrance animations
• NEVER exceed 200ms for interaction feedback
• SHOULD respect prefers-reduced-motion

Performance

• NEVER animate large blur() or backdrop-filter surfaces
• NEVER apply will-change outside an active animation
• NEVER use useEffect for anything that can be expressed as render logic