| name | ui-design-styling |
| description | Design and style ryOS UI using the current OS theme token system, Tailwind variants, shared primitives, Aqua Glass, dark mode, and accent conventions. Use when creating UI components, styling elements, working with themes, adding visual effects, or implementing retro OS aesthetics. |
ryOS UI Design & Styling
Canonical References
- Implementation spec:
docs/3.3.1-theme-architecture.md
- User-facing overview:
docs/3.3-theme-system.md
- Token source of truth:
src/styles/themes/tokens.css
- Theme CSS import order:
src/styles/themes.css
- Tailwind mappings and variants:
tailwind.config.js
- Theme metadata/state:
src/themes/, src/stores/useThemeStore.ts, src/hooks/useThemeFlags.ts
Visual values belong in CSS --os-* tokens. TypeScript theme files hold metadata, platform behavior, dark-mode support flags, and wallpaper defaults; do not duplicate palettes in TS or component code.
Supported Themes
| Theme | ID | Platform | Key traits |
|---|
| macOS Aqua | macosx | mac / aqua | Glossy controls, traffic lights, dock, pinstripe or Aqua Glass, light/dark, accents |
| System 7 | system7 | mac / system7 | Black/white, square corners, Chicago-style type, dotted titlebars, accents |
| Windows XP | xp | windows | Luna blue chrome, rounded window borders, taskbar, legacy XP CSS |
| Windows 98 | win98 | windows | Gray bevels, square corners, classic taskbar, legacy 98 CSS |
Default theme is macosx; default Aqua material is glass.
Root Attributes
useThemeStore applies attributes to <html>. Prefer targeting these through tokens and Tailwind variants.
| Attribute / class | Meaning |
|---|
data-os-theme | Exact theme id: system7, macosx, xp, win98 |
data-os-platform | Shared platform bucket: mac or windows |
data-os-mac-chrome | Mac chrome variant: aqua or system7; absent for Windows |
data-os-color-scheme="dark" | Present only when the active theme supports dark mode and dark is enabled |
data-os-aqua-material="glass" | Present only for macOS Aqua Glass |
data-os-accent | Present for non-default Mac chrome accents |
data-os-system-font | Present for debug font overrides |
.dark | Mirrors Aqua dark mode for Tailwind dark:* compatibility |
CSS Layers
src/styles/themes.css imports theme CSS in this order:
tokens.css - defaults, per-theme token blocks, [data-selected="true"], z-index scale.platform.css - rules shared by mac or windows platform buckets.containment.css - reduced motion and third-party/app isolation.aqua.css - Aqua structural chrome, .aqua-button, brushed metal, typography.windows.css - Windows structural landing rules.dark-aqua.css - Aqua dark tokens and structural overrides.aqua-glass.css - Aqua Glass overrides, imported after dark Aqua.control-panels-mac.css / control-panels-themed.css - Control Panels skins.
Windows themes also load /css/xp-custom.css or /css/98-custom.css dynamically. When a rule applies to both XP and Win98, use data-os-platform="windows" instead of duplicated exact-theme selectors.
Tokens and Utilities
Use token-backed Tailwind utilities first:
className="bg-os-window-bg border-os-window rounded-os shadow-os-window"
className="font-os-ui text-os-text-primary"
className="bg-os-panel-bg border-[length:var(--os-metrics-border-width)]"
className="bg-os-input-bg border-os-input-border focus:border-os-input-focusBorder"
className="text-os-link bg-os-selection-bg text-os-selection-text"
className="h-os-titlebar h-os-menubar z-menubar"
Core token groups:
- Fonts:
--os-font-ui, --os-font-mono
- Surfaces:
--os-color-window-bg, --os-color-panel-bg, --os-color-input-bg
- Borders/separators:
--os-color-window-border, --os-color-separator, --os-color-input-border
- Text:
--os-color-text-primary, --os-color-text-secondary, --os-color-text-disabled, --os-color-link
- Chrome:
--os-color-menubar-*, --os-color-titlebar-*, --os-color-button-*
- Selection/accent:
--os-color-selection-*, --os-color-selection-glow, --os-color-selection-ring-gap
- Metrics/shadows:
--os-metrics-*, --os-window-shadow
- Aqua extras:
--os-color-traffic-light-*, --os-pinstripe-*, --os-texture-*, --os-typography-*
- Layering:
--z-base, --z-dialog, --z-menubar, --z-dropdown, --z-spotlight
Shadcn HSL variables (--background, --primary, etc.) still exist for generic UI primitives. For OS chrome and app surfaces, prefer --os-* tokens and bg-os-* / text-os-* utilities.
Tailwind Variants
Use root-attribute variants for small static visual differences:
className={cn(
"bg-os-window-bg text-os-text-primary",
"os-windows:border-os os-mac-aqua:rounded-os",
"os-mac-system7:rounded-none os-theme-win98:shadow-none",
"os-dark:bg-os-window-bg os-mac-aqua-dark:text-os-text-primary"
)}
Available variants:
os-mac:, os-windows:os-mac-aqua:, os-mac-system7:os-theme-system7:, os-theme-macosx:, os-theme-xp:, os-theme-win98:os-dark:, os-mac-aqua-dark:, os-theme-<id>-dark:
Prefer CSS variants and tokens over React theme branches when the DOM and behavior do not change.
Theme State and Flags
Use useThemeFlags() for component decisions:
const {
currentTheme,
osPlatform,
macChrome,
metadata,
isWindowsTheme,
isMacTheme,
isMacOSTheme,
isSystem7Theme,
isWinXp,
isWin98,
isClassicTheme,
isAquaMenuChrome,
isMacAquaChrome,
supportsDarkMode,
isDarkMode,
darkModePreference,
supportsAccent,
accent,
aquaMaterial,
isAquaGlass,
} = useThemeFlags();
Use React branches only when structure, behavior, assets, layout math, or app logic differs. For non-React code, use useThemeStore.getState() or helpers from @/themes such as getOsPlatform, getOsMacChrome, isWindowsTheme, isMacTheme, isThemeWinXp, and isThemeWin98.
Shared Surface Primitives
Prefer shared primitives before adding new four-way class branches:
import {
osCardClassName,
osDrawerSurfaceClassName,
osToolbarSurfaceClassName,
osAppSidebarSurfaceClassName,
osSeparatorBorderClassName,
osSubtleIconButtonClassName,
windowsBevelClassName,
} from "@/components/shared/osThemePrimitives";
Pass isAquaGlass when a primitive supports it. Use windowsBevelClassName("raised" | "sunken") instead of hand-writing Win98 bevel borders.
Icon and Asset Sourcing
When choosing app icons, toolbar glyphs, file-type art, dialog icons, devices, folders, or other OS-flavored imagery, search the repo icon libraries before drawing new assets or using external sources.
Active theme icons live under public/icons/<theme>/... and are resolved through public/icons/manifest.json by helpers such as pickIconPath, resolveIconLegacyAware, and useIconPath. Historical source libraries live outside active theme resolution:
- Mac OS X Panther/Tiger catalogs:
public/resources/macos-icon-catalogs/{panther,tiger}/catalog.md
- Windows 98/XP catalogs:
public/resources/windows-icon-catalogs/{win98,xp}/catalog.md
Use this order:
- Prefer an existing logical icon in
public/icons/default, then matching theme variants in public/icons/macosx, public/icons/win98, or public/icons/xp.
- If no active icon fits, search the resource catalogs by concept and source era-appropriate art from categories such as
applications, system-preferences, control-panels, dialog-ui-assets, folders, devices, and file-types.
- Copy/adapt the chosen catalog asset into
public/icons/<theme>/... only when it should participate in active UI rendering; keep public/resources/... as the source catalog, not as runtime app metadata.
- Run
bun run generate:icons after changing active public/icons files.
- Preserve cross-theme fallback behavior: add
default assets first, then theme-specific variants where they materially improve the UI.
Useful searches:
rg -i "calculator|paint|printer|warning|folder" public/resources/*-icon-catalogs
rg -i "\"themes\"|\"macosx\"|\"win98\"|\"xp\"" public/icons/manifest.json
Component Patterns
Button
import { Button } from "@/components/ui/button";
<Button variant="default">Standard</Button>
<Button variant="secondary">Secondary</Button>
<Button variant="retro">Retro</Button>
<Button variant="aqua">Aqua</Button>
Button maps variants to .aqua-button on macOS Aqua and legacy .button on Windows.
Aqua CSS Buttons
<button className="aqua-button">Default</button>
<button className="aqua-button primary">Primary</button>
<button className="aqua-button secondary">Secondary</button>
<button className="aqua-button orange">Orange</button>
Tokenized Panel
<div
className={cn(
"rounded-os bg-os-window-bg text-os-text-primary shadow-os-window",
"border-[length:var(--os-metrics-border-width)] border-os-window",
"os-theme-win98:shadow-none"
)}
>
Selected Rows
Use the built-in selection utility when possible:
<div data-selected={isSelected ? "true" : undefined}>Song</div>
Aqua Glass, Dark Mode, and Accents
- Aqua Glass is the default material for
macosx; it is driven by data-os-aqua-material="glass" and src/styles/themes/aqua-glass.css.
- Do not build ad hoc glass with generic
bg-white/80 backdrop-blur-* unless the surface is intentionally outside the OS material system.
- Only
macosx currently supports dark mode. Use --os-* tokens, os-dark:, or os-mac-aqua-dark:; branch on isDarkMode only for behavioral or structural differences.
- Mac chromes (
macosx, system7) support accents. The default accent is wallpaper; default means "System" and clears inline overrides so stylesheet tokens win.
- Accent-aware UI should read
--os-color-selection-*, --os-color-link, focus-ring tokens, or Tailwind bg-os-selection-bg / text-os-link.
Window Materials
WindowFrame supports per-window materials:
| Material | Use case |
|---|
default | Standard opaque windows |
transparent | Semi-transparent app windows such as media surfaces |
notitlebar | Immersive windows with floating or hover chrome |
brushedmetal | Classic Mac brushed-metal apps |
Global Aqua Glass is separate from WindowFrame material. Regular Aqua windows receive glass classes when the global material is glass; brushed-metal windows keep brushed-metal semantics and are adjusted by CSS.
Typography
- Use
font-os-ui and font-os-mono; avoid theme-specific font utility names.
WindowFrame content has .window-body, which consumes --os-typography-window.- For shell or portaled copy outside a
WindowFrame, use OS_SHELL_TEXT_SCALE_CLASS from @/lib/themeChrome.
- For custom native chrome that must avoid Aqua global typography selectors, put
OS_NATIVE_CHROME_SKIP_CLASS on an ancestor.
- Use the
prose-textedit typography variant for TextEdit-like rich content so Aqua dark mode stays readable.
Anti-Patterns
- Do not copy hex values from old examples; add or consume
--os-* tokens.
- Do not make
currentTheme === "xp" || currentTheme === "win98" branches for shared Windows styling; use platform attributes, variants, or helpers.
- Do not use React branches for static colors, borders, radii, shadows, or text colors.
- Do not create one-off glassmorphism when Aqua Glass tokens and CSS apply.
- Do not add new theme-specific components before checking
src/components/shared/osThemePrimitives.ts and existing app patterns.
Checklist
- Search for an existing primitive or app pattern before styling from scratch.
- Use
cn() for conditional class merging.
- Prefer
--os-* tokens, token-backed Tailwind utilities, and os-*: variants.
- Use
useThemeFlags() or @/themes helpers only when structure or behavior changes.
- Consider Aqua Glass, Aqua dark mode, accents, inactive-window selection, and Windows legacy CSS.
- Test styled components across all four themes; include Aqua Glass and Aqua dark mode when touching
macosx surfaces.
