create-new-component

name	Create New Component
description	Create a new React component following Lab's architecture patterns. Determines component scope (core vs. page-scoped), generates proper structure with TypeScript types, creates Storybook stories for core components, and ensures composability with existing components.

Create New Component

This skill creates React components following Lab's established architecture patterns.

Technology Stack

• React: v19 (using forwardRef, JSX.Element)
• TypeScript: v5 (strict typing)
• Tailwind CSS: v4 (semantic color tokens)
• Storybook: v9 (autodocs with decorators)
• Icons: Heroicons v2 (@heroicons/react/20/solid, @heroicons/react/16/solid)
• UI Library: Headless UI v2 (for interactive components)
• Utilities: clsx for conditional classes
• Forms: react-hook-form v7 (when applicable)

Before You Begin

STOP AND ASK QUESTIONS unless the user has provided complete specifications.

Ask the user to clarify:

1. Component scope: Is this reusable across pages (core) or page-specific?
2. Category: Which category fits best? (see Component Categories below)
3. Functionality: What should this component do? What props are needed?
4. Composition: Should it use existing components internally?
5. Variants: Does it need size/variant/color options?

Only proceed after understanding the requirements.

Component Architecture

Core Components (src/components/)

When: Reusable across multiple pages/sections Requirements:

• Generic and configurable via props
• No page-specific business logic
• No direct API calls (accept data via props)
• Semantic Tailwind tokens (bg-surface, text-foreground)
• MUST include Storybook stories
• Compose from other core components when logical

Page-Scoped Components (src/pages/[section]/components/)

When: Used within specific page/section only Requirements:

• Page-specific business logic allowed
• Can use hooks (useNetwork, API hooks, etc.)
• Compose/extend core components
• May contain specialized state management
• NO Storybook stories required

Component Categories

Core Component Categories (src/components/)

• Use ls to list the components in the src/components/ directory.

Page Sections (src/pages/)

• Use ls to list the pages in the src/pages/ directory.

Standard Component Structure

ComponentName/
  ComponentName.tsx              # Implementation
  ComponentName.types.ts         # TypeScript types (when needed)
  ComponentName.stories.tsx      # Storybook stories (core components only)
  index.ts                       # Barrel export

Implementation Steps

1. Research Existing Components

Before implementing, examine similar existing components:

• Check category for existing patterns
• Review how props are structured
• Observe Tailwind class patterns
• Note composability approach

2. Create Component Structure

For Core Components:

src/components/[Category]/[ComponentName]/

For Page-Scoped Components:

src/pages/[section]/components/[ComponentName]/

3. Implement Component File

Key Patterns:

import { forwardRef } from 'react';
import type { ComponentNameProps } from './ComponentName.types';

// Inline Tailwind class definitions (not objects)
const baseClasses = 'inline-flex items-center font-semibold';

// Variant classes when needed
const variantClasses = {
  primary: 'bg-primary text-white hover:bg-primary/90',
  secondary: 'bg-white text-gray-900 hover:bg-gray-50',
};

export const ComponentName = forwardRef<HTMLElement, ComponentNameProps>(
  ({ variant = 'primary', className = '', children, ...props }, ref) => {
    const classes = [baseClasses, variantClasses[variant], className]
      .filter(Boolean)
      .join(' ');

    return (
      <element ref={ref} className={classes} {...props}>
        {children}
      </element>
    );
  }
);

ComponentName.displayName = 'ComponentName';

Semantic Colors:

• Use tokens: bg-surface, text-foreground, text-muted, border-border
• Brand: bg-primary, text-primary, bg-secondary, bg-accent
• States: text-success, text-warning, text-error
• Avoid hard-coded colors (no text-gray-500)

Conditional Classes:

import { clsx } from 'clsx';

className={clsx(
  'base-classes',
  variant === 'primary' && 'primary-classes',
  disabled && 'opacity-50 cursor-not-allowed',
  className
)}

4. Create Types File (when needed)

import type { ComponentPropsWithoutRef, ReactNode } from 'react';

export type ComponentVariant = 'primary' | 'secondary';
export type ComponentSize = 'sm' | 'md' | 'lg';

export interface ComponentNameProps extends ComponentPropsWithoutRef<'element'> {
  /**
   * The visual style variant
   * @default 'primary'
   */
  variant?: ComponentVariant;

  /**
   * Component content
   */
  children?: ReactNode;
}

5. Create Storybook Stories (Core Components Only)

Required Template:

import type { Meta, StoryObj } from '@storybook/react-vite';
import { ComponentName } from './ComponentName';

const meta = {
  title: 'Components/[Category]/ComponentName',
  component: ComponentName,
  parameters: {
    layout: 'centered',
  },
  decorators: [
    Story => (
      <div className="min-w-[600px] rounded-sm bg-surface p-6">
        <Story />
      </div>
    ),
  ],
  tags: ['autodocs'],
  argTypes: {
    variant: {
      control: 'select',
      options: ['primary', 'secondary'],
    },
  },
} satisfies Meta<typeof ComponentName>;

export default meta;
type Story = StoryObj<typeof meta>;

export const Primary: Story = {
  args: {
    : ,
    : ,
  },
};

  :  = {
  :  (
    
  ),
};

Story Best Practices:

• Use full nested path: Components/[Category]/ComponentName
• Include decorators with bg-surface wrapper
• Show all variants/states
• Use realistic content
• Include complex examples

6. Create Barrel Export

export { ComponentName } from './ComponentName';
export type {
  ComponentNameProps,
  ComponentVariant,
  ComponentSize
} from './ComponentName.types';

Composition Patterns

Core Composing Core

// NetworkSelect composes SelectMenu
import { SelectMenu } from '@/components/Forms/SelectMenu';
import { NetworkIcon } from '@/components/Ethereum/NetworkIcon';

export function NetworkSelect({ showLabel = true }: Props) {
  const options = networks.map(network => ({
    value: network,
    label: network.display_name,
    icon: <NetworkIcon networkName={network.name} />,
  }));

  return <SelectMenu options={options} showLabel={showLabel} />;
}

Page-Scoped Composing Core

// UserCard composes Card, Badge, ClientLogo
import { Card } from '@/components/Layout/Card';
import { Badge } from '@/components/Elements/Badge';
import { ClientLogo } from '@/components/Ethereum/ClientLogo';

export function UserCard({ username, clients }: Props) {
  return (
    <Card>
      <h3>{username}</h3>
      <Badge color="gray">{classification}</Badge>
      {clients.map(c => <ClientLogo key={c} client={c} />)}
    </Card>
  );
}

Common Component Patterns

Icon Handling (Heroicons)

import { cloneElement, isValidElement } from 'react';

// Clone icon element to apply size classes
{leadingIcon && isValidElement(leadingIcon) &&
  cloneElement(leadingIcon, {
    'aria-hidden': 'true',
    className: 'size-5',
  } as Record<string, unknown>)
}

Size Variants

const sizeClasses = {
  sm: 'px-2 py-1 text-sm',
  md: 'px-2.5 py-1.5 text-sm',
  lg: 'px-3 py-2 text-sm',
};

Interactive States

const baseClasses = `
  inline-flex items-center
  hover:bg-primary/90
  focus-visible:outline-2 focus-visible:outline-offset-2 focus-visible:outline-primary
  disabled:cursor-not-allowed disabled:opacity-50
  dark:hover:bg-primary/80
`;

Headless UI Integration

import { Listbox, ListboxButton, ListboxOptions, ListboxOption } from '@headlessui/react';

<Listbox value={value} onChange={onChange}>
  <ListboxButton className="relative cursor-pointer rounded-lg">
    {/* Button content */}
  </ListboxButton>

  <ListboxOptions className="absolute z-[9999] mt-1 rounded-lg border">
    {options.map((option, index) => (
      <ListboxOption
        key={index}
        value={option.value}
        className="data-focus:bg-primary/10 data-selected:text-primary"
      >
        {option.label}
      </ListboxOption>
    ))}
  </ListboxOptions>
</Listbox>

Validation Checklist

Before completing:

• Matches existing component patterns in category
• Uses semantic Tailwind tokens (not hard-coded colors)
• TypeScript types properly defined
• Props have JSDoc comments with defaults
• Barrel export created
• Core components have Storybook stories
• Stories include all variants/states
• Component composes existing components when appropriate
• No page-specific logic in core components
• Accessibility attributes included (aria-*, role)
• Dark mode handled via semantic tokens
• Icon handling uses cloneElement pattern
• pnpm lint passes
• pnpm build passes

Testing in Storybook

For core components, use Storybook for iteration:

pnpm storybook

Use Playwright MCP tools to:

1. Navigate to component story
2. Take screenshots of variants
3. Test interactions
4. Verify responsive behavior

Common Mistakes to Avoid

❌ DON'T:

• Create new component without asking scope questions
• Hard-code colors (text-gray-500 instead of text-muted)
• Skip Storybook stories for core components
• Add API calls in core components
• Duplicate existing component functionality
• Use relative imports (use @/ path aliases)
• Create standalone files (use folder structure)

✅ DO:

• Research existing patterns first
• Ask clarifying questions
• Use semantic color tokens
• Compose from existing components
• Follow established naming conventions
• Create comprehensive Storybook stories
• Document props with JSDoc
• Test with pnpm lint and pnpm build

Example Workflow

1. User Request: "Create a tooltip component"

2. Ask Questions:

   • "Should this be reusable across pages (core) or page-specific?"
   • "Which category fits best? I'm thinking Overlays."
   • "What trigger should it support? Hover, click, or both?"
   • "Should it have different positions (top, bottom, left, right)?"

3. Research:

   • Examine src/components/Overlays/ for patterns
   • Check if similar component exists
   • Review Headless UI tooltip docs

4. Implement:

   • Create src/components/Overlays/Tooltip/
   • Implement Tooltip.tsx with Headless UI
   • Create Tooltip.types.ts with variants
   • Create comprehensive Tooltip.stories.tsx
   • Create barrel export index.ts

5. Validate:

   • Test in Storybook
   • Run pnpm lint
   • Run pnpm build
   • Verify all checklist items

6. Report: "Created core Tooltip component in src/components/Overlays/Tooltip with 4 position variants and comprehensive Storybook stories. Ready to use across all pages."