extract-color

name	extract-color
description	Interpret a component's color-token mapping (per-element fills/strokes/effects, axis classification, boolean delta, variable mode detection, strategy plan) from the `_base.json` produced by the uSpec Extract Figma plugin, and write the normalized JSON to disk. Read-only interpretation — no Figma calls except an optional tiny delta script.

Extract Color Data

Interpretation-only companion to create-color. This skill does not extract data from Figma. It reads {cachePath}/{componentSlug}-_base.json (produced by the uSpec Extract Figma plugin), applies the same reasoning layer as create-color, and writes the finalized color dataset (either ColorAnnotationData or ConsolidatedColorAnnotationData) to disk for the create-component-md orchestrator.

Quality contract: every reasoning step (axis classification review, boolean enrichment, mode detection, container detection, composite breakdown, strategy selection, variant reduction plan, audit) mirrors create-color/SKILL.md. Any improvement to color-extraction quality must be made in both places.

Batch-mode contract. This skill MUST NOT call AskQuestion, prompt for confirmation, or pause for user input. On ambiguous rendering-strategy or container-detection decisions, pick the most defensible option based on the evidence and record the reasoning in generalNotes or _containerRerunHint. No mid-interpretation clarifications.

Invocation Contract

The orchestrator calls this skill with these inputs (already resolved — do NOT re-parse URLs or re-read uspecs.config.json):

• componentSlug — filename-safe slug
• cachePath — cache directory, typically .uspec-cache/{componentSlug}/
• optionalContext — free-form string from the user (may be "none")
• mcpProvider — figma-console or figma-mcp (only needed if a Step 3-delta escape hatch fires AND a live Figma link was provided to the orchestrator)
• deltaAvailable — boolean. When the orchestrator received only a baseJsonPath (no figmaLink), this is false and the Step 3-delta escape hatch must not fire; log the gap in data._deltaExtractions[] with unavailable: "no-figma-link" and continue with best-effort output.
• apiDictionaryPath — absolute or workspace-relative path to {cachePath}/{componentSlug}-api-dictionary.json. Optional. When present, the file is the canonical vocabulary for axis/value/sub-component/state naming (see Step 2.5). When absent, the skill continues with _dictionaryUnavailable: true in its output envelope.

fileKey and nodeId are not pass-through parameters anymore. Read them from {cachePath}/{componentSlug}-_base.json._meta.fileKey and _meta.nodeId at the start of Step 1.

Output:

• Writes {cachePath}/{componentSlug}-color.json with a { _meta, data } envelope. data is the finalized color dataset (Strategy A or Strategy B shape).
• Returns a single-line summary: "Color extracted: strategy={A|B}, N sections, M unique tokens, modes=[...] → {path}".
• Never creates or mutates Figma nodes.

MCP Adapter

Typically zero MCP calls — this skill reads _base.json from disk. The adapter applies only to the optional Step 3-delta escape hatch.

Operation	figma-console	figma-mcp
Execute Plugin JS (delta only)	figma_execute with code	use_figma with fileKey, code, description

For figma-mcp delta scripts, include the page-focus preamble after getNodeByIdAsync:

let _p = node; while (_p.parent && _p.parent.type !== 'DOCUMENT') _p = _p.parent;
if (_p.type === 'PAGE') await figma.setCurrentPageAsync(_p);

Workflow

Task Progress:
- [ ] Step 1: Read instruction file
- [ ] Step 2: Load _base.json and optionalContext
- [ ] Step 2.5: Load API dictionary (canonical vocabulary) — optional
- [ ] Step 3: Build working evidence set (resolve colorWalk entries into tokens)
- [ ] Step 3-delta: OPTIONAL — read-only Figma call if a fact is genuinely missing
- [ ] Step 4: Interpret — strategy selection, variant plan, container detection, composite breakdown
- [ ] Step 5: Organize into ColorAnnotationData / ConsolidatedColorAnnotationData
- [ ] Step 6: Audit (re-read instruction file)
- [ ] Step 7: Write JSON to cache and return one-line summary

Step 1: Read Instructions

Read agent-color-instruction.md. This is the same instruction file used by create-color. Treat it as the single source of truth for the data structure, rendering strategies, the two-gate decision model, composite-style handling, variable-mode rules, and audit checklists.

Rendering-only sections to skip

The shared instruction file describes both extraction and Figma rendering. This skill only performs interpretation — ignore guidance below. The data schema and audit checklists still apply.

• §Handling Special Cases — Composite Styles §Rendering block (frame-visibility recipe for #hierarchy-indicator) — template-frame contract used only at render time. Still populate compositeChildren with element, value, notes.
• §Handling Special Cases — "Preview rendering limitations" — does not apply.
• §Data Structure Reference — "no JSON output is needed" — inverted: we do output JSON.
• §Structure Rules — "Each entry renders as a heading + preview + table(s)" — rendering commentary. Schema retained.
• §Common Mistakes — rows about previews or rendered output — rendering-path cautions. Data-level mistakes still apply.

IMPORTANT — fields that look rendering-adjacent but are NOT skippable:

• renderingStrategy: "A" | "B" — required discriminant field. Run the full two-gate decision model.
• variantProperties, modeId, collectionId, stateColumns, stateAxisName — all part of the schema.
• compositeChildren — required; only the frame-visibility recipe is rendering-only.

Step 2: Load _base.json

Read {cachePath}/{componentSlug}-_base.json. If missing or required sections are null, abort with a diagnostic asking the user to re-run the uSpec Extract plugin.

Top-level keys this skill consumes:

• component, variantAxes, defaultVariant, propertyDefinitions.rawDefs
• variables.localCollections + resolvedVariables (for mode detection and token name resolution)
• styles.resolvedStyles (for style-name resolution)
• variants[*].colorWalk — path-qualified fill/stroke/effect entries with style IDs, bound variable IDs, and (when fills have 2+ visible layers) an extra fill-composite entry with layers[].
• variants[<default>].revealedColorWalk — Phase G produces this by colorWalking the default variant after setting all booleans to true. Used to derive booleanDelta (elements only visible when a boolean flips on).
• variants[*].variantProperties
• crossVariant.axisTokenFingerprints and crossVariant.axisClassification (already pre-computed, including isState and colorRelevant per axis)
• ownershipHints[] where evidenceType === "variableMode" (for mode collection discovery)
• _childComposition.children[] where classification === "constitutive" (primary signal for container detection in Step 4 §1b)
• _extractionNotes.warnings

Also absorb optionalContext.

Step 2.5: Load API dictionary (canonical vocabulary)

The create-component-md orchestrator writes {cachePath}/{componentSlug}-api-dictionary.json alongside _base.json after extract-api finishes. When present, this file is the canonical vocabulary for axis names, value names, sub-component names, and state runtime conditions. See the ApiDictionary artifact section in api/agent-api-instruction.md for the schema.

Resolution order:

1. If the orchestrator passed apiDictionaryPath, read that file.
2. Otherwise look for {cachePath}/{componentSlug}-api-dictionary.json on disk.
3. If neither resolves (e.g., the skill is being run standalone), continue with existing behavior but set data._dictionaryUnavailable = true on the output envelope. The orchestrator's Step 9.5 integrity check uses this flag to mark the produced cache as lower confidence.

How this skill uses the dictionary (keep it in scope through Steps 3–5):

• Strategy B state columns. The state axis columns you emit under data.stateValues (or sections[].stateColumns) MUST remain the raw Figma option names — the renderer relabels them via stateAxisMapping[] at .md render time. Do not pre-substitute runtimeCondition into the stored JSON. But check: every value in data.stateValues should correspond to a dictionary.states[].figmaValue. When a column has no matching figmaValue, emit a _dictionaryMismatch entry for it (see below).
• Sub-component element naming. When annotating color entries that carry a subComponentName (Step 4 §3), prefer the dictionary's canonical subComponents[].name over the raw Figma layer name. Keep the original in a _dictionaryMismatch annotation when the two disagree.
• Container hint sub-component list. When emitting _containerRerunHint.subCompSetNames, prefer the dictionary's subComponents[].name when a match exists; fall back to the raw tree names otherwise.

Mismatch protocol — do NOT silently rename, do NOT silently keep.

When your evidence (from _base.json's color walk) contradicts the dictionary — for example, the dictionary names a state column the color walk did not cover, or the walk surfaces a state the dictionary does not list — emit the observed value AND attach a _dictionaryMismatch annotation. Shape:

{
  "observed": "<what you measured / observed>",
  "dictionary": "<what the dictionary named; null when the dictionary listed a value you couldn't find>",
  "kind": "value-missing" | "value-extra" | "name-drift",
  "note": "<short rationale; ≤160 chars>"
}

Aggregate every mismatch into data._extractionArtifacts.dictionaryMismatches[]. The orchestrator's Step 8.5 reconciliation pass consumes this list to decide whether to auto-rewrite vocabulary, re-dispatch this skill with an expanded scope, or surface a semantic conflict.

Retry semantics — the orchestrator may re-dispatch this skill.

When optionalContext begins with the literal prefix create-component-md retry: , the rest of the string is an authoritative scope expansion from the orchestrator's Step 8.5 reconciliation step. Parse it as a comma-separated list of items (state values, sub-components, axes) the dictionary exposed but this skill previously did not cover. The retry run MUST emit evidence for every listed item — either a real section/row citing evidence from _base.json, or an explicit _dictionaryMismatch entry explaining why no evidence could be gathered. Never silently drop a listed item.

Step 3: Build Working Evidence Set

For each variant in _base.json.variants, resolve its colorWalk entries into the shape the old variantColorData[*].colorEntries had:

colorEntry = {
  element: colorWalk[i].element,
  path: colorWalk[i].path,
  property: colorWalk[i].property,  // "fill" | "text fill" | "stroke" | "drop shadow" | "inner shadow" | "fill-composite"
  hex: colorWalk[i].hex,
  token: resolveToken(colorWalk[i].styleId, colorWalk[i].boundVariableId),
  opacity: colorWalk[i].opacity,
  subComponentName: colorWalk[i].subComponentName || undefined,
  compositeDetail: <build from fill-composite entries, see below>,
  stops: colorWalk[i].stops,  // for gradients
  angleDegrees: colorWalk[i].angleDegrees
}

Token resolution priority (matches create-color semantics):

1. If styleId is present and resolves via styles.resolvedStyles[styleId].name, use the style name (highest precedence).
2. Else if boundVariableId is present and resolves via variables.resolvedVariables[boundVariableId], use codeSyntax (WEB code syntax if present) falling back to name.
3. Else token: null (hard-coded color — flag in notes).

Composite detail. colorWalk emits a separate entry with property: "fill-composite" whenever a node's fills has 2+ visible layers sharing a style. Group the composite entry with the matching element and build compositeDetail:

compositeDetail = {
  styleName: resolved style name,
  layers: composite.layers.map(layer => {
    solid → { type: 'solid', hex, token (resolved), blendMode, opacity }
    gradient → { type: 'gradient', gradientType, angleDegrees, stops: [{ position, color, token }], blendMode, opacity }
    image → { type: 'image', blendMode, opacity }
  })  // order top-to-bottom (same order as fill-composite.layers)
}

Boolean delta. booleanDelta is derivable from variants[<default>].revealedColorWalk (populated by Phase G of the plugin). Subtract baseline entries (from variants[<default>].colorWalk) from revealedColorWalk by key element|property|(token || hex). Any extra entries that only appear in revealedColorWalk become booleanDelta.delta[]. If you don't need a separate delta block (typical for Strategy A), skip this step.

If revealedColorWalk is absent, fall back to a Step 3-delta read-only script scoped to the specific boolean-gated elements you need.

Per-variant summary. For each variant build:

{
  name: variant.name,
  variantProperties: variant.variantProperties,
  colorEntries: [...resolved entries]
}

Axis classification and fingerprints. Read crossVariant.axisTokenFingerprints[axis][value] (already pre-computed by Phase F of the plugin) and crossVariant.axisClassification[axis] directly. No additional computation needed.

Mode detection. Walk variables.localCollections. For each collection:

• If modes.length <= 1, skip.
• If name matches /density|shape|size|spacing|radius|tone|color|state|variant|theme|mode/i or any token referenced in any colorWalk entry's bound variable lives in this collection, treat it as a candidate.
• Build modeTokenMap[modeName] = {} by iterating the collection's variable IDs in variables.resolvedVariables. For each variable's valuesByMode[modeName]:
  • If { kind: 'alias', targetName }, map variable.codeSyntax → targetName.
  • Else map variable.codeSyntax → variable.codeSyntax || variable.name (self-resolution for non-alias values).
• Pick the first candidate with a mode count > 1 and at least one variable that resolves to a color alias. Record:

modeDetection = {
  hasModeCollection: true,
  collectionName, collectionId,
  modes: [...modeNames],
  modeIds: { modeName → modeId },
  modeTokenMap
}

If no candidate qualifies, modeDetection.hasModeCollection = false.

Step 3-delta (optional, read-only)

If a token appears in colorWalk but has no entry in styles.resolvedStyles / variables.resolvedVariables, or if a mode collection discovered through ownershipHints[*].evidenceType === "variableMode" is missing from variables.localCollections, issue a small figma_execute / use_figma call to resolve just that one fact.

Rules:

• Read-only. No mutation APIs.

• < 50 lines of JS.

• Audit every call. Append one entry to data._deltaExtractions[] per delta script you run:

  {
    "purpose": "<why missing>",
    "script": "<first 200 chars of the JS>",
    "byteCount": <returned bytes>,
    "timestamp": "<ISO 8601>"
  }
  

  An empty array (zero delta calls) is the expected default. Multiple entries signal pressure to widen the _base.json schema in the plugin.

Step 4: Interpret

1. Validate evidence. Confirm variants is non-empty. If standalone COMPONENT (not a set), expect a single variant entry.

1b. Container detection (derivative). Container-ness is no longer decided here. Read _base.json._childComposition.children[]:

• Collect entries with classification === "constitutive" that have a non-null subCompSetId. These are the authoritative constitutive sub-components. This list is the source of truth for the container hint.
• If that collection is non-empty, the parent is composition-heavy. Continue into the confirming-symptom checks below.
• If that collection is empty, do NOT emit _containerRerunHint — any color-only "symptom" in that case is noise and must be recorded in _extractionArtifacts.containerSymptoms without firing a hint.

Confirming symptoms (used only to record evidence, not to decide):

1. ALL entries across all variants have subComponentName and the parent contributes no direct entries.
2. The parent's own fills/strokes are all transparent / none (every non-subComponent entry resolves to "transparent", "none", or null with zero opacity) and subComponentDimensions is populated.
3. The parent has only direct container-background entries that are transparent / none, and every visible color entry is carried by a sub-component.

When to emit _containerRerunHint. Emit iff the constitutive-sub-component collection is non-empty AND at least one of symptoms 1–3 holds. This keeps the color hint aligned with the orchestrator's structural classification — same decision, two confirming sources.

When the hint fires:

• Use subCompSetIds / subCompSetNames from the constitutive entries in _childComposition (NOT from treeHierarchical directly — the classification has already filtered referenced/decorative children out).
• Emit a _containerRerunHint in the output envelope (see Step 7). Shape:

  {
    "subCompSetIds": ["<id>", "..."],
    "subCompSetNames": ["<name>", "..."],
    "trigger": "all-sub" | "transparent-parent" | "background-only",
    "source": "derivative-of-_childComposition",
    "reason": "Some painted pixels on this parent are rendered inside constitutive sub-component instances; the canonical color spec for those pixels lives on each child's own .md. The parent's flattened color attribution is fully measured here from colorWalk[] and is authoritative for the parent.",
    "action": "Optional: run create-component-md on each constitutive child to produce the per-child canonical color spec. The parent .md is shippable as-is — do not treat this hint as a gap."
  }
  

• Keep the parent component name as the annotation title for the current run.
• Note the container relationship in generalNotes using neutral, authoritative framing: the parent's tokens are flattened from colorWalk[] and are authoritative for shipping the parent; child specs hold the per-child internal canon. Do not editorialize the parent's Color section as informational, provisional, placeholder, or pending. The hint suggests deeper recursion into child specs; it does not weaken the parent's own spec.
• Do not issue a Step 3-delta to reproduce the plugin's work — the delta budget (50 lines) is too small, and a container re-run is an orchestrator-level decision.

Malformed input. If _base.json._childComposition is missing, the file was not produced by the uSpec Extract plugin. Record a _base.json schema warning in _extractionArtifacts.schemaWarnings[] ("missing _childComposition in _base.json — re-run the uSpec Extract plugin") and leave _containerRerunHint null. Do not attempt to infer a hint from color symptoms alone.

2. Merge boolean delta. If a booleanDelta was built in Step 3 and has entries, merge them into the default variant's color entries as elements hidden behind boolean toggles.

3. Annotate sub-component entries. Entries with subComponentName come from nested INSTANCE walks. Include their actual tokens — use the sub-component name in descriptive notes (e.g., "Button container fill"). Group sub-component entries together in the table when readability benefits.

4. Map elements to tokens. From the resolved entries. Entries with token === null are hard-coded colors — flag in notes.

4a. Build composite breakdowns. For each entry with compositeDetail, construct a compositeChildren array on the corresponding ColorElement/ConsolidatedElement. Iterate layers in top-to-bottom order (same order as compositeDetail.layers):

• Solid: element = "Solid fill", value = token or hex, notes = "{blendMode} blend, {opacity}% opacity". Prefix "Top layer." / "Bottom layer." when 2+ layers exist.
• Gradient: element = "{gradientType} gradient" (e.g., "Linear gradient"), value = "linear-gradient({angle}deg, ...)", notes = "{blendMode} blend, {opacity}% opacity" with position prefix. Then append one child per stop: element = "Stop at {position}%", value = "rgba(r, g, b, a)" or token if bound, notes = position description (e.g., "Transparent", "Opaque").
• Image: element = "Image fill", value = "image", notes = blend and opacity.

5. Capture Figma property keys. Use propertyDefinitions.rawDefs and variantAxes to map variant section names to Figma property values.

6. Choose rendering strategy — see Step 4-i.

7. Build variant plan — see Step 4-ii.

Step 4-i: Determine Rendering Strategy

Using crossVariant.axisClassification and the modeDetection built above, follow the Rendering Strategies and Decision Logic (Two-Gate Model) sections in the instruction file to pick Strategy A or Strategy B.

If Strategy B, also record:

• stateAxisName: name of the state axis (e.g., "State")
• stateValues: ordered list of state values (columns)
• nonStateAxes: remaining color-relevant axes whose combinations form sections

Strategy selection drives the shape of the JSON on disk: Strategy A → ColorAnnotationData; Strategy B → ConsolidatedColorAnnotationData. The orchestrator and .md template switch layout accordingly.

Step 4-ii: Build Variant Reduction Plan

Follow the Variable Mode Colors section for mode-controlled components and the Color-Irrelevant Axes section for axis filtering.

• Color-irrelevant axes: pick one representative value (typically default). Never create sections for these axes.
• Strategy A sections: one section per color-relevant axis combination.
• Strategy B sections: one section per non-state color-relevant combination, with all state values as columns.

Mode-controlled components. If modeDetection.hasModeCollection is true:

• Record collectionId on the top-level data structure.
• Record modeId per section so downstream consumers can apply the correct variable mode.
• Use modeDetection.modeTokenMap[modeName] to resolve generic tokens to semantic aliases per mode.

Every variant is already walked by the plugin, so no re-extraction is needed here — just filter the color-irrelevant axes out of the section plan. If the component has > 50 variants and the orchestrator wants a subset, it can pass optionalContext: "focus: primary configuration only" upstream.

Step 5: Organize into ColorAnnotationData / ConsolidatedColorAnnotationData

Follow the Data Structure Reference in the instruction file — use the Strategy A or Strategy B interfaces exactly.

Preserve the following fields even though they are normally consumed only by rendering scripts:

• variantProperties on each section
• collectionId / modeId on Strategy B sections
• compSetNodeId on the top-level object

Hex extension fields (Markdown renderer companions)

Alongside each tables[].elements[], attach a parallel-indexed array carrying the resolved hex value per element. These fields are envelope extensions consumed only by the create-component-md Markdown renderer — the shared schema in {{ref:color/agent-color-instruction.md}} does not know about them, and the create-color Figma renderer ignores them. Source the hex values from the Step 3 working evidence (colorEntry.hex on the matching element).

Strategy A. On every tables[] object, emit elementHexes[] as a sibling of elements[]. Lockstep with elements[]: same length, same order. Each entry has shape { "hex": "#RRGGBB" | null }. Use uppercase six-digit hex. Use null when the element resolves to no color (token === "none", fully transparent fill, or unresolvable). For elements with compositeChildren, the parent element's hex is the resolved composite-style top-line color when one exists, otherwise null — composite child hexes are not carried here (children render via child.value which already accepts mixed token/rgba strings).

Strategy B. On every tables[] object, emit elementHexesByState[] as a sibling of elements[]. Lockstep with elements[]: same length, same order. Each entry has shape { "hexByState": { "<originalFigmaState>": "#RRGGBB" | null, ... } }. The key set of hexByState MUST equal the key set of the matching elements[i].tokensByState exactly — same Figma state values, no relabeling. Uppercase six-digit hex; null when the element/state combination resolves to no color. Composite-child hexes are not carried (same rule as Strategy A).

Graceful absence. If the working evidence cannot supply a hex for an element (e.g., a delta-rerun supplied tokens but no fill data), emit null rather than omitting the entry — the Markdown renderer relies on lockstep length to index correctly.

Step 6: Audit (tick-mark checklist)

Run every check below against your assembled color dataset. An unchecked box is a blocker — fix the output before writing the cache file. Return the checklist verbatim in your final summary so the orchestrator can aggregate it into the "Known gaps" block.

- [ ] Every token name is copied verbatim from codeSyntax.WEB or variable names — not editorialized
- [ ] Every compositeChildren array preserves the top-to-bottom layer order from compositeDetail.layers
- [ ] Hard-coded colors (token === null) are explicitly flagged in notes
- [ ] For mode-controlled components, every `Type × Mode` combination has its own section with tokens resolved via modeDetection.modeTokenMap
- [ ] Sub-component entries carry their subComponentName into element names or notes
- [ ] Rendering strategy (A or B) is recorded in _extractionArtifacts.strategy and matches the decision rules
- [ ] Container detection (Step 4 §1b) uses _base.json._childComposition.children[] filtered to classification === "constitutive" as the primary signal; symptom checks are only confirming evidence
- [ ] _containerRerunHint is emitted only when the constitutive-sub-component list is non-empty AND at least one symptom (all-sub / transparent-parent / background-only) also holds
- [ ] When the hint fires, `source` is set to "derivative-of-_childComposition"
- [ ] generalNotes mentions the container relationship using neutral/authoritative framing when _containerRerunHint is non-null — parent tokens are described as measured from colorWalk[] (authoritative); child specs hold child-internal canon. No "pure container", "informational", "provisional", "placeholder", or "pending" framing.
- [ ] Every note is 3–8 words
- [ ] _deltaExtractions[] records every Step 3-delta call that fired this run (empty array if none)
- [ ] _base.json._extractionNotes.warnings were surfaced in the summary if non-empty
- [ ] When the API dictionary was loaded, every Strategy B state column has a matching `dictionary.states[].figmaValue` OR carries a `_dictionaryMismatch` entry. Same rule for sub-component element names that drift from `dictionary.subComponents[].name`.
- [ ] When `_dictionaryUnavailable` is true, the output envelope records it so the orchestrator can downgrade confidence.
- [ ] Every `tables[].elementHexes[]` (Strategy A) or `tables[].elementHexesByState[]` (Strategy B) array has the same length as its sibling `tables[].elements[]` — no missing or extra entries
- [ ] (Strategy B) Every `elementHexesByState[i].hexByState` key set exactly matches the key set of `elements[i].tokensByState` — same Figma state values, no relabeling
- [ ] Every non-null hex value is uppercase six-digit `#RRGGBB` format; unresolvable colors are emitted as `null`, never as empty string or lowercase hex

Step 7: Write Cache and Return

Write the finalized color dataset as pretty-printed JSON to {cachePath}/{componentSlug}-color.json. Per-table extension fields elementHexes[] (Strategy A) and elementHexesByState[] (Strategy B) ride alongside elements[] inside data.variants[].tables[] / data.sections[].tables[]; see Step 5 for shape and lockstep rules. Envelope:

{
  "_meta": {
    "schemaVersion": "1",
    "extractedAt": "<ISO 8601 timestamp>",
    "fileKey": "<fileKey>",
    "nodeId": "<nodeId>",
    "componentSlug": "<componentSlug>",
    "optionalContext": "<optionalContext or null>",
    "baseJsonPath": "<cachePath>/<componentSlug>-_base.json"
  },
  "data": {
    /* ColorAnnotationData (Strategy A) or ConsolidatedColorAnnotationData (Strategy B) */
    "_deltaExtractions": [ /* 0+ entries */ ],
    "_dictionaryUnavailable": false /* true when Step 2.5 could not locate the api-dictionary.json */,
    "_containerRerunHint": null /* or { subCompSetIds: [...], subCompSetNames: [...], reason: "..." } when Step 4 §1b detects a container component */,
    "_extractionArtifacts": {
      "strategy": "A" | "B",
      "variantAxes": { /* derived from _base.json.variantAxes, reshaped as { axisName: options[] } */ },
      "axisClassification": { "<axis>": { "isState": <bool>, "colorRelevant": <bool> } },
      "modeDetection": { "hasModeCollection": <bool>, "collectionName": "...", "collectionId": "...", "modes": ["..."] },
      "uniqueTokens": ["..."],
      "subComponentsReferenced": ["..."],
      "containerSymptoms": [ /* symptom names that fired — "all-sub" | "transparent-parent" | "background-only"; recorded regardless of whether _containerRerunHint fires */ ],
      "schemaWarnings": [ /* e.g., "missing _childComposition in _base.json — re-run the uSpec Extract plugin" */ ],
      "dictionaryMismatches": [ /* 0+ entries — see Step 2.5 mismatch protocol */ ]
    }
  }
}

Return:

Color extracted: strategy=<A|B>, <N> sections, <M> unique tokens, modes=[<comma-separated mode names or "none">] → <cachePath>/<componentSlug>-color.json

Where N = entries in data.variants (Strategy A) or data.sections (Strategy B); M = uniqueTokens.length; modes = comma-separated or "none".

Append (warnings: <W>) if _base.json._extractionNotes.warnings is non-empty.

Not In Scope

• Extracting from Figma beyond the Step 3-delta escape hatch.
• Importing or detaching Figma templates.
• Rendering variant sections, tables, header fields, or preview instances.
• Calling setExplicitVariableModeForCollection on preview wrappers.
• Visual validation screenshots.
• Re-reading uspecs.config.json — the orchestrator passes mcpProvider directly.

Quality Guarantee

If the produced JSON is missing variants, has incorrect axis classification, mismatched composite breakdowns, or wrong mode resolution, the bug is either:

1. In the reasoning here (fix in both this skill and create-color), or
2. In _base.json from the uSpec Extract plugin (fix the plugin's phase code, never duplicate extraction logic here).