create-design-system

---

name: create-design-system description: Extract or build a design system (tokens, components, style guide). Use for "design system", "style guide", "tokens", "UI kit". argument-hint: <source: codebase path, github URL, "from scratch"> allowed-tools: Read Write Edit Glob Grep Bash(cp:) Bash(open:) Bash(mkdir:) mcp__chrome-devtools__

Create Design System

Produce a living HTML style guide with colors, typography, spacing, radii, shadows, and components. Uses register-asset to feed assets.html.

Phase 0 — Registry check (avoid re-extracting what you already have)

Before anything else:

1. Bash(ls ~/.claude/design-systems/ 2>/dev/null) — list existing org-level design systems
2. If the user's brief mentions a brand matching one of the folder names → don't extract, load existing: Read ~/.claude/design-systems/<name>/tokens.json, report "Using from registry."
3. If no brand match but registry has items → AskUserQuestion: "Use existing system (list them) / Extract new / Decide for me"

Skip Phase 0 only if user explicitly said "create new".

Phase 1 — Source

Four sources, in order of preference:

0. Existing registry — handled in Phase 0. If loaded, jump to Phase 2 (Build) directly.

1. Local codebase (path provided):

• Glob: **/theme.{ts,js,json}, **/tokens.{css,scss}, **/tailwind.config.*, **/_variables.*, **/colors.*, **/styles.css
• Read each; extract:
  • Hex/oklch/rgb colors → name + value + role (primary/secondary/accent/neutral/semantic)
  • Font families + weights + sizes
  • Spacing scale (4px/8px/etc.)
  • Border radii
  • Shadows
• Read a few component files to understand patterns

2. GitHub URL — delegate to /ingest-github first, then continue here with the resulting artifacts/ingested/*-tokens.json

3. From scratch / screenshot / brand — invoke Skill: frontend-design; AskUserQuestion about vibe, reference brands, emotional register

Phase 2 — Build

Create artifacts/design-system.html with a section per group. Use data-design-group attrs so register-asset can pick them up.

<section data-design-group="Colors">
  <h2>Colors</h2>
  <div class="swatch-grid">
    <!-- each swatch has name + hex + role -->
  </div>
</section>
<section data-design-group="Type">
  <h2>Typography</h2>
  <!-- sample text at each level: display, H1, H2, body, small -->
</section>
<section data-design-group="Spacing">
  <!-- visual bars for 4, 8, 12, 16, 24, 32... -->
</section>
<section data-design-group="Components">
  <!-- live-rendered buttons, form elements, cards, badges -->
</section>
<section data-design-group="Brand">
  <!-- logo usage, tone of voice, example composition -->
</section>

Use real values from source, not invented ones. Every component is live HTML+CSS, not screenshots.

Phase 3 — Register

For each section:

/register-asset artifacts/design-system.html --group Colors --asset "Brand palette" --subtitle "7 colors, semantic roles"

Runs once per group. assets.html will show each as a card.

Phase 4 — Persistent context

Write .claude/design-tokens.json for future skills in THIS project to reference:

{
  "name": "brand-slug",
  "colors": { "primary": "#D97757", ... },
  "fonts": { "display": "...", "body": "..." },
  "spacing": [4, 8, 12, 16, 24, 32, 48],
  "radii": { "sm": 4, "md": 8, "lg": 16 }
}

Subsequent /make-deck, /interactive-prototype skills should Read this file to auto-apply.

Phase 5 — Offer registry save (cross-project reuse)

If the system is brand-specific (not generic "minimal monochrome" but e.g. "Acme Corp"), ask:

"Save to ~/.claude/design-systems/<slug>/ for reuse across projects?"

If yes:

1. Bash(mkdir -p ~/.claude/design-systems/<slug>)
2. Copy tokens.json and artifacts/design-system.html → ~/.claude/design-systems/<slug>/
3. Report: "Saved to registry. Future projects can /use-design-system <slug> or auto-detect via brand keyword in brief."

The registry format:

~/.claude/design-systems/
├── acme/
│   ├── tokens.json
│   └── preview.html           # (optional) visual reference
├── company-x/
│   └── tokens.json
└── minimal-mono/
    └── tokens.json

Any Claude Code session in any project sees this registry via Phase 0 of workflow skills.