Design Design System
Audit, document, or extend your design system. Use when checking for naming inconsistencies or hardcoded values across components, writing documentation for a component's variants, states, and accessibility notes, or designing a new pattern that fits the existing system.
What this skill does
Keep your interface cohesive by auditing components for inconsistencies and generating clear documentation for every variant and state. You can also design new patterns that seamlessly fit within your existing system rules. Reach for this when you need to validate your current library or expand it while maintaining a consistent look and feel.
name: design-system
description: Audit, document, or extend your design system. Use when checking for naming inconsistencies or hardcoded values across components, writing documentation for a component’s variants, states, and accessibility notes, or designing a new pattern that fits the existing system.
argument-hint: “[audit | document | extend] “
/design-system
If you see unfamiliar placeholders or need to check which tools are connected, see CONNECTORS.md.
Manage your design system — audit for consistency, document components, or design new patterns.
Usage
/design-system audit # Full system audit
/design-system document [component] # Document a component
/design-system extend [pattern] # Design a new component or pattern
Components of a Design System
Design Tokens
Atomic values that define the visual language:
- Colors (brand, semantic, neutral)
- Typography (scale, weights, line heights)
- Spacing (scale, component padding)
- Borders (radius, width)
- Shadows (elevation levels)
- Motion (durations, easings)
Components
Reusable UI elements with defined:
- Variants (primary, secondary, ghost)
- States (default, hover, active, disabled, loading, error)
- Sizes (sm, md, lg)
- Behavior (interactions, animations)
- Accessibility (ARIA, keyboard)
Patterns
Common UI solutions combining components:
- Forms (input groups, validation, submission)
- Navigation (sidebar, tabs, breadcrumbs)
- Data display (tables, cards, lists)
- Feedback (toasts, modals, inline messages)
Principles
- Consistency over creativity — The system exists so teams don’t reinvent the wheel
- Flexibility within constraints — Components should be composable, not rigid
- Document everything — If it’s not documented, it doesn’t exist
- Version and migrate — Breaking changes need migration paths
Output — Audit
## Design System Audit
### Summary
**Components reviewed:** [X] | **Issues found:** [X] | **Score:** [X/100]
### Naming Consistency
| Issue | Components | Recommendation |
|-------|------------|----------------|
| [Inconsistent naming] | [List] | [Standard to adopt] |
### Token Coverage
| Category | Defined | Hardcoded Values Found |
|----------|---------|----------------------|
| Colors | [X] | [X] instances of hardcoded hex |
| Spacing | [X] | [X] instances of arbitrary values |
| Typography | [X] | [X] instances of custom fonts/sizes |
### Component Completeness
| Component | States | Variants | Docs | Score |
|-----------|--------|----------|------|-------|
| Button | ✅ | ✅ | ⚠️ | 8/10 |
| Input | ✅ | ⚠️ | ❌ | 5/10 |
### Priority Actions
1. [Most impactful improvement]
2. [Second priority]
3. [Third priority]
Output — Document
## Component: [Name]
### Description
[What this component is and when to use it]
### Variants
| Variant | Use When |
|---------|----------|
| [Primary] | [Main actions] |
| [Secondary] | [Supporting actions] |
### Props / Properties
| Property | Type | Default | Description |
|----------|------|---------|-------------|
| [prop] | [type] | [default] | [description] |
### States
| State | Visual | Behavior |
|-------|--------|----------|
| Default | [description] | — |
| Hover | [description] | [interaction] |
| Active | [description] | [interaction] |
| Disabled | [description] | Non-interactive |
| Loading | [description] | [animation] |
### Accessibility
- **Role**: [ARIA role]
- **Keyboard**: [Tab, Enter, Escape behavior]
- **Screen reader**: [Announced as...]
### Do's and Don'ts
| ✅ Do | ❌ Don't |
|------|---------|
| [Best practice] | [Anti-pattern] |
### Code Example
[Framework-appropriate code snippet]
Output — Extend
## New Component: [Name]
### Problem
[What user need or gap this component addresses]
### Existing Patterns
| Related Component | Similarity | Why It's Not Enough |
|-------------------|-----------|---------------------|
| [Component] | [What's shared] | [What's missing] |
### Proposed Design
#### API / Props
| Property | Type | Default | Description |
|----------|------|---------|-------------|
| [prop] | [type] | [default] | [description] |
#### Variants
| Variant | Use When | Visual |
|---------|----------|--------|
| [Variant] | [Scenario] | [Description] |
#### States
| State | Behavior | Notes |
|-------|----------|-------|
| Default | [Description] | — |
| Hover | [Description] | [Interaction] |
| Disabled | [Description] | Non-interactive |
| Loading | [Description] | [Animation] |
#### Tokens Used
- Colors: [Which tokens]
- Spacing: [Which tokens]
- Typography: [Which tokens]
### Accessibility
- **Role**: [ARIA role]
- **Keyboard**: [Expected interactions]
- **Screen reader**: [Announced as...]
### Open Questions
- [Decision that needs design review]
- [Edge case to resolve]
If Connectors Available
If ~~design tool is connected:
- Audit components directly in Figma — check naming, variants, and token usage
- Pull component properties and layer structure for documentation
If ~~knowledge base is connected:
- Search for existing component documentation and usage guidelines
- Publish updated documentation to your wiki
Tips
- Start with an audit — Know where you are before deciding where to go.
- Document as you build — It’s easier to document a component while designing it.
- Prioritize coverage over perfection — 80% of components documented beats 100% of 10 components.
Install this Skill
Skills give your AI agent a consistent, structured approach to this task — better output than a one-off prompt.
npx skills add anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins --skill design Official Anthropic skill. Need a walkthrough? See the install guide →
Works with
No terminal needed — Claude.ai works by pasting the skill into custom instructions.
Details
- Category
- Design
- License
- Apache 2.0
- Author
- @anthropics
- Source
- GitHub →
- Source file
-
show path
design/skills/design-system/SKILL.md