Skip to main content
skill CX Codex

shadcn · bergside — Claude Code skill: a shadcn/ui design system for your agent

Gives the agent a shadcn/ui-style design system: tokens, typography, component states and accessibility criteria.

Install into Claude Code · Skills CLI (Vercel) All methods and platforms ↓
npx skills add bergside/awesome-design-skills --skill shadcn -a claude-code
Open on GitHub

What shadcn does

This skill turns the agent into a design-system guideline author. The style it follows is shadcn/ui: minimal components, a monochrome palette, utility-first patterns. The foundations are spelled out — a type scale of 12/14/16/20/24/32, Geist and Fira Code fonts, color tokens (primary #000000, secondary #111111, surface #FFFFFF, text #111827) and a 4/8/12/16/24/32 spacing scale.

The workflow starts with one sentence restating the design intent, then moves to tokens and constraints before any component-level rules. Each component is expected to define default, hover, focus-visible, active, disabled, loading and error states, plus keyboard, pointer and touch behavior. Edge cases like long labels, empty states and overflow are part of the brief. Output follows a fixed structure: context and goals, tokens, component rules, accessibility criteria, tone standards, anti-patterns, QA checklist.

Accessibility targets WCAG 2.2 AA with keyboard-first interaction and visible focus. Every rule has to be anchored to a token, threshold or example rather than an adjective. When aesthetics and accessibility conflict, accessibility wins — worth knowing before you accept a pretty low-contrast suggestion from the agent.

What it helps with

  • lock down tokens and spacing before the agent writes any markup
  • define hover, focus-visible, disabled and loading states for a component
  • check text contrast and focus visibility against WCAG 2.2 AA
  • produce a QA checklist for component code review
  • write migration notes for inconsistent existing UI

Example prompts for the agent

  • Write a design system for a login form in shadcn style: tokens, field states, accessibility criteria
  • Draft rules for buttons and dropdowns with variants and states, include anti-patterns
  • Review my card component against the shadcn rules and give me a QA checklist

How to install shadcn

1Skills CLI (Vercel)

npx skills add bergside/awesome-design-skills --skill shadcn -a claude-code

2Manually: put the files in place

~/.claude/skills/shadcn/SKILL.md

Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/shadcn/

Step by step, with commands for each platform: How to install skills in Claude Code: five ways

Questions about shadcn

How do I install shadcn in Claude?

Run npx skills add bergside/awesome-design-skills --skill shadcn -a claude-code. The skill lands at ~/.claude/skills/shadcn/SKILL.md.

What does the shadcn skill do?

It gives the agent rules for a shadcn/ui-style design system: tokens, typography, component states, accessibility requirements and the structure of the resulting guideline.

Which platforms support this skill?

It installs into Claude, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI and OpenCode. Each platform has its own install command in the repository.

Source text

SKILL.md · MIT
---
name: shadcn
description: Shadcn/ui-inspired design with minimal, clean components, monochrome palette, and utility-first patterns.
license: MIT
metadata:
  author: typeui.sh
---

<!-- TYPEUI_SH_MANAGED_START -->
# Shadcn Design System Skill (Universal)

## Mission
You are an expert design-system guideline author for Shadcn.
Create practical, implementation-ready guidance that can be directly used by engineers and designers.

## Brand
shadcn style design

## Style Foundations
- Visual style: minimal, clean
- Typography scale: 12/14/16/20/24/32 | Fonts: primary=Geist, display=Geist, mono=Fira Code | weights=100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900
- Color palette: primary, secondary | Tokens: primary=#000000, secondary=#111111, success=#16A34A, warning=#D97706, danger=#DC2626, surface=#FFFFFF, text=#111827
- Spacing scale: 4/8/12/16/24/32


## Accessibility
WCAG 2.2 AA, keyboard-first interactions, visible focus states

## Writing Tone
concise, confident, helpful

## Rules: Do
- prefer semantic tokens over raw values
- preserve visual hierarchy
- keep interaction states explicit

## Rules: Don't
- avoid low contrast text
- avoid inconsistent spacing rhythm
- avoid ambiguous labels

## Expected Behavior
- Follow the foundations first, then component consistency.
- When uncertain, prioritize accessibility and clarity over novelty.
- Provide concrete defaults and explain trade-offs when alternatives are possible.
- Keep guidance opinionated, concise, and implementation-focused.

## Guideline Authoring Workflow
1. Restate the design intent in one sentence before proposing rules.
2. Define tokens and foundational constraints before component-level guidance.
3. Specify component anatomy, states, variants, and interaction behavior.
4. Include accessibility acceptance criteria and content-writing expectations.
5. Add anti-patterns and migration notes for existing inconsistent UI.
6. End with a QA checklist that can be executed in code review.

## Required Output Structure
When generating design-system guidance, use this structure:
- Context and goals
- Design tokens and foundations
- Component-level rules (anatomy, variants, states, responsive behavior)
- Accessibility requirements and testable acceptance criteria
- Content and tone standards with examples
- Anti-patterns and prohibited implementations
- QA checklist

## Component Rule Expectations
- Define required states: default, hover, focus-visible, active, disabled, loading, error (as relevant).
- Describe interaction behavior for keyboard, pointer, and touch.
- State spacing, typography, and color-token usage explicitly.
- Include responsive behavior and edge cases (long labels, empty states, overflow).

## Quality Gates
- No rule should depend on ambiguous adjectives alone; anchor each rule to a token, threshold, or example.
- Every accessibility statement must be testable in implementation.
- Prefer system consistency over one-off local optimizations.
- Flag conflicts between aesthetics and accessibility, then prioritize accessibility.

## Example Constraint Language
- Use "must" for non-negotiable rules and "should" for recommendations.
- Pair every do-rule with at least one concrete don't-example.
- If introducing a new pattern, include migration guidance for existing components.

<!-- TYPEUI_SH_MANAGED_END -->

© typeui.sh · MIT · bergside/awesome-design-skills

Similar skills

Everything for Design →

shadcn by other authors comes first.

shadcn shadcn-ui A skill that keeps your agent on the rails with shadcn/ui: adds components, searches registries, fixes markup and builds a design system from your spec. CX Codex +1 123,300installs shadcn official Vercel Labs This skill guides Codex through adding shadcn/ui components and configuring themes. Use it when building a React interface with Tailwind CSS. CX Codex GP ChatGPT 72installs shadcn pedronauck Guides AI agents through shadcn/ui and Radix UI best practices. Prevents broken themes and keeps component accessibility intact. CX Codex +1 369installs shadcn pproenca A skill with 58 shadcn/ui rules that tells your agent how to add components, build forms and keep accessibility intact. CX Codex +1 724installs shadcn PyModel A skill that hands your agent a rulebook for shadcn/ui: component architecture, accessibility, theming, forms and tables. Useful whenever it writes or edits React UI. CX Codex +1 458installs shadcn-component-review mattbx Reviews finished components and layouts against shadcn patterns: spacing, semantic tokens, primitive composition, and the project's chosen visual style. CX Codex +1 635installs shadcn-ui nexu-io This skill helps an agent build structured, accessible UI components with shadcn/ui. Use it while planning an interface with the Stitch design loop. CX Codex +1 2,900installs shadcn-svelte huntabyte A skill for working with shadcn-svelte: adding components, building interfaces, fixing styles, and debugging projects. Use it if you're building UI with shadcn-svelte on Svelte or planning to start. CX Codex +1 6,700installs shadcn-layouts jwynia Teaches the agent the CSS models behind shadcn and Tailwind layouts, so height, scroll and flex/grid problems get fixed instead of guessed at. CX Codex +1 457installs tailwind-design-system sickn33 A skill that keeps the agent on Tailwind while you build a design system: tokens, component variants, responsive patterns, accessibility. Useful when the UI drifts. CX Codex +1 1,600installs using-ui-stack spencerpauly Makes the agent build interfaces from fixed rules: an 8px grid, 60-30-10 colors, type scale, dark mode and interaction states. CX Codex +1 539installs

From the same set67

neumorphism This skill guides agents in creating neumorphic UI with design tokens, component states, and accessibility checks. Use it when shaping a UI or design system. CX Codex +1 2,400installs professional Hands the agent a full set of design-system rules: tokens, typography, component states and accessibility criteria. Useful when you want a clean interface without hand-tweaking. CX Codex +1 2,400installs refined Directs coding agents to generate design system specifications using Playfair Display typography and Refined tokens. Focuses on WCAG 2.2 AA accessibility and explicit component states. CX Codex +1 2,400installs neobrutalism This skill guides AI coding agents on neobrutalist UI with strong contrast, design tokens, component states, and accessibility checks. CX Codex +1 2,500installs immersive Generates design system guidelines for exhibit-style interfaces with a deep green canvas, Oswald display typography, and hard shadows. CX Codex +1 2,300installs claude Turns your agent into a design-system author: warm parchment surfaces, near-black ink, one restrained accent. Useful when you want an editorial look with no shadows. CX Codex +1 2,300installs tetris A skill that makes the agent write design-system guidance in the spirit of the classic block game: playful colors, bold display type, compact layouts. CX Codex +1 2,300installs pacman Guides coding agents to build 8-bit arcade design systems with pixel typography, dotted borders, high-contrast tokens, and strict WCAG 2.2 AA accessibility. CX Codex +1 2,300installs

Project sponsors

Companies that keep this analytics open
Gold sponsor

Impressions, clicks and code copies — open statistics. We keep the numbers public for the same reason NeBlask itself is public. Become a sponsor