descriptionTurn a reference image, screenshot, or mockup into token-driven, accessible code. Infer the design system from the reference (palette, type scale, spacing, radius, layout archetype), map it to the 3-tier tokens, rebuild it, then verify with the kit's gates. Use when the user provides a design/screenshot and wants matching UI code. # `invocation:` was not a field Claude Code reads - unknown frontmatter keys are # ignored without an error, so these six were auto-invocable the whole time they # were marked user-only. This is the field that actually does it. Skill: Image to Code
Requirements
This skill needs the full UX/UI Agent Skills kit: the gates, the references and
the design-system library. Install it with npx [email protected] init
or as the Claude Code plugin. npx [email protected] add copies the skill folder and
nothing else. Installed that way, this skill runs in guidance-only mode: no gate
runs, so it gives no verdict.
Step 0: is the kit here? Check once:
ls ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../../tokens >/dev/null 2>&1 && echo KIT_OK || echo KIT_MISSING
On KIT_MISSING, open your reply with: "Guidance-only mode: the UX/UI Agent
Skills kit is not installed here, so no gate ran and nothing below is
measured." Then work from this file and general practice, under three rules.
Do not guess or cite the contents of a kit file you could not open. State no
measured number (no contrast ratio, no N/N, no "passes WCAG"): write "not
verified" where one would go. End with a line Skipped (kit not installed):
that names every gate script this file tells you to run, then the install
command above.
Reconstruct a design from a visual reference as a real design system, not a one-off copy. Match the system (color/type/spacing language), never lift copyrighted imagery or brand assets.
Steps
- Read the reference like a designer. Infer and write down:
- Palette: 1 dominant surface family, text colors, 1 primary action + at most 1 accent (sample the hues; don't guess random hex).
- Type: family feel (geometric/grotesk/serif), the scale jumps, display vs. body contrast, weights.
- Spacing & density: base unit, section rhythm, card padding; airy vs. compact.
- Radius & depth: radius language (sharp/soft/pill), shadow vs. hairline separation.
- Layout archetype + sequence: bounded hero / asymmetric split / dense bento / editorial stack (
${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../../taste/design-taste.md → Variance Mandate).
- Anchor to a known system if it's close: browse
${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../../taste/aesthetic-systems.md / python3 ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../../scripts/design_systems.py search <term> and adopt that recipe to stabilize decisions.
- Build the token theme from the inferred values → 3-tier DTCG (
design-tokens skill); generate a single theme.css. Verify every color pair with ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../../scripts/contrast.py / ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../../scripts/validate_contrast.py (light + dark). A sampled brand color that fails AA gets adjusted; taste never overrides POUR.
- Rebuild layout + components token-driven via
${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../../frameworks/adapter-protocol.md + ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../../components/*: one shared primitive layer, all 8 states, a11y wired, no emoji (lucide), single theme. Apply taste (design-taste.md) so it doesn't regress to generic.
- Verify against the reference: render and screenshot it, compare side-by-side to the reference; run
node ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../../scripts/gate.mjs measure_render.mjs, lint_hardcodes.py, taste_audit.mjs, and npm run verify.
Verification (definition of done)
npm run verify is 100% (tokens resolve, contrast AA light+dark, no hardcodes/emoji, real-render WCAG).- The rebuilt UI uses ONE inferred token theme; no per-section palettes.
- A screenshot of the result visibly matches the reference's design language.
Honest limit: this matches the design system, not a pixel-perfect copy. Do not reproduce the reference's photographs, logos, or copyrighted copy. Substitute your own or generic placeholders.
Turn a reference image, screenshot, or mockup into token-driven, accessible code. Infer the design system from the reference (palette, type scale, spacing, radius, layout archetype), map it to the 3-t