Design System

anthropics/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.

1k tokens

context cost

the whole folder, loaded on every use

files

instructions only

copies elsewhere

how many repositories repackaged it

23273

stars on the repo

on the repository, not the skill itself

Install

one command, takes just this skill from the repository

npx skills add https://github.com/anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins --skill design-system

The instruction itself

12 sections, as written by the author

/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.

How to use it

Copy the folder

Take anthropics/design-system from the repository into ~/.claude/skills for personal use, or into .claude/skills inside a project.

Check the name does not clash

The agent identifies a skill by the name field in its header. Two skills with the same name cannot sit side by side — one of them will be ignored.