design-system

anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins · updated Apr 8, 2026

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

If you see unfamiliar placeholders or need to check which tools are connected, see CONNECTORS.md.

skill.md

/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

  1. Consistency over creativity — The system exists so teams don't reinvent the wheel
  2. Flexibility within constraints — Components should be composable, not rigid
  3. Document everything — If it's not documented, it doesn't exist
  4. 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] 
how to use design-system

How to use design-system on Cursor

AI-first code editor with Composer

1

Prerequisites

Before installing skills in Cursor, ensure your development environment meets these requirements:

  • Cursor installed and configured on your development machine
  • Node.js version 16.0+ with npm package manager (verify with node --version)
  • Active project directory or workspace where you want to add design-system
2

Execute installation command

Execute the skills CLI command in your project's root directory to begin installation:

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

The skills CLI fetches design-system from GitHub repository anthropics/knowledge-work-plugins and configures it for Cursor.

3

Select Cursor when prompted

The CLI will show a list of available agents. Use arrow keys to navigate and space to select Cursor:

◆ Which agents do you want to install to?
│ ── Universal (.agents/skills) ── always included ────
│ • Amp
│ • Antigravity
│ • Cline
│ • Codex
│ ●Cursor(selected)
│ • Cursor
│ • Windsurf
4

Verify installation

Confirm successful installation by checking the skill directory location:

.cursor/skills/design-system

Reload or restart Cursor to activate design-system. Access the skill through slash commands (e.g., /design-system) or your agent's skill management interface.

Security & Verification Notice

We perform automated surface-level scans (Gen AI Scanner, Socket, Snyk) during installation. These checks detect common vulnerabilities but do not guarantee complete security. Always review skill source code and verify the publisher's reputation before production use.

Skills execute code in your development environment. Always verify the publisher's identity, review recent commits, and test in isolated environments before production deployment.

List & Monetize Your Skill

Submit your Claude Code skill and start earning

GET_STARTED →

Use Cases

Task Automation & Efficiency

Automate repetitive workflows and reduce manual effort

Example

Generate reports, summarize documents, draft communications

Save 3-5 hours per week on routine tasks

Knowledge Enhancement

Learn new skills, understand complex topics, get expert guidance

Example

Explain concepts, provide examples, suggest learning resources

Accelerate learning and skill development by 2x

Quality Improvement

Enhance output quality through reviews, suggestions, and refinements

Example

Review drafts, suggest improvements, catch errors

Improve work quality by 30-40% with less effort

Implementation Guide

Prerequisites

  • Claude Desktop or compatible AI client with skill support
  • Clear understanding of task or problem to solve
  • Willingness to iterate and refine outputs

Time Estimate

15-45 minutes depending on use case complexity

Installation Steps

  1. 1.Install skill using provided installation command
  2. 2.Test with simple use case relevant to your work
  3. 3.Evaluate output quality and relevance
  4. 4.Iterate on prompts to improve results
  5. 5.Integrate into regular workflow if valuable

Common Pitfalls

  • Expecting perfect results without iteration
  • Not providing enough context in prompts
  • Using skill for tasks outside its intended scope
  • Accepting outputs without review and validation

Best Practices

✓ Do

  • +Start with clear, specific prompts
  • +Provide relevant context and constraints
  • +Review and refine all outputs before using
  • +Iterate to improve output quality
  • +Document successful prompt patterns

✗ Don't

  • Don't use without understanding skill limitations
  • Don't skip validation of outputs
  • Don't share sensitive information in prompts
  • Don't expect skill to replace human judgment

💡 Pro Tips

  • Be specific about desired format and style
  • Ask for multiple options to choose from
  • Request explanations to understand reasoning
  • Combine AI efficiency with human expertise

When to Use This

✓ Use When

Use when skill capabilities match your task, clear ROI on time saved, and you can validate outputs. Best for repetitive tasks, learning, and quality improvement.

✗ Avoid When

Avoid when task requires deep expertise you can't validate, involves sensitive decisions, or when learning process is more valuable than speed of completion.

Learning Path

  1. 1Familiarize yourself with skill capabilities and limitations
  2. 2Start with low-risk, non-critical tasks
  3. 3Progress to more complex and valuable use cases
  4. 4Build expertise through regular use and experimentation

Discussion

Product Hunt–style comments (not star reviews)
  • No comments yet — start the thread.
general reviews

Ratings

4.448 reviews
  • Nia Haddad· Dec 28, 2024

    Solid pick for teams standardizing on skills: design-system is focused, and the summary matches what you get after install.

  • Shikha Mishra· Dec 16, 2024

    design-system has been reliable in day-to-day use. Documentation quality is above average for community skills.

  • Ganesh Mohane· Dec 12, 2024

    I recommend design-system for anyone iterating fast on agent tooling; clear intent and a small, reviewable surface area.

  • Charlotte Rao· Dec 4, 2024

    Registry listing for design-system matched our evaluation — installs cleanly and behaves as described in the markdown.

  • Nia Gonzalez· Nov 23, 2024

    Solid pick for teams standardizing on skills: design-system is focused, and the summary matches what you get after install.

  • Emma Sharma· Nov 19, 2024

    Registry listing for design-system matched our evaluation — installs cleanly and behaves as described in the markdown.

  • Sakshi Patil· Nov 3, 2024

    Useful defaults in design-system — fewer surprises than typical one-off scripts, and it plays nicely with `npx skills` flows.

  • Chaitanya Patil· Oct 22, 2024

    design-system is among the better-maintained entries we tried; worth keeping pinned for repeat workflows.

  • Emma Reddy· Oct 14, 2024

    We added design-system from the explainx registry; install was straightforward and the SKILL.md answered most questions upfront.

  • Layla Torres· Oct 10, 2024

    design-system fits our agent workflows well — practical, well scoped, and easy to wire into existing repos.

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