unhappy
State-first design pass — inventories and implements all non-happy states (loading, empty, error, partial, conflict, offline) before the happy path, and refactors impossible boolean state to proper state machines. Use when starting a new screen, reviewing an existing one for edge-case gaps, or when the user says "handle the error state" / "add loading states" / "what happens when data is missing". Invoke when the user asks for unhappy on their UI, or mentions 'unhappy' alongside design / UI / frontend work.
- Installs
- 537
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Install
Works with every agent the skills CLI supports.
npx skills add https://github.com/educlopez/ui-craft --skill unhappy- 01
Install
Run the command in your project. The CLI asks which agents to install for.
- 02
Describe the task
Ask your agent for something this skill covers. It loads unhappy automatically when relevant.
- 03
Review the result
The agent follows the SKILL.md steps, scripts and references bundled with the skill.
SKILL.md
The instructions your agent reads when the skill is triggered.
Context: this sub-skill is one lens of the broader ui-craft skill. If the ui-craft skill is also installed, read its SKILL.md first for Discovery + Anti-Slop + Craft Test, then apply the specific lens below.
Design every non-happy state for the UI at $ARGUMENTS. Load the ui-craft skill and read references/state-design.md.
Step 1 — Inventory. List every data source and interactive surface in the target. For each, enumerate its states:
| Surface | idle | loading | empty | error | partial | conflict | offline |
|---|
Mark each cell as designed (exists in code), missing (must add), or N/A (not applicable — e.g., a read-only view has no conflict state).
Step 2 — Fill the missing states. For each missing state, either stub it inline or add a follow-up task comment. Use references/state-design.md for:
- Skeleton sizing (match final layout, 200ms delay, 5s upper bound)
- Empty-state copy (why empty + next action + visual)
- Error-state contract (specific cause + one-click recovery + support ID)
- Offline handling (queue writes + reconcile on reconnect)
Step 3 — Audit the happy path. Flag every spot where the happy path assumes resource presence without checking. Fix with early-returns, state guards, or discriminated-union state handling. Booleans like isLoading && !error && data that allow impossible states are findings — refactor to a proper state machine or reducer.
Step 4 — Optimistic UI + reconciliation. For offline-likely actions (saves, sends, edits, toggles), implement optimistic UI with reconciliation on reconnect. Queue writes locally. Surface any rejected writes — never swallow them.
Knob gating (CRAFT_LEVEL):
| CRAFT_LEVEL | Required states to stub |
|---|---|
| ≤ 4 | idle, loading, error |
| 5-7 | idle, loading, empty, error, success |
| 8+ | all six — add partial, conflict, offline |
If CRAFT_LEVEL is unknown, default to 7.
Convergence note: To iterate until all required states are present, load skills/ui-craft/references/loops.md and run preset state-coverage (budget = the default loop budget defined in loops.md): after stubbing the highest-priority missing required state, re-inventory until all knob-required states are present or budget exhausted. Emit the pre-flight cost notice before iteration 1.
Output: edit the code directly. After each file, print the Review Format table from SKILL.md:
| Before | After | Why |
|---|---|---|
no loading state on <ProjectList> | skeleton rows matching final layout, 200ms delay | prevents "is it broken?" perception; avoids CLS |
| generic "Error" toast | inline error with specific cause + retry + support ID | recoverability (heuristic 9) |
One row per state added. No full diffs.
Next step: /harden — implement the states you just designed (rung 1).
FAQ
What does the unhappy skill do?
State-first design pass — inventories and implements all non-happy states (loading, empty, error, partial, conflict, offline) before the happy path, and refactors impossible boolean state to proper state machines. Use when starting a new screen, reviewing an existing one for edge-case gaps, or when the user says "handle the error state" / "add loading states" / "what happens when data is missing". Invoke when the user asks for unhappy on their UI, or mentions 'unhappy' alongside design / UI / frontend work.
How do I install unhappy?
Run npx skills add https://github.com/educlopez/ui-craft --skill unhappy in your project. The skills CLI detects the agents you use and copies the skill into the right folder. For Claude Code you can also place the skill folder at ~/.claude/skills/unhappy/ (personal) or .claude/skills/unhappy/ (project).
Which AI agents can use unhappy?
Any agent that supports the open Agent Skills format (a folder with a SKILL.md file), including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, Cline, OpenCode and more.
Is unhappy safe to install?
No partner security audit is available yet. Skills can run commands and scripts, so read the SKILL.md and any bundled files before installing.
Who maintains unhappy?
It is published by educlopez in educlopez/ui-craft. It has 537 recorded installs.
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