
gpui-kit-design-guides
The normative Design Guides for GPUI Kit desktop applications. Read in full before designing or changing any screen, layout, spacing, visual hierarchy, color, density, component choice, interaction state, overlay, motion, data-heavy view, or interface copy in a GPUI Kit (gpui-kit / gpui-component) application, and before reviewing UI work for design quality. Also use when asked what the design rules are, or whether a UI decision follows them.
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Install
Works with every agent the skills CLI supports.
npx skills add https://github.com/longbridge/gpui-kit --skill gpui-kit-design-guides- 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 gpui-kit-design-guides 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.
GPUI Kit Design Guides
The guide is references/design-guides.md. It is a requirement, not inspiration. Read the guide file itself before doing UI work. Do not answer from this page, from an existing screen in the codebase, or from training data.
If the file is missing, fetch https://gpui-kit.com/docs/design-guides.md.
The guide is a verbatim copy of that page, so its link to ./coding-guides.md
means the Coding Guides in the gpui-kit skill (or https://gpui-kit.com/docs/coding-guides.md).
How to read it
Read the whole guide for a new screen or a redesign. For a narrow change, read
"Design thesis" and "Start from the task" first, then the section for the
change. Sections, in order (grep -n '^## ' references/design-guides.md):
| Section | Read when |
|---|---|
| Design thesis | Always |
| Learning from Shadcn | Choosing what to borrow from web component libraries |
| Start from the task | Always; task hierarchy, interaction promise, what to leave out |
| Visual language | Color, typography, spacing, radius, borders, elevation, density, icons |
| Layout patterns | Window structure, sidebars, toolbars, panels, forms, resizable regions |
| Components and composition | Picking a component, composing parts, when to build a new one |
| Interaction states | Hover, focus, pressed, selected, disabled, loading, validation, danger |
| Feedback and overlays | Dialog, sheet, popover, menu, notification, tooltip, dismissal, focus |
| Motion | Any animation or transition |
| Designing data-heavy interfaces | Tables, lists, trees, dashboards, dense inspectors |
| Interface language | Any user-facing text: labels, buttons, titles, errors, empty states |
| Internationalization and platform fit | Multi-locale copy, Chinese terminology, macOS/Windows conventions |
| Guidance for AI-generated interfaces | Always when an agent produces UI |
| Accessibility checklist | Before finishing |
| Design review checklist | Before finishing; run every item against the work |
Non-negotiables
A floor, not a substitute for the guide.
- Desktop before web convention. Keyboard access, window chrome, menus, dense data views, resizable regions, persistent navigation.
ButtonvsLink.Buttonfor every in-app command,ghostoroutlinewhen it should read quietly.Linkonly for external URLs and email addresses.- Tokens before values. No raw hex or
rgb(...); usecx.theme()semantic tokens and rem-based helpers. Any spacing number quoted in the guide is the current default scale, not a literal to repeat. - State must be visible. Hover, focus, selection, disabled, loading, validation, and destructive states each need distinct, consistent treatment.
- Overlays. Escape dismisses the topmost surface and returns focus to its trigger.
- Copy. Name the object and the verb:
Delete "Roadmap"?with aDeletebutton, notAre you sure?withOK.
Finish by running the Design review checklist against the work.
FAQ
What does the gpui-kit-design-guides skill do?
The normative Design Guides for GPUI Kit desktop applications. Read in full before designing or changing any screen, layout, spacing, visual hierarchy, color, density, component choice, interaction state, overlay, motion, data-heavy view, or interface copy in a GPUI Kit (gpui-kit / gpui-component) application, and before reviewing UI work for design quality. Also use when asked what the design rules are, or whether a UI decision follows them.
How do I install gpui-kit-design-guides?
Run npx skills add https://github.com/longbridge/gpui-kit --skill gpui-kit-design-guides 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/gpui-kit-design-guides/ (personal) or .claude/skills/gpui-kit-design-guides/ (project).
Which AI agents can use gpui-kit-design-guides?
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 gpui-kit-design-guides 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 gpui-kit-design-guides?
It is published by longbridge in longbridge/gpui-kit. It has 992 recorded installs.
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