MCPInstall

dark-pattern-audit

Audits codebases and product copy for deceptive dark patterns inferable from local source code and text — no runtime inspection or screenshots needed. Produces a structured narrative report with confidence grading, source locations, concise reasoning, and official pattern reference links for each detected pattern. Covers pricing, subscriptions, consent, modals, preselected controls, misleading CTAs, and more.

Installs
175
Last 24h
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Trending rank
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Security
Not audited

Install

Works with every agent the skills CLI supports.

npx skills add https://github.com/podo/design-agent-skills --skill dark-pattern-audit
  1. 01

    Install

    Run the command in your project. The CLI asks which agents to install for.

  2. 02

    Describe the task

    Ask your agent for something this skill covers. It loads dark-pattern-audit automatically when relevant.

  3. 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.

dark-pattern-audit

Catalogue stub — full skill: SidKH/skills

<!-- das:install:start — generated from stub.yaml by `npm run generate`; edit stub.yaml, not this block -->

Decision tree

  1. Is the full skill already installed?

    • Global: f=~/.agents/skills/dark-pattern-audit/SKILL.md; [ -f "$f" ] && ! grep -q "^das:" "$f" && echo "installed" || echo "pointer"
    • Project: f=.agents/skills/dark-pattern-audit/SKILL.md; [ -f "$f" ] && ! grep -q "^das:" "$f" && echo "installed" || echo "pointer"
    • installed → the skill is installed as dark-pattern-audit, invoke it and proceed
    • pointer → go to step 2
  2. Detect scope, then install:

    [ -e ~/.agents/skills/dark-pattern-audit ] && echo "global" || echo "project"
    

    Global:

    npx skills add SidKH/skills --skill dark-pattern-audit -g -y
    

    Project:

    npx skills add SidKH/skills --skill dark-pattern-audit -y
    

    Claude Code: send a command as a chat message starting with ! to run it without leaving the conversation.

Heads-up

  • License: no LICENSE file in the repo
<!-- das:install:end -->

Invoke after install

  • Skill name: dark-pattern-audit
  • The upstream skill sets disable-model-invocation: true: an agent will not start it on its own. Ask the user to run /dark-pattern-audit (in Claude Code), or to name the skill explicitly in the prompt.
  • Trigger phrases: "dark pattern audit", "dark pattern detection", "deceptive design audit"

What it does

Static analysis of a codebase for dark patterns — purely from source code and copy, without runtime access:

Surfaces covered:

  • Pricing, checkout, billing, fees, cart, upsells
  • Subscriptions, trials, renewals, cancellation flows
  • Consent dialogs, privacy prompts, notification permissions
  • Modals, interstitials, countdown timers, fake stock counters
  • Preselected controls, bundled choices, forced steps
  • Misleading CTA text, low-contrast disclosures, hidden disclaimers

Output per finding:

  • Pattern name + official reference link
  • Confidence grade (conservative — only high-confidence findings reported)
  • Exact source location (file, line, component)
  • Concise reasoning grounded in local evidence

Workflow: Confirm scope → load pattern catalog → search evidence in code/copy → report

When NOT to use

  • General design quality audit (typography, dark mode, RTL) → use design-auditor
  • WCAG accessibility compliance → use wcag-ai-skill
  • AI writing pattern detection → use humanize-text
  • Ethical design strategy → use plan-design-review

FAQ

What does the dark-pattern-audit skill do?

Audits codebases and product copy for deceptive dark patterns inferable from local source code and text — no runtime inspection or screenshots needed. Produces a structured narrative report with confidence grading, source locations, concise reasoning, and official pattern reference links for each detected pattern. Covers pricing, subscriptions, consent, modals, preselected controls, misleading CTAs, and more.

How do I install dark-pattern-audit?

Run npx skills add https://github.com/podo/design-agent-skills --skill dark-pattern-audit 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/dark-pattern-audit/ (personal) or .claude/skills/dark-pattern-audit/ (project).

Which AI agents can use dark-pattern-audit?

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 dark-pattern-audit 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 dark-pattern-audit?

It is published by podo in podo/design-agent-skills. It has 175 recorded installs.

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