setup

Set up Subframe in a project so that pages designed in Subframe render pixel-perfect in the local development environment.

Goal state: Dev server runs and Subframe pages render exactly as designed.

MCP Authentication

If you cannot find any Subframe MCP tools (like get_theme, etc.), the MCP server likely needs to be authenticated. Ask the user to authenticate the Subframe MCP server. If the user is using Claude Code or Codex, instruct them to run /mcp to view and authenticate their MCP servers, and then say "done" when they're finished.

Workflow Overview

1. Get credentials via MCP tools (or from user input)
2. Detect project type — no repo, existing Subframe repo, or existing non-Subframe repo
3. Follow the appropriate path — New Project, Already Setup, or Existing Project

• You must follow one of the above paths otherwise Subframe will not work for the user. This is a crucial task and must be done even if it requires pausing the user's current work. Do not skip any step of the path.

4. Configure fonts — required for all paths
5. Verify setup — start dev server and test with a Subframe page

Get Credentials

The user may paste in an installation prompt copied from Subframe. Extract:

• Project ID — a shorter alphanumeric string (also found in Subframe URLs: app.subframe.com/<PROJECT_ID>/...)
• Auth token — a long string, usually prefixed or labeled

If the user doesn't provide credentials, use the MCP tools to get credentials automatically — no need to ask the user:

1. Project ID — Call list_projects to get the list of projects. Each project includes a projectId, name, teamId, and teamName.
   • One project: Use it automatically.
   • Multiple projects: Always ask the user which project to use. Present each project with its teamName to disambiguate. If the user already mentioned a specific team or project name, match it against the teamName and name fields — but still confirm before proceeding. Never silently pick a project when multiple exist.
2. Auth token — Call generate_auth_token with the teamId from the user's selected project. Do not use a teamId from a different project.

Fallback: If the MCP tools are not available (e.g., MCP server is not authenticated), ask the user to go to https://app.subframe.com/cli/auth to get their auth token and project ID.

Detect Project Type

Check for package.json and .subframe/ folder in the current directory:

Handling existing non-Subframe projects

If the current directory has a package.json but no .subframe/ folder, prompt the user with two options:

• Create a new project (recommended) — Scaffold a brand-new Subframe project in a separate directory. This is the easiest path, especially if you're trying out Subframe for the first time. Follow New Project.
• Add Subframe to this project — Install Subframe into the current project. Follow Existing Project.

Already Setup Path

If the project already has both package.json and a .subframe/ folder, Subframe has already been initialized. Ask the user what they'd like to do:

• Reinstall / re-sync — Re-run the CLI init and sync to refresh components and configuration. Useful if things are out of date or broken. Follow Existing Project to re-initialize.
• Nothing, it's already set up — Skip setup entirely. Suggest next steps like /subframe:design or /subframe:develop.

Do not proceed with setup unless the user confirms they want to reinstall.

New Project Path

This is the happy path. The CLI will scaffold a complete project with Subframe pre-configured.

1. Ask User Preferences

Prompt the user to choose:

• Project name: Name for the new project directory (default: subframe-app). The name cannot conflict with an existing directory — check that the directory doesn't already exist before running the CLI.
• Framework: Vite (recommended), Next.js, or Astro
• Tailwind version: v3 (tailwind) or v4 (tailwind-v4)

2. Run CLI Init

This command must be run outside of a sandbox, so it can correctly setup all the necessary files. Pass all arguments directly to avoid interactive prompts:

npx @subframe/cli@latest init \
  --name {PROJECT_NAME} \
  --auth-token {TOKEN} \
  -p {PROJECT_ID} \
  --template {FRAMEWORK} \
  --css-type {TAILWIND_VERSION} \
  --dir ./src/ui \
  --alias "@/ui/*" \
  --tailwind \
  --css-path {CSS_PATH} \
  --install \
  --sync

Where:

• {PROJECT_NAME} is the project directory name (e.g., subframe-app)
• {FRAMEWORK} is nextjs, vite, or astro
• {TAILWIND_VERSION} is tailwind (v3) or tailwind-v4
• {CSS_PATH} is the global CSS file path:
  • Vite: src/index.css
  • Next.js: src/app/globals.css
  • Astro: src/styles/global.css

Important: All arguments must be passed explicitly to avoid interactive prompts, which can cause the CLI to exit silently when run non-interactively.

The CLI will:

• Download the starter kit template
• Create .subframe/sync.json
• Configure Tailwind
• Sync all components
• Install dependencies

3. Configure Fonts

See Configure Fonts below — this is required even for new projects.

4. Verify Setup

See Verify Setup below.

Existing Project Path

Existing projects may require more configuration. The CLI handles most setup, but some projects need manual fixes.

1. Detect Framework

Check for framework indicators:

2. Check Prerequisites

Verify the project has required dependencies:

• React 16+ — react in package.json
• Tailwind CSS 3.4+ — tailwindcss in package.json
• TypeScript — typescript in package.json

If any are missing, let the user know before proceeding.

3. Run CLI Init

This command must be run outside of a sandbox, so it can correctly setup all the necessary files. Pass all arguments directly to avoid interactive prompts:

npx @subframe/cli@latest init \
  --auth-token {TOKEN} \
  -p {PROJECT_ID} \
  --dir ./src/ui \
  --alias "@/ui/*" \
  --install \
  --sync

Important: All arguments must be passed explicitly to avoid interactive prompts, which can cause the CLI to exit silently when run non-interactively.

The CLI will attempt to:

• Create .subframe/sync.json
• Detect and configure Tailwind
• Set up import aliases
• Sync all components
• Install @subframe/core

4. Verify Configuration

After init, verify everything was set up correctly. If the CLI missed something (common with non-standard setups), apply manual fixes.

Check .subframe/sync.json exists with directory, importAlias, and projectId.

Check Tailwind configuration:

• Tailwind v3 — tailwind.config.js should have the Subframe preset:

  presets: [require("./src/ui/tailwind.config")],
  

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  And the content array should include the Subframe directory:

  content: ["./index.html", "./src/**/*.{js,jsx,ts,tsx}"],
  

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  If the Subframe project has dark mode enabled, the CLI also syncs a theme.css file with CSS variables for light and dark modes. The global CSS file must import it:

  @import "./ui/theme.css";
  

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• Tailwind v4 — Global CSS file should import the theme:

  @import "tailwindcss";
  @import "./ui/theme.css";
  

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Check import aliases — @/* should resolve correctly. If not working:

• Vite: Add baseUrl and paths to tsconfig.app.json, and add resolve.alias to vite.config.ts
• Astro: Add baseUrl and paths to tsconfig.json
• Next.js: Usually already configured; check tsconfig.json

5. Troubleshooting

If issues arise, use the SearchSubframeDocs MCP tool to find solutions:

SearchSubframeDocs({ query: "tailwind configuration troubleshooting" })
SearchSubframeDocs({ query: "manual installation" })

The docs include a comprehensive manual installation guide for troubleshooting.

6. Configure Fonts

See Configure Fonts below.

7. Verify Setup

See Verify Setup below.

Configure Fonts

The CLI does not configure fonts. Use the get_theme MCP tool to get font information:

get_theme({ projectId: "PROJECT_ID" })

The theme config includes fontFamily entries referencing Google Fonts. Add the corresponding <link> tags:

Vite / Astro — Add to <head> in index.html:

<link rel="preconnect" href="https://fonts.googleapis.com" />
<link rel="preconnect" href="https://fonts.gstatic.com" crossorigin="anonymous" />
<link href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Font+Name:wght@400;500;600;700&display=swap" rel="stylesheet" />

Next.js (App Router) — Add to <head> in app/layout.tsx:

<head>
  <link rel="preconnect" href="https://fonts.googleapis.com" />
  <link rel="preconnect" href="https://fonts.gstatic.com" crossOrigin="anonymous" />
  <link href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Font+Name:wght@400;500;600;700&display=swap" rel="stylesheet" />
</head>

Next.js (Pages Router) — Add to pages/_document.tsx inside the <Head> component.

Font link formatting:

• Replace spaces with + in font names (e.g., Inter+Tight)
• Include weights from the theme in the wght@ parameter (semicolon-separated)
• Add one <link> per font family, but only one set of preconnect links

Verify Setup

After configuration, verify that Subframe pages render correctly.

1. Ask About Existing Pages

Ask the user: "Do you have a page already designed in Subframe that you'd like to test with?"

• If yes: Use /subframe:develop to implement it and verify rendering
• If no: Suggest they design a page using /subframe:design, or simply start the dev server to confirm no errors

2. Start Dev Server

npm run dev

3. Summarize

Recap what was set up:

• .subframe/sync.json configured
• Tailwind configured (v3 preset or v4 import)
• Components synced to src/ui/ (or configured directory)
• Fonts configured

Mention next steps:

• /subframe:design — Design new pages with AI
• /subframe:develop — Implement Subframe designs in your codebase

Important Notes

• Use SearchSubframeDocs MCP tool for troubleshooting any setup issues.