Prototype
Skill joaquimscosta/arkhe-claude-plugins/plugins/design-intent/skills/prototype
Rapid UI prototyping — generates 3 visually distinct HTML/CSS components from a text prompt and serves them in a live browser gallery. Use when user runs /prototype, asks to "prototype a UI", "mock up a component", "generate HTML mockups", "create UI variations", "design exploration", "quick UI concept", or wants to see multiple visual approaches to a component. Also trigger when user says "show me different ways to build...", "explore different designs for...", or wants rapid visual exploration of a UI idea — even without saying "prototype" explicitly.From its SKILL.md
npx -y skills add joaquimscosta/arkhe-claude-plugins --skill prototypeAssembled from the repository path, not quoted from the project. Check it against their README if it does not work.
3 things to look at
- skips confirmationTells the agent to proceed without asking first, 1 time: "do not pause between phases or ask for confirmation".
- 21 stars21 stars. Stars are a popularity signal and not a quality one, but at this level it is likely that nobody has read this closely except its author, and you would be relying on your own review.
- runs commandsInstructs the agent to run 4 commands, including `PLUGIN_ROOT=$(dirname "$(dirname "$(which arkhe-preview)")")` and 3 more.
SKILL.md
6.5 KB, ~1.5k tokens by cl100k_base, as published. Nobody here has run it
Prototype
Generate 3 visually distinct, high-fidelity HTML/CSS UI components from a single text prompt, then serve them in a live browser gallery so the user can click through and pick a favorite. Each component adopts a unique design persona based on physical/material metaphors — producing genuinely different visual approaches, not just color swaps.
Quick Start
Parse $ARGUMENTS for the component description, optional --vary N flag, optional --dir <path>, and optional --continue flag.
- If
--continueis present, skip to Next-Turn Pick Capture. - If
--vary Nis present, skip to the Variation Workflow. - Otherwise, follow Phases 1-3 below in a single pass — do not pause between phases or ask for confirmation.
If the description is vague ("button", "form"), just generate. The value is speed. Interpret generously.
Phase 1: Style Direction
Think of 3 distinct design direction names using physical/material metaphors. Pattern: [Adjective] + [Material/Process] + [Form/Action].
Each metaphor should imply different CSS techniques — not just colors. See the materiality-to-CSS mapping in WORKFLOW.md.
Examples (invent your own):
- "Asymmetrical Rectilinear Blockwork" (Grid-heavy, primary pigments)
- "Grainy Risograph Layering" (
feTurbulencegrain,mix-blend-mode: multiply) - "Kinetic Wireframe Suspension" (thin lines, floating silhouettes)
- "Spectral Prismatic Diffusion" (
backdrop-filter, caustic refraction)
Phase 2: Artifact Generation
For each style, generate a complete, self-contained <!DOCTYPE html> page (100-300 lines):
- Materiality: the style metaphor drives every CSS choice
- Typography: Google Fonts via
<link>, pair a bold sans with a refined monospace - Motion: subtle CSS animations and hover transitions
- IP Safeguard: no artist names, brand names, or trademarks
- Layout: bold negative space, avoid generic card grids
- Content: realistic placeholder content, not lorem ipsum
Output: raw HTML (no markdown fences), with inline <style> and Google Fonts <link>.
Phase 3: Live Preview Session
Start an arkhe-preview live session (from the devtools plugin) and write the artifacts into the session's content/. The server serves the gallery fragment, watches for changes, and logs the user's variant pick to events.jsonl.
- Resolve the gallery example flavor:
PLUGIN_ROOT=$(dirname "$(dirname "$(which arkhe-preview)")") EX="$PLUGIN_ROOT/skills/browser-companion/examples/gallery" - Start the server:
arkhe-preview start \ --project-dir "$DIR" \ --frame-template "$EX/frame-template.html" \ --helper "$EX/helper.js"$DIRdefaults to.prototype/, or the value of--dir. - Parse the JSON line on stdout to get
url,screen_dir,state_dir,session_dir. - Write each artifact into
$screen_dir:01-{prompt-slug}-{style1-slug}.html02-...03-...
- Write
$DIR/manifest.json(top-level pointer used by--vary/--continue). See WORKFLOW.md for the schema. - Write
99-gallery.htmlLAST into$screen_dirso it has the newest mtime and is served atGET /. Template + inline swap-on-click JS in WORKFLOW.md. - Print the terminal summary (URL, content/pick paths, variant names, next-step hints) and end the turn.
The user clicks a variant in the sidebar; the iframe canvas swaps; the gallery helper.js logs the click to events.jsonl (no agent involvement needed during the click).
Next-Turn Pick Capture
This skill follows a turn-based loop, not realtime polling. After Phase 3 ends, the user picks at their leisure. Read their pick when they next reply.
Two paths to the pick:
-
Explicit (
/prototype --continue): read$DIR/manifest.json, then readmanifest.state_dir/events.jsonl. Find the most recent event withaction === "select-variant". Report the chosen position + style, and offer next steps (/prototype --vary Nto iterate;/design-intent ...to implement). -
Implicit (next user message): if the previous turn ran
/prototypeand the user's next message is conversational ("ok", "I like the second one", "what did I pick?"), check whethermanifest.jsonexists in the most recent prototype dir (default.prototype/); if so, readevents.jsonland merge the structured pick with the user's text before responding.
If events.jsonl doesn't exist or has no select-variant events, the user didn't click — fall back to their terminal text only.
See WORKFLOW.md for the event schema and the resolution steps.
Variation Workflow
When --vary N is passed (N = 1, 2, or 3):
- Run
arkhe-preview status <manifest.session_dir>. If the server is dead (owner-pid watchdog or 30-min idle), restart it with the same--project-dirand copy existing artifacts into the newscreen_dirbefore continuing. See WORKFLOW.md for the restart recipe. - Read
$DIR/manifest.jsonto find the Nth artifact (artifacts[N-1].abs_pathor.fileinsidescreen_dir). - Read the existing artifact HTML to ground the variations.
- Generate 3 radical conceptual variations using NEW physical metaphors (different from the original and from each other).
- Write variation files into
$screen_diras{original-slug}-var-1.html,-var-2.html,-var-3.html. - Update
99-gallery.htmlto show the variations (or write99-gallery-vary.htmlLAST). Updatemanifest.jsonwith avariationsarray.
See WORKFLOW.md for the full variation workflow.
References
- WORKFLOW.md — Manifest schema, gallery fragment template, materiality-to-CSS mapping, arkhe-preview details
- EXAMPLES.md — Usage examples and sample sessions
- TROUBLESHOOTING.md — Common issues (port collision, server not starting, can't find pick)
What ships with it: 3 files
29.7 KB alongside SKILL.md
- EXAMPLES.md5.5 KB
- TROUBLESHOOTING.md7.2 KB
- WORKFLOW.md17.0 KB