Vois components

Vois Component Selection Skill

You are picking specific components from the workspace manifest. This skill answers "which component for this job" — not what structure (that's vois-patterns) and not how to style it (that's vois-tokens).

Read this skill after vois-patterns has determined the container type. If a vois_record_component_choice tool is available in your environment, call it for every component you pick before moving to vois-tokens; if not, just make the selection and move on.

The Quick Reference table below resolves most cases on its own. When it doesn't — ambiguous case, need the full decision tree, or need to justify the choice — read the matching reference file.

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Before You Pick a Component

1. Identify the job-to-be-done — phrase it as a verb plus object: "confirm a destructive action", "show transient feedback", "group related controls"

2. Find the matching row in Quick Reference, or the matching job in the index below

3. If ambiguous, read the matching reference file and walk its decision tree

4. If a vois_record_component_choice tool is available, call it with your selection:

   Tool: vois_record_component_choice
   Arguments:
     job: <the job-to-be-done, one sentence, e.g. "confirm destructive action">
     componentName: <exact component name from the manifest, e.g. "AlertDialog">
     alternativesConsidered: <optional array of component names you ruled out>
     reasoning: <optional one sentence on why you chose this over the alternatives>
   

   If that tool isn't available, this step is optional telemetry — proceed with your selection.

5. If no section matches your job and a vois_report_pattern_gap tool is available, call it:

   Tool: vois_report_pattern_gap
   Arguments:
     skillVersion: <this skill's version, from SKILL.md frontmatter>
     userGoal: <what the UI needs to do>
     attemptedFallback: <closest job ID from this skill, e.g. JOB-OVERLAY-INTERACTION>
     reasoning: <what the rubrics don't cover>
   

   There is no description/closestPathId/gapDescription argument shape on the real tool — use the fields above. If the tool isn't available, just note the gap in your own output and proceed with the closest match.

Note on workspace manifests. These rubrics use standard shadcn/ui component names. Your workspace may extend or rename them — e.g. Banner instead of Alert, DataTable instead of Table. Check your workspace manifest for the exact name; use the rubric logic to make the selection, then record the workspace-specific name.

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Quick Reference

Job	Use	Not
Confirm destructive action	AlertDialog	Dialog, Toast
Transient feedback, no action needed	Toast	Alert, Banner
Transient feedback, action required	Alert (persistent)	Toast
Focused overlay, short task	Dialog	Drawer, Sheet
Focused overlay, contextual to a list item	Sheet	Dialog
Group content, interactive item	Card	div, Surface
Switch between major content areas	Tabs	Segmented Control
Filter a list, 2–4 options	Segmented Control	Tabs
Choose from short list	Select	Combobox
Choose from long list / search	Combobox	Select
Search + trigger actions	Command	Select, Combobox
Short label, no interaction	Tooltip	Popover
Rich content, triggered by click	Popover	Tooltip
Immediate-effect binary setting	Switch	Checkbox
Form field binary / consent	Checkbox	Switch
Page load or content fetch	Skeleton	Spinner
Action in progress	Spinner (inline)	Skeleton
Measurable long operation	Progress	Spinner
True zero state	EmptyState with CTA	Blank space
Filtered to zero results	Inline message + clear	EmptyState
Row-level actions	DropdownMenu	ContextMenu, Command
Right-click enhancement	ContextMenu	DropdownMenu
2–5 sequential required steps	Stepper	Progress, Wizard
5+ full-page sequential steps	Wizard	Stepper
2+ levels deep in hierarchy	Breadcrumb	Back link
1 level deep	Back link	Breadcrumb
Simple collection, no sorting	List	Table
Comparable attributes, < 100 rows	Table	DataTable
100+ rows, sortable, bulk actions	DataTable	Table
Persistent app navigation	Sidebar	Drawer
Contextual tools for selected item	Sheet or Panel	Sidebar, Drawer

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Job Index

data/components-rules.json has the full decision tree (condition → recommended component, including nested thresholds and edge cases) plus every "why not X" rationale, for all 20 jobs — query it by id or number. This is now the only source for this content; the prose reference files it was extracted from have been removed as fully redundant.

Job ID	Job
JOB-CONFIRM-DESTRUCTIVE	Job 1 Confirm destructive action
JOB-TRANSIENT-FEEDBACK	Job 2 Transient feedback
JOB-OVERLAY-INTERACTION	Job 3 Focused overlay interaction
JOB-CONTAIN-CONTENT	Job 4 Contain a unit of content
JOB-SWITCH-VIEWS	Job 5 Switch views / filter
JOB-CHOOSE-FROM-LIST	Job 6 Choose from a list
JOB-CONTEXTUAL-INFO	Job 7 Contextual info (tooltip/popover)
JOB-TRIGGER-ACTION	Job 8 Trigger an action
JOB-ACCEPT-TEXT	Job 9 Accept text input
JOB-BINARY-PREFERENCE	Job 10 Binary preference
JOB-LABEL-CONTENT	Job 11 Label/categorize content
JOB-REPRESENT-USER	Job 12 Represent a user/group
JOB-LOADING-STATE	Job 13 Loading state
JOB-EMPTY-CONTENT	Job 14 Empty content
JOB-EXPOSE-ACTIONS	Job 15 Expose a set of actions
JOB-MULTISTEP-GUIDE	Job 16 Multi-step process
JOB-NAVIGATION-POSITION	Job 17 Position in a hierarchy
JOB-DISPLAY-DATA	Job 18 Display structured data
JOB-DATA-ENTRY	Job 19 Data entry surface
JOB-SECONDARY-CONTENT	Job 20 Secondary content / persistent nav

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Relationship to Other Skills

Read vois-patterns first. That skill determines the container type — settings page, form, table, dialog. Once you know the structure, come here to pick the specific components that fill it.

Read vois-tokens after. Once components are selected, vois-tokens handles tokens, spacing, animation, and accessibility implementation.

Righter for all copy. Component labels, empty state messages, button text, error copy — all of it goes through righter (which calls vois_get_microcopy first). This skill says nothing about words.