Tailwind design tokens

Tailwind Design Tokens

Overview

Make Tailwind feel like a design system, not utility confetti. Tailwind is fast, but the taste comes from tokens, constraints, and repeated decisions.

Website Nonnegotiables

• Inspect before coding: structure, framework, homepage or main entry file, styling system, JavaScript or interaction system, assets, and build commands.
• Before major changes, explain planned files and wait unless the user clearly says proceed, build, create, implement, or fix.
• Use existing project conventions first. Explain major new dependencies before adding them.
• Never ship generic visual work: no default card grids, placeholder copy, weak type, random gradients, stock-like media, or template heroes.
• Build version 1, inspect the rendered result, improve spacing, type, hierarchy, motion, media, hover states, and responsiveness, then run checks again.
• Run available lint, build, and test commands when possible. Report commands, changed files, and any untested areas honestly.
• Check desktop and mobile. Respect accessibility, semantic markup, focus states, and reduced-motion preferences.

Workflow

1. Read the user's brief and identify the website category, audience, content reality, visual references, and asset availability.
2. Inspect the project before editing when code exists.
3. Apply this skill's specific rules from references/tailwind-design-tokens-guide.md.
4. Explain planned files before major changes unless the user has clearly said to proceed.
5. Build, inspect, polish, and verify before final delivery.

Reference

Read references/tailwind-design-tokens-guide.md when this skill triggers for a concrete website build, redesign, visual review, or implementation plan.