impeccable

What this skill does

Designs and iterates production-grade frontend interfaces. Real working code, committed design choices, exceptional craft.

## Setup

You MUST do these steps before proceeding:

1. Run `node .claude/skills/impeccable/scripts/context.mjs` once per session. If you've already seen its output in this conversation, do not re-run it. The script either prints the project's PRODUCT.md (and DESIGN.md when present) as a markdown block, or tells you it's missing. Follow whatever it prints. **If it reports `NO_PRODUCT_MD`, stop and follow `reference/init.md` before doing anything else.** If the output ends with an `UPDATE_AVAILABLE` directive, follow it (ask the user once about updating, then continue). It never blocks the current task.
2. If the user invoked a sub-command (`craft`, `shape`, `audit`, `polish`, ...), you MUST read `reference/<command>.md` next. Non-optional. The reference defines the command's flow; without it you will skip steps the user expects.
3. Familiarize yourself with any existing design system, conventions, and components in the code. Read at least one project file (CSS / tokens / theme / a representative component or page). **Required even when you've loaded a sub-command reference in step 2.** Don't reinvent the wheel; use what's there when it works, branch out when the UX wins.
4. Read the matching register reference. **This is non-optional; skipping it produces generic output.** If the project is marketing, a landing page, a campaign, long-form content, or a portfolio (design IS the product), read `reference/brand.md`. If it is app UI, admin, a dashboard, or a tool (design SERVES the product), read `reference/product.md`. Pick by first match: (1) task cue ("landing page" vs "dashboard"); (2) surface in focus (the page, file, or route being worked on); (3) `register` field in PRODUCT.md.
5. **If the project is brand-new (no existing CSS tokens / theme / committed brand colors found in step 3)**, run `node .claude/skills/impeccable/scripts/palette.mjs` to receive a brand seed color and composition guidance. This is the anchor for your primary brand color. Compose the rest of the palette (bg, surface, ink, accent, muted) around it per the script's instructions. Use OKLCH throughout. **Skip this step only if step 3 found committed brand colors in existing tokens; in that case identity-preservation wins.**

## Design guidance

Produce ready-to-ship, production-grade code, not prototypes or starting points. Take no shortcuts unless the user asks for them (when in doubt, ask). Don't stop until arriving at a complete implementation (beautiful, responsive, fast, precise, bug-free, on brand). You take attention to detail seriously: every page, section or component crafted is battle tested using the tools available to you (browser screenshotting, computer use, etc). Claude is capable of extraordinary work. Don't hold back.

### General rules

#### Color

- **Verify contrast.** Body text must hit ≥4.5:1 against its background; large text (≥18px or bold ≥14px) needs ≥3:1. Placeholder text needs the same 4.5:1, not the muted-gray default. The most common failure: muted gray body text on a tinted near-white. If the contrast is even close, bump the body color toward the ink end of the ramp; light gray "for elegance" is the single biggest reason AI designs feel hard to read.
- Gray text on a colored background looks washed out. Use a darker shade of the background's own hue, or a transparency of the text color.

#### Typography

- Cap body line length at 65–75ch.
- Hierarchy through scale + weight contrast (≥1.25 ratio between steps). Avoid flat scales.
- Cap font-family count at 3 (display + body + optional mono). More than 3 reads as indecision, not richness. One well-tuned family with weight contrast usually beats three competing typefaces.
- Don't pair fonts that are similar but not identical (two geometric sans-serifs, two humanist sans-serifs). Pair on a contrast axis (serif + sans, geometric + humanist) or use one family in multiple weights.
- No all-caps body copy. Sentences in ALL CAPS are unreadable at body sizes.
- Hero / display heading ceiling: clamp() max ≤ 6rem (~96px). Above that the page is shouting, not designing.
- Display heading letter-spacing floor: ≥ -0.04em. Anything tighter and letters touch; cramped, not "designed".
- Use `text-wrap: balance` on h1–h3 for even line lengths; `text-wrap: pretty` on long prose to reduce orphans.

#### Layout

- Vary spacing for rhythm.
- Cards are the lazy answer. Use them only when they're truly the best affordance. Nested cards are always wrong.
- Flexbox for 1D, Grid for 2D. Don't default to Grid when `flex-wrap` would be simpler.
- For responsive grids without breakpoints: `repeat(auto-fit, minmax(280px, 1fr))`.
- Build a semantic z-index scale (dropdown → sticky → modal-backdrop → modal → toast → tooltip). Never arbitrary values like 999 or 9999.

#### Motion
- Motion should be intentional, and not be an afterthought. consider it as part of the build.
- Don't animate CSS layout properties unless truly needed.
- Ease out with exponential curves (ease-out-quart / quint / expo). No bounce, no elastic.
- Use libraries for more advanced motion needs (e.g. motion, gsap, anime.js, lenis etc)
- Reduced motion is not optional. Every animation needs a `@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce)` alternative: typically a crossfade or instant transition.
- Staggering the items within one list is legitimate. The tell is the uniform reflex (one identical entrance applied to every section), not motion itself; each reveal should fit what it reveals. Suppressing the reflex is never a reason to ship a page with no motion at all.
- Reveal animations must enhance an already-visible default. Don't gate content visibility on a class-triggered transition; transitions pause on hidden tabs and headless renderers, so the reveal never fires and the section ships blank.
- Premium motion materials are not just transform/opacity. Blur, backdrop-filter, clip-path, mask, and shadow/glow are part of the palette when they materially improve the effect and stay smooth.

#### Interaction

- Dropdowns rendered with `position: absolute` inside an `overflow: hidden` or `overflow: auto` container will be clipped. Use the native `<dialog>` / popover API, `position: fixed`, or a portal to escape the stacking context.

### Copy

- Every word earns its place. No restated headings, no intros that repeat the title.
- **No em dashes.** Use commas, colons, semicolons, periods, or parentheses. Also not `--`.
- **No aphoristic-cadence body copy as a default voice.** If multiple section copy blocks share a single repeating sentence rhythm, especially a contrarian-sounding closer, rewrite. Specific, not aphoristic.
- **No marketing buzzwords.** The streamline / empower / supercharge / leverage / unleash / transform / seamless / world-class / enterprise-grade / next-generation / cutting-edge / game-changer / mission-critical family of phrases. Pick a specific noun and a verb that describes what the product literally does.
- Button labels: verb + object. "Save changes" beats "OK"; "Delete project" beats "Yes". The label should say what will happen.
- Link text needs standalone meaning. "View pricing plans" beats "Click here"; screen readers announce links out of context.

### New projects only (when no prior work exists)

#### Color & Theme

- Use OKLCH.
- **The cream / sand / beige body bg is the saturated AI default of 2026.** The whole warm-neutral band (OKLCH L 0.84-0.97, C < 0.06, hue 40-100) reads as cream/sand/paper/parchment regardless of what you call it. Token names like `--paper`, `--cream`, `--sand`, `--bone`, `--flour`, `--linen`, `--parchment`, `--wheat`, `--biscuit`, `--ivory` are tells in themselves. If the brief is "warm, traditional, family-coastal-Italian" or "magazine-warm" or "editorial-restraint", DO NOT translate that into a near-white warm-tinted bg; that's the AI move. Pick: (a) a saturated brand color as the body (te