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Context: this sub-skill is one lens of the broader ui-craft skill. If the ui-craft skill is also installed, read its SKILL.md first for Discovery + Anti-Slop + Craft Test, then apply the specific lens below.
Add color to the UI at $ARGUMENTS. Load the ui-craft skill.
The rule (from SKILL.md): 90%+ neutral, one accent, 3-5 placements per viewport. Reinforce this before adding anything. More color is not more design.
Before you touch anything — ask about brand. If a brand color exists, use it. If not, offer 2-3 options in OKLCH — include one warm (e.g., oklch(0.67 0.19 45)) and one cool (e.g., oklch(0.60 0.18 250)). Never default to blue.
Where color EARNS its place:
- Primary CTA background.
- One key metric tint — accent at ~8% opacity as a subtle background, accent at full strength on the number itself.
- Active state of the current nav item (underline, dot, or subtle tint — pick one).
- Status dots (success / warning / danger), 6-8px, no pills.
- Focus ring (
:focus-visible).
Where color does NOT go (anti-slop territory):
- Heading gradient text.
- Colored left or top borders on every card.
- Uniform chips on every tag/label.
- Emoji-as-icons to inject "color."
- Trend arrows in green/red when a plain
↑/↓ + tabular-nums would read cleaner.
Knob gating (VISUAL_DENSITY):
≤ 4 → single accent only, max 3 placements.5-7 → single accent, 3-5 placements, status dots allowed.8+ → semantic palette (success/warning/danger) allowed beyond the single accent — dashboards and data UIs earn this.
Over-colored? Reduce.
If the UI is already shouting with color, this command also removes color.
- Count accents per viewport. Cut to 1-3. The primary CTA keeps its accent; everything else goes neutral unless it's a true semantic state (success/warning/danger on a real status).
- Mute decorative color. Background patterns, tinted cards without meaning, colored left borders on every list item, heading gradients, colored pills on every tag → gone.
- Keep semantic, cut decorative. Status dots, focus rings, active-nav underlines stay. Color as ornament goes.
References to read: references/color.md (OKLCH, tokens, dark mode, contrast), references/accessibility.md (contrast ratios for AA/AAA).
Output: edit code directly. Lift any literal hex into CSS variables (--color-accent, --color-accent-tint) — respect existing token naming if present. Print the Review Format table. One row per placement, with the ratio check (AA/AAA) on text uses.
Next step: /tokens — promote the color decisions into the durable token spine so they survive the session (rung 2).