Imported from lidge-jun/ima2-gen (
skills/ima2-front/SKILL.md). Install upstream withnpx skills add lidge-jun/ima2-gen --skill ima2-front. Copyright stays with the author.
ima2 Frontend — Domain-Correct Frontend Engineering
Setup
npm install -g ima2-gen # install globally (Node.js >= 20)
ima2 setup # first-time auth (GPT OAuth recommended)
ima2 serve # start local server
ima2 ping # verify
ima2 capabilities --json # check models, limits, providers
ima2 defaults --json # inspect default model/reasoning
Agent bootstrap: ima2 ping first. If unreachable: ima2 serve &. If not
installed: npm install -g ima2-gen && ima2 setup. Use ima2 skill path to
locate the skills directory; read ../ima2-uiux/SKILL.md for design direction
and ../ima2-front/SKILL.md (this file) for implementation.
Build production-grade frontend implementations from an established product/design direction. This skill owns HTML/CSS/component/runtime implementation, responsive behavior, accessibility wiring, visual verification, and frontend platform rules.
Role separation: For design judgment — typography/color/layout direction, UX decision gates, product personalities, or vague visual briefs — load
ima2-uiuxfirst. This skill implements the chosen direction;ima2-uiuxmakes the design decisions. Implementation anti-slop enforcement stays here; design taste/pattern judgment lives there.
C0/C1 work (small local patches): For small patches, skip the full reference chain.
Modular References
Loading references via CLI: Recommended: install skills to your agent's skill directory.
ima2 skill install --dir <agent-skill-path> # agent provides its own path ima2 skill install --tmp # ephemeral fallbackThe agent determines its own skill directory (e.g.
~/.codex/skills/,./skills/, etc.) and passes it via--dir. After install, SKILL.md andreferences/are on disk — the agent reads them natively via relative paths.Ad-hoc reading (without install):
ima2 skill front refs # list all reference modules with line counts ima2 skill front ref motion # print one module (basename match) ima2 skill front ref stacks/react # print a nested module
| File | When to Read | What It Covers |
|---|---|---|
references/crud-ui.md |
C2 list/detail/form product screens | State coverage (loading/empty/error/permission), forms, objective UX gates |
references/anti-slop.md |
New components or UI redesign | 2026 AI slop patterns, Korean slop, oversized text, fake assets, default UI smells |
references/aesthetics.md |
Implementing an established visual direction | Domain-correct typography, color, composition, serif three-role system, expressive/functional layers, AI-brand grammar |
references/product-density.md |
Apps, tools, dashboards | Density profiles for landing, consumer app, SaaS, ops, finance, devtools |
references/asset-requirements.md |
Any public/product/visual surface | Required screenshots, images, diagrams, charts, generated bitmaps, or 3D assets, mockup production pipeline |
references/visual-verification.md |
Changes affecting rendered layout | Screenshot, viewport, text fit, state, asset, and motion verification |
references/korea-2026.md |
Korean-first or Korea-facing UI | Korean service patterns, CJK typography, formats, mobile flows, Korean serif/myeongjo display |
references/ux-writing-ko.md |
Korean UI copy | Natural Korean labels, error messages, tone, spacing, punctuation |
references/soft-3d-asset-gates.md |
3D/miniature/character-like visuals | Toss-style soft 3D vs generic cute asset slop, domain gates |
references/motion.md |
Motion/animation needed | CSS animations, Framer Motion, CSS scroll-driven timelines, pointer-proximity chip motion (magnetic/dock), View Transitions, domain gates, organic bg + capsule label, product-led hero motion |
references/liquid-glass.md |
Translucent materials, glass chrome, pill-chip surfaces | Liquid Glass layer discipline, named material states (pill-at-top/pill-scrolled/media-overlay/clear), FE-PILL-NEST-01, blur-free pill alternative, perf + a11y gates |
references/top-bar.md |
Top/nav bar composition, sticky chrome | Top-bar grammar: geometry, slots, scroll-state contract (FE-TOPBAR-STATE-01), hover-surface contract (FE-TOPBAR-HOVER-01), domain gate, mobile collapse |
references/iterative-design.md |
Multi-round design | LLM convergence problem, Diverge→Kill→Mutate process, upgrade techniques |
references/prototype-variants.md |
Runnable design variants | ?variant= switchers, structurally distinct options, cleanup after winner selection |
references/typography-wrapping.md |
Heading/descriptor text changes | text-wrap: balance/pretty, natural phrase breaks at any width, dynamic-viewport verification, ch units, Korean keep-all/orphan rules (verified 2026-07-07) |
references/logo-sections.md |
Integration/partner logo display | Marquee CSS, static grid, orphan cell fix, grayscale treatment, no individual hover |
references/brand-asset-sourcing.md |
Brand logos in UI | Simple Icons/SVGL sourcing, AI agent strategy, placeholder hierarchy, legal guide |
references/reference-capture.md |
Cloning/analyzing other sites | HTML+asset capture mechanics (pageAssets/curl), analysis-only legal line, provenance manifest, never-ship gate |
references/section-level-sourcing.md |
Section-level design work (hero, pricing, testimonials, etc.) | Per-section-type reference sources from Land-book, One Page Love, and Lapa.ninja |
../ima2-uiux/references/compositional-patterns.md |
Implementing an award-informed composition | Canonical hero, navigation, motion, and content-structure patterns with implementation gates |
../ima2-uiux/references/design-award-sources.md |
Sourcing real-world design references | Tiered award/gallery source guide and search tactics |
../ima2-uiux/references/design-trends.md |
Implementing a dated trend or checking whether a technique is stable | 2026-07-14 prevalence, maturity, signature status, risks, and re-crawl rules |
references/dropdown-layer.md |
Dropdowns, selects, menus, pickers | Unified dropdown design layer (FE-DROPDOWN-LAYER-01): one skin over headless primitives, DS-detection precedence, scope table, mobile sheet |
references/layout-discipline.md |
Landing/marketing pages | Hero, eyebrow, section repetition, bento, zigzag, per-section responsive transforms, hero composition grammar (2026) |
references/consistency-locks.md |
Any multi-section page | Color, shape, theme consistency per page |
references/responsive-viewport.md |
Layout or breakpoint changes | Canonical breakpoints, page containment, container queries, responsive images, safe area, split-screen |
references/mobile-ux.md |
Consumer/landing pages with mobile traffic | Thumb zone, touch targets, sticky CTA, mobile section composition, bottom sheet, portrait media |
references/seo-baseline.md |
Public-facing sites, SSR/SSG | SEO meta, JSON-LD, robots.txt, GEO strategies, OG/Twitter cards |
references/a11y-patterns.md |
Interactive widgets, modals, forms | ARIA patterns, focus management, keyboard nav, screen reader testing |
references/performance-budget.md |
Launch / audit | CWV targets, bundle budgets, font loading, image optimization, build gates |
references/theme-switching.md |
Dark mode / theme | CSS custom properties toggle, FOWT prevention, transition, component checklist |
references/color-system.md |
Color tokens, palettes wiring, theme-ready CSS | Token layering, oklch() + fallback discipline, color-mix(), light-dark(), Tailwind v4/shadcn wiring, contrast gates (verified 2026-07-07) |
references/i18n-global.md |
Multi-language / RTL | RTL layout, pluralization, Intl API, locale switching, content expansion |
See also: ima2-uiux skill |
Vague requests, onboarding, UX states | Intent discovery, design isms, product personalities, onboarding/empty/error patterns |
references/stacks/react.md |
React projects | Server Components, hooks, state, TanStack Query, shadcn/ui, performance |
references/stacks/nextjs.md |
Next.js projects | App Router, RSC, image optimization, data fetching, middleware |
references/stacks/vanilla.md |
HTML+CSS+JS (no framework) | Zero-dependency, viewport fitting, responsive CSS, progressive enhancement |
references/stacks/svelte.md |
Svelte/SvelteKit projects | Svelte 5 Runes, SvelteKit 2 routing/actions, snippets, migration from Svelte 4 |
references/stacks/mobile-native.md |
Native mobile app development | RN/Expo current pairing, Flutter 3.44, KMP, Swift 6, framework selection |
references/stacks/astro.md |
Astro projects | Islands architecture, multi-framework shell, content collections, SSG/SSR/hybrid |
Start with anti-slop.md, aesthetics.md, responsive-viewport.md, and visual-verification.md. Add domain/locale/stack references only when relevant.
For C2 ordinary app screens (form/table/list/detail), crud-ui.md alone suffices; add the style references above for marketing/visual surfaces or C3+ work.
When frontend choices depend on current framework, design-system, browser API,
library behavior, browser-rendered source evidence, or package/source freshness,
read the active search skill and follow its source-fetch and evidence-status
rules before treating external material as proof.
Verification grounding
STRICT: For render/executable artifacts (HTML, SVG, games, UI, charts), run the real renderer: headless browser, screenshot, canvas check, or equivalent. Observe the actual output yourself, fix what observation reveals, then re-run. Static parsing confirms well-formed files; it does not prove the artifact is visually or interactively correct. One clean observation is enough for unchanged state; do not re-render unchanged output just to repeat evidence.
0. Frontend Routing
Before designing or coding, classify the work:
| Decision | Options | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
| Product surface | landing, app, dashboard, AI tool, public service, education, game, creative | Sets density, typography scale, asset requirements |
| Locale | Korean-first, global/i18n, English-only | Sets CJK typography, copy, date/number formats |
| Density | campaign, consumer app, productivity, SaaS, ops, finance, developer console | Prevents landing-page composition inside repeated-work tools |
| Asset need | none, screenshot, product photo, diagram, chart, illustration, soft 3D, game asset | Prevents asset-free gradient/card UI |
| Soft 3D/character gate | not allowed, subtle, primary | Prevents generic cute 3D/mascot slop |
| Motion intensity | static, feedback-only, expressive, cinematic | Prevents cinematic motion in utility workflows |
Default rules:
- For apps/tools/dashboards, build the actual working surface first, not a marketing hero.
- For Korean-first work, read
korea-2026.mdandux-writing-ko.md. - For any soft 3D miniature, mascot, chibi, toy-like object, or character-like asset, read
soft-3d-asset-gates.md. - For product/brand/object/place/person pages, use concrete visual assets in the first viewport.
- For finance, government, B2B, admin, auth, security, and developer tools, keep visual warmth restrained and subordinate to clarity.
- Every user-facing decision point must justify its existence — defaults first, one primary action per screen, choices demoted to progressive disclosure (
ima2-uiuxUX-LAZY-01 owns the gate). - For text-heavy surfaces (landing, marketing, editorial, public service), apply typography wrapping defaults — see
typography-wrapping.md. Dashboard table cells are excluded.
1. Component Identification
When the user describes UI in vague terms (e.g. "접히는 거", "팝업 같은 거"):
- Recommend the best-fit component with reasoning:
<Name> — <what it does, why it fits> - Confirm, then proceed
If the user already names a specific component, skip this step. Reference: component.gallery/components
For new React/Vue/Svelte/Next UI source files, prefer .tsx or typed component files when the repo supports TypeScript. Inherit dev TypeScript strict-compatibility rules.
If frontend structure is unclear, read existing source-of-truth docs first, then document pages, components, routes, state stores, and build commands in the repo's existing docs before broad implementation.
1.5 Objective Gates vs Style Samples
Two different kinds of rules live in this skill (see the work classifier):
- Objective UX gates (STRICT/DEFAULT) — accessibility baseline (§7, §11), state coverage (loading/empty/error/permission), keyboard operability, visible focus, contrast. Missing these are review findings.
- Style direction (STYLE_SAMPLE) — design direction intake (§2), aesthetics, density profiles, product personalities, preset tokens, and the concrete values in §4-§5 (palettes, font choices, pixel max-widths). These illustrate acceptable choices; they are NOT requirements, must not override an existing design system (Design System Detection stays MANDATORY), and must never be enforced as universal taste (UX-STYLE-01).
2. Design Direction Intake
When the user cannot articulate a clear design direction, load
ima2-uiuxto discover intent and choose a direction before implementing here.
Before coding, commit to a domain-correct direction:
- Purpose: What problem does this interface solve? Who uses it?
- Surface: Is this a working tool, dashboard, public service, AI workflow, game, landing page, or editorial surface?
- Tone: Pick a specific direction. For product tools this often means quiet, dense, trustworthy, and fast rather than loud.
- Constraints: Framework, performance budget, accessibility requirements.
- Signature: What ONE thing will make this unforgettable? (the signature
moment; supporting scroll reveals may exist alongside it per
motion.mdFE-MOTION-BUCKET-01)
When user intent is vague ("깔끔하게", "모던하게", "just make it look good"), read the ima2-uiux skill and run the User Intent Discovery Protocol before making routing decisions.
If the user cannot answer these questions, use the ima2-uiux skill's structured preference elicitation flow. Offer product references ("Notion 느낌? Linear 느낌?") and visual comparisons.
Concept pass before code (stub — canonical: ima2-uiux §2.5 UX-CONCEPT-GEN-01):
for a C2+ new/redesigned expressive or brand-visible surface (page, hero, key
chrome like a top bar) with open design direction — probe ima2 status, attempt
ima2 serve if down, then run ima2 models --kind image and configure
ima2 defaults set image <lane>/<model> before any bare ima2 gen; use the
native image generator only as a true fallback — then
generate 5 highly specific candidate mockups of ONE locked concept, then SYNTHESIZE the
best elements across all 5 (NOT pick a single winner) into DESIGN.md and implement from
that synthesis — do not start coding the layout blind.
Intentionality over intensity. Bold maximalism, refined minimalism, dense utility, and friendly consumer UI can all work when they match the domain.
3. Baseline Configuration
Adjust these dials based on what's being built. Present to user if unclear.
| Dial | Default | Range | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| DESIGN_VARIANCE | 5 | 1-10 | 1=symmetric utility, 10=asymmetric art |
| MOTION_INTENSITY | 4 | 1-10 | 1=static, 10=cinematic choreography |
| VISUAL_DENSITY | 5 | 1-10 | 1=art gallery airy, 10=cockpit dense |
After Design Read, set dials per ima2-uiux §2 Dial Setting.
Product density profile (D1-D8 in references/product-density.md) sets component class; VISUAL_DENSITY (1-10) sets spacing within that class. These are orthogonal axes.
Adapt dynamically based on user requests. Dashboard → density up. Portfolio → variance up. Data tool → motion down. Korean app/tool surfaces usually need higher density and clearer hierarchy, not oversized hero text.
4. Implementation
Read references/aesthetics.md for full guidelines. Summary:
- Typography: Use domain-appropriate typography. For Korean-first UIs, prioritize CJK-safe stacks before Latin display fonts. Apply
text-wrap: balanceon all headings AND short descriptors (hero subtitle, card description, caption — anything 1-3 lines). Usetext-wrap: prettyonly on body paragraphs (4+ lines).prettyhas no effect on short text and will leave Korean orphans like "합니다." or "화." on a line alone. Seetypography-wrapping.mdfor full rules. - Color: Max 1 accent. Use neutral bases (Zinc/Slate) with singular high-contrast accent — avoid purple-on-white.
- Layout: Match the product surface. Avoid centered-card/hero patterns in repeated-use tools.
- Motion: See
references/motion.md. One signature moment + a few supporting reveals > 10 scattered effects; landing-bucket floor/ceiling per FE-MOTION-BUCKET-01. - Assets: Use screenshots, product images, diagrams, charts, illustrations, generated bitmaps, or soft 3D only when they add product meaning. When a real bitmap is needed (icon, hero, illustration), generate it with
ima2— probeima2 status, attemptima2 serveif down, inspectima2 models --kind image, and setima2 defaults set image <lane>/<model>before using bare generation — falling back to the nativeimagegentool only when ima2 is truly unavailable; never ship a placeholder.ima2is preferred because it supports reference images, multi-candidate generation (-n N, multimode, independent CLI parallel — seeasset-requirements.mdFE-ASSET-PARALLEL-01), a backend-selectable prompt builder, raster-to-vector tracing (ima2 vectorizeand Canvas trace — seeasset-requirements.mdRaster vs real vector), session style sheets, provider routing (GPT/Grok/Gemini — seeasset-requirements.mdFE-ASSET-PROVIDER-01), variant selection with element-ledger synthesis (asset-requirements.mdFE-ASSET-SELECT-01), cutout asset background strategy (asset-requirements.mdFE-ASSET-BG-01), and video (ima2 video— seemotion.mdFE-MOTION-VIDEO-01) for motion assets. For parallel generation, monitor withima2 ps --jsonand cancel unwanted jobs withima2 cancel <id>. Write very explicit long prompts (subject, composition, palette, lighting, style, aspect) perasset-requirements.md; prefer real/generated image or video assets over CSS gradient washes. Read any design reference or captured screenshot back into context withview_imagebefore matching it. Third-party captures followreference-capture.md(analysis-only, provenance manifest). - Visual verification: after UI changes, exercise the flow per visual verification (screenshot -> view_image) —
browser:control-in-app-browseron the dev server, screenshot,view_image— instead of claiming visual correctness from code alone.
Cutout Asset Generation (FE-ASSET-BG-01 surface — STRICT)
GPT Image 2 cannot produce transparent backgrounds. Requesting "transparent
background" or "PNG with alpha" yields checkerboard artifacts or solid fills.
Every cutout asset (icons, product shots, 3D objects, illustrations, stickers,
UI elements that float over arbitrary backgrounds) MUST use the solid-background-
then-remove pipeline. Full rules and recipes: references/asset-requirements.md
§ Asset Background Strategy.
Quick reference — generation template:
# Reflective/metallic/glass subjects → PURE BLACK bg
ima2 gen "3D render of [subject], [material/style details], [composition]. \
Floating on a PURE SOLID BLACK background. The background must be 100% flat \
pure black hex #000000. No checkerboard, no transparency pattern, no gradient, \
no floor plane, no shadow, no vignette, no ambient glow on the background." \
--model oauth/luna --quality high --size 1024x1024 --mode direct -o asset.png
# Dark/opaque subjects → PURE WHITE bg
ima2 gen "[subject description], centered, floating. PURE SOLID WHITE background \
hex #ffffff. No shadow, no gradient, no surface, no reflection plane." \
--model oauth/luna --quality high --size 1024x1024 --mode direct -o asset.png
# Known destination color → match it exactly
ima2 gen "[subject description], centered. PURE SOLID background hex #[target]. \
No gradient, no texture, no shadow." \
--model oauth/luna --quality medium --size 512x512 --mode direct -o asset.png
Quick reference — CSS removal (zero post-processing):
| Source bg | Target page | CSS rule |
|---|---|---|
| Black | Light | mix-blend-mode: screen |
| White | Dark | mix-blend-mode: multiply |
| Any | Any | isolation: isolate on container to prevent bleed |
For programmatic removal (build pipelines): sharp, ImageMagick, or rembg.
For interactive cleanup: ima2 Canvas Mode. For targeted fix: ima2 edit.
5. Anti-Slop Enforcement
Rule classes (dev §0.2): items below are DEFAULT — deviate with a stated reason; concrete values and palettes are STYLE_SAMPLE (§1.5); the emoji-as-UI-icon ban is the only STRICT item.
Read references/anti-slop.md for full rules. Key standards:
Hero discipline (FE-HERO-01)
-
First viewport must fit: hero content leaves a hint of the next section on mobile and desktop.
-
Keep hero copy to ~4 text elements max: headline, subhead, primary CTA, one proof/context line.
-
Do not put trust strips, pricing teasers, feature bullets, or mini dashboards inside the hero.
-
Logo walls belong below the hero, not as hero filler.
-
Plan font scale with image/product scale so neither crushes the other.
-
Treat unexamined default typography as a slop signal. Choose a domain-appropriate stack; Korean-first UI should use CJK-safe fonts and system fallbacks deliberately.
-
Gradient budget (FE-GRADIENT-01): gradient soup is the 2026 #1 anti-slop signal; max 1 ambient gradient per viewport and no gradients on 3+ sibling cards — see
anti-slop.md § Gradient Budget -
One-note theme ban (FE-ONENOTE-01): full-page single-hue dark washes (terminal green, cyber cyan, CRT amber) are the current dark-mode tell — see
anti-slop.md § One-Note Theme Ban -
No self-describing meta copy (FE-METACOPY-01): UI text must explain the product/user job, never narrate the mockup, layout, responsive behavior, or agent process — see
anti-slop.md § Self-Describing Meta Copy -
Use neutral or intentional color palettes — purple gradients on white are now the old tell; gradient overuse and one-note single-hue themes are the current tell
-
Use asymmetric or purposeful layouts — centered-everything reads as template
-
Vary card sizes, spans, and groupings — equal 3-card grids read as generic
-
Bento composition (FE-BENTO-01): bento grids must read as one interlocking slab with aligned row edges, a dominant cell, content-weighted spans, and no orphan tail — see
layout-discipline.md § Bento Composition -
Avoid oversized bold hero text inside tools, dashboards, admin, finance flows, and public services
-
Hero composition (FE-HERO-SPLIT-01): never build a split hero (left bold headline + right boxed screenshot/mockup card) unless the user explicitly requests one — the product visual is the stage (full-width, background, or interactive demo), never a right-column card; paid-conversion LPs are the one context to propose it — see
layout-discipline.md § Hero Composition Grammar -
Avoid asset-free UI: abstract blobs/gradients do not replace real visual evidence
-
Avoid generic soft 3D icon packs; soft 3D must be semantic, brand-consistent, and restrained
-
NEVER use emoji as UI visual elements (feature icons, card icons, section markers, buttons) — emoji in production UI is the #1 AI slop signal. Use SVG icons (Lucide/Phosphor/Heroicons). See
anti-slop.md § Emoji Slop -
Warm beige/cream backgrounds with brass/clay accents are banned as defaults for premium-consumer briefs — see
anti-slop.md § Premium-Consumer Palette Ban -
Layout monotony (same family repeated, 3+ zigzag sections, overused eyebrows) — see
references/layout-discipline.md -
Color, shape, and theme must be locked per-page and audited before shipping — see
references/consistency-locks.md -
Use off-black (
#0a0a0a,#111) — pure#000000lacks depth -
Responsive enforcement: every multi-column section must declare its mobile/tablet collapse behavior — "it'll work at mobile" is not a plan. See
responsive-viewport.md -
Page containment required:
max-w-[1400px] mx-autoor equivalent wrapper. Content stretching to viewport edges on wide monitors is a layout bug -
Mobile is a different product: section composition, CTA placement, and interaction model change on mobile — it is NOT just "desktop stacked vertically." See
mobile-ux.md -
Use realistic, specific names and brands in placeholder content
-
Write original copy — avoid "Elevate", "Seamless", "Next-Gen" and similar clichés
-
Treat uncontrolled heading line breaks (orphaned single word, no
text-wrap, nomax-widthinch) as a slop signal — seetypography-wrapping.md -
Treat short descriptors (hero subtitle, card description, caption) using
text-wrap: prettyinstead ofbalanceas a slop signal —prettydoes nothing on 1-3 line text, especially Korean -
Treat Korean orphan fragments ("합니다.", "화.", "입니다." alone on a line) as a slop signal — always verify Korean text breaks at target viewports
-
Treat generic stroke icons as brand logo substitutes as a slop signal — use actual brand SVGs from Simple Icons, SVGL, or press kits. See
brand-asset-sourcing.md -
When NO design brief exists, do not invent a generic default: apply the domain-gated no-brief kit owned by
ima2-uiux§1 UX-DEFAULT-ISM-01 and state the assumption
Do not ship these tells (FE-AI-TELL-01)
Version labels in heroes, numbered eyebrows, middle-dot overuse, duplicate image reuse, monospace uppercase card labels, fake social-proof headers, decorative scroll cues, weather/status strips with no product purpose, photo-credit captions in UI chrome, and generic "trusted by teams worldwide" claims are AI-default tells. Full catalog: references/anti-slop.md + references/layout-discipline.md.
6. Performance Guardrails
- Animate
transformandopacityonly — layout properties (top,left,width,height) cause jank - Grain/noise filters → fixed pseudo-elements only, keep off scrolling containers
will-changesparingly — remove after animation completes- Z-index only for systemic layers (navbar, modal, overlay)
- Memoize perpetual animations in isolated components
Browser Connection Limits
| Protocol | Limit |
|---|---|
| HTTP/1.1 | 6 connections per domain (Chrome/Firefox) |
| HTTP/2 | 1 TCP connection, 100 concurrent streams |
| WebSocket | Shares the HTTP/1.1 connection pool |
Rules:
- Never open >2 SSE/WebSocket connections to the same origin from one page
- Use connection multiplexing (single WebSocket with channel/topic routing) over multiple connections
- If >6 parallel requests needed: use HTTP/2, batch API endpoints, or domain sharding (last resort)
- Preflight OPTIONS requests count against the connection limit; consolidate CORS-heavy calls
Banned:
- Opening unbounded WebSocket connections per component instance
- Polling from multiple components independently (centralize into one subscription, fan out via state)
- Creating new SSE connections on every remount without cleanup
7. Accessibility Baseline
- Semantic HTML (
<button>,<nav>,<main>) - Keyboard navigation for all interactive elements
- WCAG AA minimum (4.5:1 normal text, 3:1 large text)
- Visible focus indicators (
focus-visible:ring-2) prefers-reduced-motionsupport- Skip link or equivalent bypass for repeated navigation
- Focus must not be hidden by sticky headers, sticky bottom bars, sheets, or overlays
- Icon-only buttons need accessible names (
aria-label, visible text, or labelled-by) - Charts, status messages, loading progress, and AI streaming states need screen-reader labels or live regions where appropriate
- Do not encode meaning by color alone
- Modals, menus, comboboxes, bottom sheets, and command palettes must have a complete keyboard path
- Stress-test Korean long labels and screen-reader names; clipped Hangul is a failure
- Pointer targets follow WCAG 2.2 AA target-size rules; 44×44px is a conservative product baseline, not the only legal minimum
A11y polish (FE-A11Y-POLISH-01)
- CTA text fits on one line at target breakpoints; if it wraps, shorten the label or change the layout.
- Inputs need visible boundaries against their background in default, focus, error, and disabled states.
- Duplicate CTA intent on the same screen should merge or clearly differ by outcome.
- Button contrast is checked during visual review, not left to palette intent.
8. Custom Hooks
Create a custom hook only when it owns reusable behavior, not just because code is a few lines long.
Good hook candidates: subscription lifecycle, reusable async state machine, form-field behavior shared across components, media/query/observer integration, keyboard/focus behavior, external store wrapper.
Avoid hooks that are merely thin aliases for useState, useToggle, useDebounce, or one-off component logic unless the repo already standardizes them.
Hook rules:
- The hook name describes behavior, not implementation
- Inputs are explicit and stable; return shape is small
- Side effects are justified by an external system; cleanup is correct
- Dependencies are honest; use
useEffectEventfor non-reactive callbacks inside Effects - Do not hide server state, router state, or form ownership inside a generic hook
9. React Performance
Default performance strategy: keep components pure, keep state local, classify state ownership correctly, use server rendering/caching boundaries, split expensive client islands, measure before memoizing.
| Tool | Use when |
|---|---|
memo |
child render is expensive and props are stable |
useMemo |
calculation is expensive or identity is required |
useCallback |
callback identity is required by memoized child or external API |
useTransition |
interaction should stay responsive while non-urgent work completes |
useOptimistic |
mutation UX benefits from reversible optimistic state |
Activity |
hidden UI should preserve state without active Effects |
Suspense |
dynamic/async boundary needs isolated loading behavior |
If React Compiler is enabled, remove defensive memoization unless measurement or semantics justify it. Split at route boundaries and heavy components (charts, editors, 3D).
10. Form Handling
For simple forms, use controlled components with schema validation (Zod). For complex forms (multi-step, dynamic fields), use react-hook-form + Zod resolver. Always show field-level errors with role="alert".
11. Accessibility Quick-Wins
Beyond the baseline (§7):
- Focus management: trap focus in modals, restore on close, handle Escape
- Arrow keys navigate lists and menus; Enter/Space activate buttons and links
- Tab order follows visual flow
aria-expanded,aria-haspopup,aria-activedescendanton composite widgets- Test with screen reader and keyboard-only navigation
12. 2026 Frontend Platform Rules
Use this section when modernizing or creating React/Next/Vite frontends. Prefer project conventions first.
React 19.2+
- Activity: Use
<Activity>for state-preserving hidden UI (tabs, drawers, route shells). Do not use for security hiding or active subscriptions. - useEffectEvent: For non-reactive logic inside Effects that needs latest props/state without resubscribing. Never call during render or pass to children.
- Partial Pre-rendering: Design pages as static shell + explicit dynamic holes + Suspense boundaries. No
Date.now(),Math.random(), or request-specific data in the pre-rendered shell. - React Compiler: Do not cargo-cult
memo/useMemo/useCallback. Measure first unless referential stability is semantically required.
Next.js 16
- Turbopack is default. Do not add custom webpack config unless proven unsupported.
- Cache Components (
cacheComponents: true): dynamic rendering is default; cache only what you explicitly mark withuse cache+cacheLife+cacheTag. - Never cache user/session-specific data without explicit user-scoped cache key.
- Server Actions: validate input server-side, authorize against the resource, revalidate affected cache tags.
Modern CSS
Prefer native CSS before JS layout observers or animation libraries:
- Container queries for component-level responsive layout (not viewport)
:has()for parent/sibling state selection — keep selectors narrow- CSS nesting for modularity — keep shallow, avoid specificity tunnels
- Subgrid when nested content must align to outer grid
- View Transitions for meaningful state continuity — respect
prefers-reduced-motion - Modern units:
dvh/svh/lvhover100vh, logical properties overleft/right - Tailwind v4: CSS-first configuration, use theme variables over hardcoded values
Build Tools
- Vite 8 (verified 2026-07-02): Rolldown/Oxc is the integrated default bundler (
rolldown-viteis only a Vite 7 migration bridge). Node 20.19+/22.12+; Baseline target Chrome/Edge 111, Firefox 114, Safari 16.4. Detect Vite 7 vs 8 before editing config. - Agent-visible runtime diagnostics (DEFAULT): prefer dev servers that surface browser/runtime errors to the CLI/agent — Vite 8 forwards browser console to the dev server (auto-activates for coding agents); Next 16 ships DevTools MCP. Wire these before debugging rendered behavior.
- Do not introduce Webpack-era config unless the existing app is already Webpack-bound
State Classification
Before adding state, classify it:
| State type | Owner | Default tool |
|---|---|---|
| render-local UI | nearest component | useState / useReducer |
| derived | render calculation | expression / useMemo if expensive |
| form draft | form boundary | native form, React Hook Form, TanStack Form |
| server/cache | server/cache layer | RSC, Next cache, TanStack Query, SWR |
| URL/navigation | router | path params, search params |
| global client UI | external store | Zustand, Jotai, context |
| optimistic mutation | mutation boundary | useOptimistic, mutation library |
| AI stream | conversation boundary | append-only message model + stream status |
Rules: Do not store derived state just to sync with Effect. Do not put server state in Zustand. Do not put URL-shareable state only in component state. Keep optimistic state reversible.
Design System Detection (MANDATORY — before creating tokens)
Before inventing design tokens, check:
- Does the project have an installed design system? (
grep -r "material-ui\|@mui\|carbon-components\|@carbon\|@fluentui\|govuk-frontend\|uswds" package.json) - Does the project have existing tokens? (
find . -name "tokens.*" -o -name "theme.*" -o -name "design-system*") - Does the brief name a specific design system?
If YES to any: use the official package. Do not recreate CSS by hand.
| System | Package | Import |
|---|---|---|
| Material | @mui/material | import { Button } from '@mui/material' |
| Carbon | @carbon/react | import { Button } from '@carbon/react' |
| Fluent | @fluentui/react | import { Button } from '@fluentui/react-components' |
| GOV.UK | govuk-frontend | import 'govuk-frontend/dist/govuk/all.scss' |
| USWDS | @uswds/uswds | import '@uswds/uswds/css/uswds.css' |
If NO: proceed with ima2-uiux/references/design-system-bootstrap.md.
shadcn/ui and AI-Assisted UI
- Inspect existing installed components before adding new ones
- Use project's
components.json, aliases, tokens, and registry conventions - Do not hallucinate design-system components; verify against local source
- Remove demo-only copy and unused variants
For AI-native interfaces (chat, agent, copilot), design explicit states: empty → prompt ready → submitted → streaming → tool call → result → complete → feedback. Never fake streaming, citations, or tool calls.
13. Error Boundaries
React Error Boundary pattern:
- Wrap each major section (not the entire app) in an Error Boundary
- Error boundary renders: friendly message + retry button + report link
- Log error to monitoring service (Sentry, etc.) in componentDidCatch
- Never show stack traces to end users
Error state hierarchy:
- Field-level: inline validation message
- Form-level: summary at top of form
- Section-level: Error Boundary with retry
- Page-level:
error.tsx/ error page - App-level: root Error Boundary → offline/crash page
14. Pre-Flight Checklist
Checklist items apply to production surfaces (the work classifier shared definition); prototypes, spikes, and internal demos are exempt unless the user asks for production polish.
Before delivering:
- Domain-correct direction chosen and committed
- Product surface, locale, density, asset need, soft 3D gate, and motion intensity classified
- Anti-slop patterns enforced (§5)
- Hero discipline enforced: viewport fit, copy count, no in-hero trust/pricing/feature clutter (§5)
- Required assets are real, semantic, rendered, and not generic decoration
- Korean-first UI follows CJK typography and Korean UX writing rules
- Soft 3D/miniature/character assets pass domain and semantic gates
- Mobile layout collapse guaranteed with per-section-type rules (see layout-discipline.md § Responsive Transforms)
- Full-height sections use
min-h-[100dvh]noth-screen - Page containment:
max-w-[1400px] mx-autowrapper present (see responsive-viewport.md) - Tested at 768px (tablet) and 1024px (split-screen) in addition to mobile/desktop
- Touch targets ≥ 44px on mobile; no hover-only interactions (see mobile-ux.md)
- Responsive images use
srcset/sizesor<picture>for art direction (see responsive-viewport.md) - Safe area padding for notched devices:
env(safe-area-inset-*)on fixed elements - Loading, empty, and error states provided
- State classified before adding store/Context/Effect/cache (§12)
- Effects sync with external systems; derived state is not Effect-synced
- Container queries considered before viewport-query or JS layout workarounds
- View transitions respect reduced motion
- shadcn components follow local registry and token conventions
- AI UI states are honest: no fake streaming, citations, or tool calls
- Forms validate with schema and show field-level errors (§10)
- A11y polish checked: one-line CTAs, visible input borders, no duplicate CTA intent (§7)
- Focus management on modals and popovers (§11)
- Desktop/mobile/narrow screenshots checked for overlap, clipping, and asset rendering
- Interactive components isolated as Client Components (if RSC)
- Design Read declared before code generation (see ima2-uiux §2)
- Eyebrow count ≤ ceil(sectionCount / 3) (see layout-discipline.md)
- Section layout diversity: ≥4 different families per 8 sections
- Color/shape/theme locks consistent across all sections (see consistency-locks.md)
- SEO meta tags present for public pages (
<title>,<meta description>, canonical, OG) — seeseo-baseline.md - JSON-LD structured data matches page type
- Accessibility: modals trap focus, live regions for dynamic content — see
a11y-patterns.md - Core Web Vitals field metrics are the perf gate (INP ≤200ms); Lighthouse Performance score is advisory smoke only; no JS bundle > 150KB compressed — see
performance-budget.md - Hero image preloaded, below-fold images lazy-loaded
- Theme toggle works: light/dark/system, no FOWT — see
theme-switching.md - All colors use CSS custom properties (theme-ready)
- i18n: no hardcoded strings, CSS logical properties, Intl API for dates/numbers — see
i18n-global.md - Error Boundaries wrap major sections, not entire app (§13)
- Stack-specific rules followed (see
references/stacks/)
15. Backend Contract & Security Alignment
Frontend does not operate in isolation. When consuming backend APIs or implementing security-sensitive UI:
15.1 Contract Ownership
| Responsibility | Owner |
|---|---|
Response envelope shape (success, data, error, meta) |
dev-backend defines, dev-testing verifies |
| Consumer-side fixture alignment | Frontend — keep mocks in sync with fixtures/contracts/ |
| Contract test triggers | Frontend payload changes → update contract tests BEFORE merging (see dev-testing §3) |
| Error display mapping | Frontend maps error.code to user-facing messages; never parse error.message for logic |
When a frontend change touches API consumption:
- Check if the response shape assumption still holds
- If changed, update or add a contract test first (see
dev-testing§3.5) - Align frontend mocks/fixtures with backend golden examples
15.2 Security Responsibilities
| Control | Policy Owner | Implementation Owner |
|---|---|---|
| CSP directives | dev-security §5 |
Frontend (no inline scripts, no eval, no surprise 3rd-party scripts) |
| CORS | dev-security §5 |
Backend middleware (dev-backend §4) |
| XSS prevention | dev-security §5 |
Frontend (avoid dangerouslySetInnerHTML; if needed, sanitize with DOMPurify + CSP defense) |
| Token storage | dev-security §2 |
Frontend (httpOnly cookies preferred over localStorage) |
| Auth state display | dev-security §2 |
Frontend (loading → check → redirect or render; never flash protected content) |
15.3 Testing Integration
- Playwright smoke tests validate rendered flows AFTER backend API + contract tests pass
- Frontend unit tests mock API responses using the same envelope shape defined in
dev-backend§5 - When backend error codes change, frontend error-mapping tests must be updated
§16 Pre-Flight Checklist
Before shipping a production frontend surface, run through the full pre-flight checklist
at references/preflight-full.md. It covers design/composition, responsive/mobile,
states/behavior, Korean-first rules, SEO/theme/i18n, and performance/verification gates.
Use it as the C-phase audit companion for frontend work at C2+.