Front door. Reads the current project (framework, tokens, brief, spec, harness) and reports what ui-craft can do right now, then routes you to the right next step. Run this first if you're new or unsure where to begin. No code changes.
Ships with ui-craft. Installing the plugin gets this command.
⚡ How it fires
How this command gets triggered: by you, by Claude, or both.
Fires itselfClaude auto-loads it when your prompt matches the work.
You can call itInvoke it directly when you want it.
Slash command/start
👁️ Context preview
What this command does when you run it.
Front door. Reads the current project (framework, tokens, brief, spec, harness) and reports what ui-craft can do right now, then routes you to the right next step. Run this first if you're new or unsure where to begin. No code changes.
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LicenseMIT
📦 Ships with ui-craft
</> Command definition
start.md
---description: Front door. Reads the current project (framework, tokens, brief, spec, harness) and reports what ui-craft can do right now, then routes you to the right next step. Run this first if you're new or unsure where to begin. No code changes.
argument-hint: "(no args — reads the current project)"
---Orient the user. Load the `ui-craft` skill, read the current project, and report what ui-craft can do **right now** for it. This is the front door — most people run it first.
---## ORCHESTRATE-ONLY RULE
This command **detects state and routes**. It MUST NOT build, edit, audit, or re-implement any phase logic. It contributes only:
1. Project detection (read-only).
2. A "what's available now" map across the three usage layers.
3. One recommended next step + the command to run for it.
When the user wants to act, hand off to the real command (`/brief`, `/tokens`, `/sddesign`, `/craft`, `/finalize`, the review agents, etc.). Do not inline their steps.
---## Step 1 — Detect (read-only)
Scan the project. Do not write anything. Gather:
| Signal | How to detect | Used for |
|--------|---------------|----------|
| **Framework / styling** | package.json deps, config files, file extensions — Tailwind, CSS Modules, styled-components/Emotion, vanilla CSS, Vue/Svelte/Astro SFC | Confirm ui-craft adapts to this stack |
| **External design contract** | `DESIGN.md` or `design-tokens.json` at repo root (ecosystem convention some teams use) | Treat as brief + token input — read it, honor it, don't duplicate it |
| **Spec** | `.ui-craft/spec.md` exists? which surfaces? | Is there work in flight? |
| **Harness** | Claude Code (plugin/skill) vs `.codex`/`.cursor`/`.gemini`/`.opencode`/`.agents` mirror | Which layers are reachable (agents/MCP are Claude Code / MCP-client only) |
| **Existing UI** | are there components/pages already, or is this greenfield? | Build-new vs review/polish framing |
Keep detection fast and quiet — a few reads, no deep traversal. Report findings as a short table.
---
## Step 2 — Report the three layers
Print what's available now, mapped to how people actually use ui-craft. Mark each layer ● active / ○ available / – not reachable in this harness.
```
ui-craft is a design engineering SYSTEM. You're set up for:
● Layer 1 — Just ask
Describe any UI and the agent designs with taste (anti-slop, system tokens,
real hierarchy). No command needed. This is the default and the point.
○ Layer 2 — Drive it
Slash commands for focused passes. Given THIS project:
4. **Existing UI to improve** → route by intent: review → `ui-craft:design-reviewer` + `ui-craft:a11y-auditor` (Claude Code) or `/critique` + `/audit`; polish → `/polish`; simplify → `/distill`; flat/generic → `/bolder`; loud/busy → `/quieter`; dated site to modernize → `/redesign`.
5. **About to ship / merge** → recommend `/finalize` (10-pass gate) and, for CI, `npx ui-craft-detect` or the `score_ui` MCP tool.
Print it as one clear line:
> **Recommended next:** `…` — <one-sentence why>.
Then offer the full menu only if asked: "Want the full command list, or shall I run that now?"
---
## Step 4 — Hand off
If the user confirms, run the recommended command. Otherwise stop — `/start` never acts on its own. Its job is done once the user knows where they are and where to go.
---
## Notes
- **Read-only.** `/start` writes nothing and changes no code. The artifacts (`brief.md`, `spec.md`, tokens) are written by their own commands.
- **Harness honesty.** If the project is in a non-Claude-Code harness (`.codex`, `.cursor`, etc.), Layer 3 agents and the MCP server may not be reachable from that agent — say so plainly and point to the CLI (`ui-craft-detect`) as the portable verify path.
- **Craft-intent routing.** Full-surface builds (`/craft`, `/sddesign`) declare a Craft Read before code. If the user describes a built UI as "generic", "template-y", or "too safe", route to `/bolder`; if "too loud" or "too busy", route to `/quieter`.
- **Don't re-run Discovery.** If a brief or spec already exists, don't interrogate the user for preferences — read the artifacts and report.