/image-to-code

name: image-to-code
description: Turn a reference image, screenshot, or mockup into token-driven, accessible code. Infer the design system from the reference (palette, type scale, spacing, radius, layout archetype), map it to the 3-tier tokens, rebuild it, then verify with the kit's gates. Use when the user provides a design/screenshot and wants matching UI code.
# `invocation:` was not a field Claude Code reads - unknown frontmatter keys are
# ignored without an error, so these six were auto-invocable the whole time they
# were marked user-only. This is the field that actually does it.
disable-model-invocation: true

Skill: Image to Code

Requirements

This skill needs the full UX/UI Agent Skills kit: the gates, the references and the design-system library. Install it with `npx ux-ui-agent-skills@3.1.0 init` or as the Claude Code plugin. `npx skills@1.7.6 add` copies the skill folder and nothing else. Installed that way, this skill runs in **guidance-only mode**: no gate runs, so it gives no verdict.

> **Step 0: is the kit here?** Check once: > `ls ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../../tokens >/dev/null 2>&1 && echo KIT_OK || echo KIT_MISSING` > On `KIT_MISSING`, open your reply with: "Guidance-only mode: the UX/UI Agent > Skills kit is not installed here, so no gate ran and nothing below is > measured." Then work from this file and general practice, under three rules. > Do not guess or cite the contents of a kit file you could not open. State no > measured number (no contrast ratio, no N/N, no "passes WCAG"): write "not > verified" where one would go. End with a line `Skipped (kit not installed):` > that names every gate script this file tells you to run, then the install > command above.

Reconstruct a design from a visual reference as a real design system, not a one-off copy. Match the *system* (color/type/spacing language), never lift copyrighted imagery or brand assets.

Steps

1. **Read the reference like a designer.** Infer and write down:

• **Palette**: 1 dominant surface family, text colors, 1 primary action + at most 1 accent (sample the hues; don't guess random hex).
• **Type**: family feel (geometric/grotesk/serif), the scale jumps, display vs. body contrast, weights.
• **Spacing & density**: base unit, section rhythm, card padding; airy vs. compact.
• **Radius & depth**: radius language (sharp/soft/pill), shadow vs. hairline separation.
• **Layout archetype + sequence**: bounded hero / asymmetric split / dense bento / editorial stack (`${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../../taste/design-taste.md` → Variance Mandate).

2. **Anchor to a known system** if it's close: browse `${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../../taste/aesthetic-systems.md` / `python3 ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../../scripts/design_systems.py search <term>` and adopt that recipe to stabilize decisions. 3. **Build the token theme** from the inferred values → 3-tier DTCG (`design-tokens` skill); generate a single `theme.css`. Verify every color pair with `${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../../scripts/contrast.py` / `${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../../scripts/validate_contrast.py` (light + dark). A sampled brand color that fails AA gets adjusted; taste never overrides POUR. 4. **Rebuild layout + components** token-driven via `${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../../frameworks/adapter-protocol.md` + `${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../../components/*`: one shared primitive layer, all 8 states, a11y wired, no emoji (lucide), single theme. Apply taste (`design-taste.md`) so it doesn't regress to generic. 5. **Verify against the reference**: render and screenshot it, compare side-by-side to the reference; run `node ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/../../../scripts/gate.mjs measure_render.mjs`, `lint_hardcodes.py`, `taste_audit.mjs`, and `npm run verify`.

Verification (definition of done)

• `npm run verify` is 100% (tokens resolve, contrast AA light+dark, no hardcodes/emoji, real-render WCAG).
• The rebuilt UI uses ONE inferred token theme; no per-section palettes.
• A screenshot of the result visibly matches the reference's design language.

> Honest limit: this matches the design **system**, not a pixel-perfect copy. Do not reproduce the reference's photographs, logos, or copyrighted copy. Substitute your own or generic placeholders.