/visual-edit-precision

name: visual-edit-precision
description: >-
  Use when making UI/frontend changes guided by visual context, when the user
  selects elements visually, draws annotations, or provides screenshots alongside
  change requests. Also use when editing components where spatial context
  (element identity, DOM references, layout data) supplements text instructions.

Visual Edit Precision

Overview

When visual context accompanies a change request (element selections, annotations, screenshots), make targeted, minimal edits. Precision over ambition: change exactly what was indicated, preserve everything else.

Process

When visual context is provided:

1. **IDENTIFY** - What exact element(s) were indicated? Which component file owns them? 2. **SCOPE** - Change ONLY what was pointed at. Don't refactor surrounding code. 3. **PRESERVE** - Keep existing styles, classes, and behavior. Only modify what was asked. 4. **TARGETED** - Make the minimal CSS/markup change that achieves the visual result. 5. **VERIFY** - Confirm the change renders correctly without side effects.

Key Principles

Precision Over Ambition

Visual context gives a SPECIFIC element. Don't:

• Refactor the entire component when only one style was requested
• Change the component's API when only its appearance was pointed at
• Touch logic when only visuals were selected

Do:

• Find the exact file and line for the selected element
• Make the minimal edit that achieves the described visual change
• Preserve all existing behavior, event handlers, accessibility

Multiple Edits

When multiple visual edits arrive:

• Each targets its own element independently
• Don't wait for one to finish before processing another
• If two edits conflict (same element, different requests), handle the most recent

Common Mistakes

• Rewriting an entire component when the user pointed at one button
• Changing global config when only one element's color needs adjusting
• Breaking responsive behavior by adding fixed widths to match a selection
• Ignoring specificity (user indicated ONE card, agent changed ALL cards)
• Removing accessibility attributes (aria-*, role, tabindex) during visual edits