linear-ui-skills

Linear UI Skills

Opinionated constraints for building Linear-style interfaces with AI agents.

When to Apply

Reference these guidelines when:

• Building dark-mode interfaces
• Creating Linear-inspired design systems
• Implementing UIs with Inter font and 4px grid

Colors

• MUST use dark backgrounds (lightness < 20) for primary surfaces - detected lightness: 4
• MUST use #080A0A as page background (surface-base)
• SHOULD limit color palette to 10 distinct colors
• MUST maintain text contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for accessibility

Semantic Tokens

Token	HEX	RGB	Usage
surface-base	#080A0A	rgb(8,10,10)	Page background
surface-raised	#D2D2D3	rgb(210,210,211)	Cards, modals, raised surfaces
surface-overlay	#E3E3E6	rgb(227,227,230)	Overlays, tooltips, dropdowns
text-primary	#5C5C5C	rgb(92,92,92)	Headings, body text
text-secondary	#2D2E30	rgb(45,46,48)	Secondary, muted text
text-tertiary	#444749	rgb(68,71,73)	Additional text
border-default	#B0B1B1	rgb(176,177,177)	Subtle borders, dividers

Typography

• MUST use Inter as primary font family
• SHOULD use single font family for consistency
• MUST use 60px / 700 for primary headings
• MUST use 17px / 400 for body text
• SHOULD reduce font weights (currently 4 detected)
• MUST use text-balance for headings and text-pretty for body text
• SHOULD use tabular-nums for numeric data
• NEVER modify letter-spacing unless explicitly requested

Text Styles

Style	Font	Size	Weight	Color	Count
heading-1	Inter	60px	700	#E2E4E3	1
body	Inter	17px	400	#444749	1
body-secondary	Inter	16px	400	#5C5C5C	1
body-secondary	Inter	15px	500	#2D2E30	1
text-14px	Inter	14px	400	#B2B3B3	1
text-13px	Inter	13px	400	#4C4C4C	1
text-13px	Inter	13px	400	#525355	1
text-12px	Inter	12px	400	#525456	1
caption	Inter	9px	400	#545557	1
label	Inter	9px	400	#565759	1

Typography Reference

Font Families:

• Inter (used 13x)

Font Sizes: 9px, 12px, 13px, 14px, 15px, 16px, 17px, 60px

Spacing

• MUST use 4px grid for spacing
• SHOULD use spacing from scale: 5px, 11px, 12px, 13px, 14px, 16px, 19px, 20px
• SHOULD use 5px as default gap between elements
• NEVER use arbitrary spacing values (use design scale)
• SHOULD maintain consistent padding within containers

Borders

• MUST use border-radius from scale: 6px, 8px
• MUST use 1px border width consistently
• SHOULD use 6px as default border-radius
• NEVER use arbitrary border-radius values (use design scale)
• SHOULD use subtle borders (1px) for element separation

Border Radius Reference

Scale: 6px, 8px

Layout

• MUST design for 1920px base viewport width
• SHOULD use consistent element widths: 52px
• SHOULD maintain text-heavy layout with clear hierarchy
• NEVER use h-screen, use h-dvh for full viewport height
• MUST respect safe-area-inset for fixed elements
• SHOULD use size-* for square elements instead of w-* + h-*

Detected Layout Patterns

• Main Content: width: 1920px, height: 1013px
• Header: height: 63px

Components

Buttons

Variant	Background	Text	Border	Height	Radius
Ghost	transparent	#5C5C5C	none	-	-

Interactive States

Focus

• MUST use 2px outline with accent color (#5E6AD2)
• MUST use 2px outline-offset
• NEVER remove focus indicators

Hover

• Buttons (primary): lighten background by 10%
• Buttons (secondary): use #D2D2D3 background
• List items: use #D2D2D3 background

Disabled

• MUST use opacity: 0.5
• MUST use cursor: not-allowed

Interaction

• MUST use an AlertDialog for destructive or irreversible actions
• SHOULD use structural skeletons for loading states
• MUST show errors next to where the action happens
• NEVER block paste in input or textarea elements
• MUST add an aria-label to icon-only buttons

Animation

• NEVER add animation unless it is explicitly requested
• MUST animate only compositor props (transform, opacity)
• NEVER animate layout properties (width, height, top, left, margin, padding)
• SHOULD use ease-out on entrance animations
• NEVER exceed 200ms for interaction feedback
• SHOULD respect prefers-reduced-motion

Performance

• NEVER animate large blur() or backdrop-filter surfaces
• NEVER apply will-change outside an active animation
• NEVER use useEffect for anything that can be expressed as render logic