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Shade — pick the right layer (and decide whether to add to Shade at all) · tryghost | DecimalAI

frontendby tryghost

Shade — pick the right layer (and decide whether to add to Shade at all)

tryghost/Shade component decision

Source tryghost/ghost ↗License MIT

Decide which Shade layer (Token, Primitive, Component, Recipe, Pattern) a new piece of UI belongs in — and whether it should be added to Shade at all.

SkillScore100Maintained

Automatic

Frontend / UI pack

Last verified 9/27/2026

What it changes

Passed 22 of 22 test cases with the skill, and 9 of 22 without it.

Without skill41%

With skill100%

Checks it passed that the model alone missed

Classifies KpiCard into the Pattern layer.
Classifies the helper into the Recipe layer.
Specifies file placement in src/components/ui/.

and 14 more in the full report

13 fixed9 passed either way0 still failing0 broke

Pass-rate lift: +59 pp
Tokens: +16%
Agent turns: 0%
Response time: -53%

Model gemini-3.6-flashMeasured 9/27/2026v122 of 22 cases passed with skill

Tokens, turns and time describe resource use, not a dollar price.

Use this skill

Save it into your project's skills folder. Claude Code picks it up in its next session.

curl -fsSL --create-dirs -o .claude/skills/tryghost-shade-component-decision/SKILL.md https://app.decimal.ai/s/tryghost-shade-component-decision/SKILL.md

Want it pinned and updatable? pip install "decimalai>=0.15", then decimalai skills add tryghost-shade-component-decision, and start Claude Code with claude --plugin-dir "$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)/.agents"

1 · One-time — install the CLI (docs ↗)

pip install "decimalai>=0.15"

2 · Get the skill — writes .agents/skills/tryghost-shade-component-decision/ and pins it in .decimal/skills.lock

decimalai skills add tryghost-shade-component-decision

No CLI? Get the same file — curl · raw file

curl -fsSL --create-dirs -o .claude/skills/tryghost-shade-component-decision/SKILL.md https://app.decimal.ai/s/tryghost-shade-component-decision/SKILL.md

Raw file: /s/tryghost-shade-component-decision/SKILL.md ↗ · machine-readable summary at /s/tryghost-shade-component-decision.json ↗

Safety checks: 3 of 3 passed

Code scan CleanIntent PassedContent Clean

See it in action

One of 13 test cases the skill fixed. Same model, same prompt, with and without the skill.

1 of 13

Prompt

We want to add a foundational layout component to Shade that handles typography hierarchy, text wrapping, and alignment without any UI control styling or Ghost domain logic. Which layer handles layout and structural foundations like this, and what directory does it belong in?

What was checked, without and with the skill
Checked	Without skill	With skill
Classifies foundational layout and typography elements into the Primitive layer.	Passed	Passed
Specifies file placement in src/components/primitives/.	Missed	Passed

case-13 · gemini-3.6-flash · 9/27/2026 · answers are capped and redacted

What's inside

The instructions your model reads when the skill loads.

SKILL.md67 linessingle file

Shade — pick the right layer (and decide whether to add to Shade at all)

Before adding anything to Shade, walk the decision flow and the promotion checklist. The default is keep code local first — premature design system additions lock in the wrong API.

The five layers

Layer	Lives in	Examples
Token	`theme-variables.css`, `tailwind.theme.css`	`--background`, `--text-base`, `--radius-md`
Primitive	`src/components/primitives/`	`Stack`, `Inline`, `Box`, `Grid`, `Container`, `Text`
Component	`src/components/ui/`	`Button`, `Input`, `Dialog`, `Tabs`, `Card`
Recipe	`src/components/ui/<name>.ts` (no JSX)	`inputSurface`
Pattern	`src/components/patterns/`	`PageHeader`, `KpiCard`, `Filters`, `GhAreaChart`

Plus one additional barrel:

page-templates/ (@tryghost/shade/page-templates) — top-level page wrappers (ListPage today). Composes Patterns + Components + Primitives. If you're building a new shape that wraps a whole admin page, this is where it goes. See shade-page-templates.

Decision flow (top-to-bottom, stop at first match)

Just a colour, size, radius, duration? → Token. Add to theme-variables.css (semantic) or tailwind.theme.css (raw @theme).
Layout-only (spacing, alignment, structure)? → Primitive. Reuse an existing one; only add a new one if the structural shape is genuinely novel.
Generic, accessible UI control with no Ghost-specific knowledge? → Component. Reuse first; only add if it doesn't exist and the promotion checklist below passes.
The same chrome / focus / density rule shared across ≥ 2 components? → Recipe. A class-string function (no JSX, no React) next to the components in src/components/ui/.
Knows about Ghost (KPIs, members, posts, newsletters, analytics)? → Pattern.

Quick gut check: generic name → Component; Ghost-shaped name → Pattern. Button is web-y; KpiCard is Ghost-y.

Allowed dependencies (one-way)

Each layer can use anything below it. The reverse is forbidden.

A Button can't reach into a Pattern.
A Primitive can't import a Component.
A Recipe is pure CSS classes — no React, no JSX.

Promotion checklist — add to Shade only if ALL are true

Reused at least twice in different surfaces. Actual second use, not "we might reuse this."
It's generic. A <MembersTable> that's just <Table> with three preset columns belongs in the app, not Shade.

Track record

Benchmark

22 / 22

test cases passed, vs 9 / 22 without

Adoption

Users: 0
Times used: 0

Safety and source details

SkillSafety

✓ 3 of 3 passed

Code scan15 of 15 checks clean

0 critical · 0 warning · 0 info — scanner v5 — 8/31/2026

View 15 scanner checks

live_secretremote_code_executionreverse_shelldata_exfiltrationssrf_metadataagent_snoopinganti_refusaldestructive_commandsobfuscated_unicodeunicode_homoglyphopaque_blobsuspicious_urltool_overreachtrigger_abuseprompt_injection_phrasing

IntentSafe

LLM judge · does the skill do what it claims

ContentClean

LLM judge · policy & harmful-content review

Source

Imported

tryghost / ghost

.agents/skills/shade-component-decision/SKILL.md

View on GitHub ↗

License MITImported 8/31/2026Version v1

More skills from the same source and nearby in the registry, with their headline benchmark lift.

Ready to supercharge your AI agents?

See it in action

What's inside

Shade — pick the right layer (and decide whether to add to Shade at all)

The five layers

Decision flow (top-to-bottom, stop at first match)

Allowed dependencies (one-way)

Promotion checklist — add to Shade only if ALL are true

Track record

Benchmark

Adoption

SkillSafety

Source

Related skills