Design Task
Pick up an existing Task as a designer. Core value: reads the Gherkin scenarios to identify every UI state that needs design coverage, then helps you document the design references back into the issue so developers have a single source of truth.
See references/component-spec-template.md for the expected structure when scaffolding a component spec without Figma frames.
Process
0. GitHub CLI setup
Run steps 1–2 of ../references/gh-setup.md (install check and auth check). Stop if gh is not installed or not authenticated. Extensions are not required for this skill.
Skip this step if invoked from wtf.write-task or another skill that already ran gh-setup this session.
1. Identify the Task
If the user provided an issue number in their request, use it directly. Otherwise search for recent open issues with label task to populate options and call AskUserQuestion with question: "Which Task are you designing?", header: "Task", and options pre-filled with 1–2 likely open Task issue references inferred from GitHub search (e.g. recent open issues labeled task).
Fetch the Task first, extract the Feature number from its Context section, then fetch the Feature:
gh issue view <task_number> # Functional Description, Gherkin, Design Reference — also yields feature number
# Extract feature number, then:
gh issue view <feature_number> # User stories, ACs, visual context2. Lifecycle check
Check whether the task already has a designed label:
gh issue view <task_number> --json labels --jq '.labels[].name'If the designed label is present, call AskUserQuestion with:
question: "This task already has adesignedlabel. Continuing will overwrite the existing Design Reference. How would you like to proceed?"header: "Already designed"options:[{label: "Redesign it", description: "Overwrite the existing Design Reference with a new one"}, {label: "Exit", description: "Leave the existing design as-is"}]- Redesign it → continue.
- Exit → exit immediately.
If the designed label is absent, continue silently.
3. Load the design steering document
Use the Read tool to attempt reading docs/steering/DESIGN.md.
If the file exists: keep its content in context. Use its design principles, tokens, component patterns, and accessibility standards to inform every decision in this session. Do not surface it to the user — just apply it silently.
If the file does not exist, call AskUserQuestion with:
question: "docs/steering/DESIGN.md doesn't exist yet. This document captures your design principles, tokens, and component patterns. Would you like to create it now?"header: "Design steering doc missing"options:[{label: "Create it now", description: "Runwtf.steer-designbefore continuing (recommended)"}, {label: "Skip for this session", description: "Continue without it — design decisions won't reference project standards"}]- Create it now → follow the
wtf.steer-designprocess, then return to this skill and continue from step 4. - Skip for this session → continue without it.
4. Explore the design system
Use the Agent tool with these concrete searches (run in parallel):
Glob('src/components/**/*', 'src/**/components/**/*', 'components/**/*')— existing UI components; note file names that match domain objects or UI states in the TaskGlob('**/{tokens,theme,variables,design-tokens}.{css,scss,ts,js,json}')+Grepfor CSS custom property declarations (--) or Tailwind config keys — design tokens in use (colors, spacing, typography)Glob('src/**/*.{stories,story}.{ts,tsx,js,jsx,mdx}')— Storybook stories as pattern references for similar screens or flowsGrepforfigma.comURLs across all.md,.mdx, and issue body files in the repo — existing Figma references linked in related issues or docs
5. Identify UI states from Gherkin
For each Gherkin scenario in the Task:
- Identify the UI state it represents (e.g. empty, loading, error, success, disabled, edge case)
- Note any interaction or transition implied by the When/Then steps
List these states explicitly — this becomes the design coverage checklist.
6. Ask about design assets
Call AskUserQuestion with question: "How would you like to handle design assets for this task?", header: "Design assets", and options:
{label: "I have Figma frames", description: "Provide frame URLs — I'll validate coverage against Gherkin scenarios"}{label: "Generate designs for me", description: "I'll use Figma MCP to generate frames from the Gherkin scenarios and design system"}{label: "Scaffold a spec only", description: "No Figma — produce a text component spec from the scenarios"}{label: "Partial — some states designed", description: "Provide available frames; remaining states go to generate or scaffold"}
Path A — Human provides frames: Collect frame URLs. For each Gherkin scenario from step 5, check whether a frame covers it. Flag any scenario with no matching frame as a gap. Present the coverage matrix: scenario → frame URL (or ⚠ gap). If gaps exist, call AskUserQuestion asking whether to generate the missing frames (route to Path B) or leave them as pending.
Path B — AI generates via Figma MCP: Check whether the Figma MCP tool generate_figma_design is available. If unavailable, warn the user and fall back to Path C (scaffold).
If available: for each uncovered UI state, call generate_figma_design with:
- The Gherkin scenario as the design brief
- Component patterns and tokens from
docs/steering/DESIGN.md(loaded in step 3) - Any shared components identified in the parent Feature's Design Handoff (if available)
Collect the generated frame URLs and treat them as Path A frames from this point forward.
Path C — Scaffold spec only: Draft a component spec using the structure in references/component-spec-template.md, listing each state with its required UI elements and interactions. No Figma frames — this is a text-only design brief for the developer.
Partial: Collect available frame URLs, run Path A validation on covered states. For uncovered states, call AskUserQuestion asking whether to generate (Path B) or scaffold (Path C) the remainder.
7. Draft the Design Reference
Produce the content for the Design Reference section of the Task:
- Frame URLs mapped to Gherkin scenarios (Path A/B), or scaffolded component spec (Path C)
- Coverage matrix: scenario → frame URL or ⚠ pending
- Component breakdown: which exist in codebase, which are new
- Interaction notes: hover, focus, error states, transitions
- Responsive behavior if applicable
- Design tokens to apply
8. Review with user
Show the draft. Then call AskUserQuestion with question: "Does this cover all the states in the Gherkin?", header: "Review", and options: [{label: "Yes — looks complete", description: "Proceed to update the task"}, {label: "Missing states", description: "I want to add more coverage"}, {label: "Other changes", description: "I want to adjust something else"}].
Apply edits, then proceed.
9. Update the Task issue
Note: read the current issue body first (gh issue view <task_number>), replace only the Design Reference section with the new content, and preserve all other sections unchanged. Write the full updated body to a temp file and use--body-file.
gh issue edit <task_number> --body-file /tmp/wtf.design-task-<task_number>-body.mdAdd the designed lifecycle label to mark this step complete:
gh issue edit <task_number> --add-label "designed"Print the updated Task issue URL.
10. Offer to continue
Call AskUserQuestion with:
question: "What's next?"header: "Next step"options:[{label: "Implement this Task", description: "Runwtf.implement-taskfor this Task now (default)"}, {label: "Design another Task", description: "Design another Task for the same Feature"}, {label: "Stop here", description: "Exit — no further action"}]- Implement this Task → follow the
wtf.implement-taskprocess, passing the Task number in as context so the user is not asked for it again. - Design another Task → restart this skill from step 1, reusing the same Feature context.
- Stop here → exit.