README.md

Cortex frontend design library

The maintained home for reusable frontend design guidance, references and lessons. Open the resource directory to browse or filter the collection, or read the design playbook to begin a project.

What to use

• Prompt pack for a brief, art direction and focused passes.
• Checklists for critique, accessibility and delivery.
• Skills map for responsibilities and workflow ideas.
• Resource list for a readable export of the catalogue.
• Original illustrated guide for the dated 5 September snapshot.
• Provenance for the migration and attribution record.

Use the current project's own brief and design system first. The skills map is historical reference, not an assertion that every named skill is available in the current agent session. Check the session's actual catalogue before invoking one.

Ownership

Edit guidance/ for shared advice and resources.json for resources. The scripts generate REFERENCES.md and site/index.html; never edit those outputs by hand. guidance/REFERENCES.md and legacy/ retain the original snapshot for provenance. The original Desktop kit is preserved separately. This checkout is the maintained master going forward; the legacy copy will not receive new resources.

Find and grow the library

The directory supports text search and filters and works directly from disk. Agents can search resources.json without loading the entire guide. From the Cortex checkout, run:

python3 scripts/validate_frontend_library.py
python3 scripts/build_frontend_library.py
python3 scripts/build_frontend_library.py --check

To add a resource, create one catalogue object with a stable slug id, title, kind (resource or book), category, purpose, tags, status, added, last_checked, notes, and used_in. Web resources also have an HTTPS url. Books do not need an invented link. Use the existing entries as examples. Then validate and regenerate both views. Commit the source and generated changes together after review. IDs remain stable when a title or URL changes.

Use reference for material worth consulting, tested for a resource supported by recorded project evidence, watch for something to assess, and archived for something superseded. last_checked is null until someone actually checks the source. Record what was checked in notes; a reachable URL does not prove advice is correct. An import date is not a verification date.

After a project, capture which resource helped, how it was used, the result, and any limitations in notes and used_in. Only use public project identifiers here. Repeated evidence can motivate an explicit playbook edit; usage counts alone do not change routing defaults. Retain unsuccessful lessons too.

Adding resources never installs software. Jaspr remains optional and uninstalled; platform-specific Flutter or Dart references can be added when useful.

Private companion

Keep private screenshots, client work, purchased assets and personal project notes under your agent state directory, for example ~/.claude/cortex-frontend-private/. That folder is outside this repository and is never read by the public generator. Use a simple local Markdown index with source, license, purpose, project and result. Only move material into the shared catalogue after deciding it is suitable to share.

Use from any project

Run bash scripts/install_frontend_library.sh from this checkout. It links this library's skill into existing Claude and Codex homes and exposes the library at cortex-frontend in each home. It does not replace the Cortex CLI. New sessions can discover cortex-frontend-design; existing sessions can read the library directly.

The links point to this checkout, so local edits are immediately available. Keep the checkout in place and use a stable branch after review. If a link conflicts with an existing file or points elsewhere, the installer reports it without overwriting it. CLAUDE_DIR and CODEX_DIR allow isolated installation tests.