Design System Discovery

Auto-detects the project's component library, token system, and variant framework. Called by devise Phase 0.5 (pre-brainstorm), strive worker injection (Phase 1.5), and arc Phase 2.8 (semantic verification).

Output

Writes tmp/plans/{timestamp}/design-system-profile.yaml (session-scoped, ephemeral). Never writes to .claude/ — that path is reserved for Claude Code platform files only.

discoverDesignSystem(repoRoot, sessionCacheDir)

Input: repoRoot — repository root path; sessionCacheDir — caller-provided session-scoped temp directory (e.g. tmp/plans/{timestamp}) Output: design-system-profile.yaml (written to {sessionCacheDir}/), profile object returned to caller

Phase 0: Pre-flight

// sessionCacheDir is passed by caller (e.g. tmp/plans/{timestamp})
IF {sessionCacheDir}/design-system-profile.yaml EXISTS:
  RETURN cached profile  // Re-use within same session
ELSE:
  BEGIN tiered scan

Phase 1: Tiered Scanning

Scanning proceeds in 3 tiers (Tier 0: root manifests, Tier 1: shallow scan, Tier 2: deep content scan). Each tier is only entered if the previous tier did not yield a conclusive match (confidence >= 0.90). Early exit saves time in well-configured projects.

See tiered-scanning.md for the full signal definitions, file lists, and weight assignments per tier.

Phase 2–3: Signal Aggregation & Confidence

After all tiers, signals are grouped by category (library, token, variant) and confidence is computed using a weighted formula: confidence = maxWeight * (matchedCount / totalSignals) ^ 0.3, with a conclusive single-signal shortcut (weight == 1.0 → confidence = 1.0).

See signal-aggregation.md for the aggregation categories, confidence formula, worked examples, and threshold table.

Winner selection: The library with the highest confidence is primary_library. If two libraries both exceed 0.50, include both (migration edge case — see §Edge Cases).

Phase 4–5: Token & Variant System Resolution

Resolves the project's design token format (Tailwind v4 theme, v3 config, Style Dictionary, CSS variables) and variant system (CVA, styled-components, CSS modules). Extracts semantic colors, spacing, border radius, and shadow scales from detected source files.

See signal-aggregation.md for the full Phase 4 (Token System Resolution) and Phase 5 (Variant System Resolution) pseudocode.

Phase 6: Component Inventory

Glob: {src/,}components/ui/*.tsx  (limit 50)
Glob: {src/,}components/**/*.tsx  (limit 100, exclude ui/ subdirectory)

components.path         = primary component directory
components.naming       = detect: PascalCase | kebab-case | snake_case
components.existing     = deduplicated list of component names (strip .tsx)
components.count        = len(components.existing)

Phase 7: Ancillary Fields

accessibility.layer     = "radix" IF @radix-ui/* deps >= 3 ELSE "unknown"
class_merge.utility     = "cn" IF cn() from utils detected ELSE "clsx" IF clsx used ELSE "none"
class_merge.import      = resolved import path of utility
dark_mode.strategy      = "class" IF .dark { ... } in CSS ELSE "media" IF @media (prefers-color-scheme) ELSE "unknown"
dark_mode.class_name    = "dark" (default shadcn/ui) — read from components.json "darkMode" if present
tailwind.version        = "4" | "3" | null
tailwind.config_type    = "js" | "ts" | "css" (v4 inline) | null
tailwind.plugins        = list of tailwind plugins from config
path_alias              = "@" IF tsconfig.json contains "paths": {"@/*": ["./src/*"]} ELSE null
evidence_files          = list of all files that contributed a signal (deduplicated)

Output Schema: design-system-profile.yaml

# Written to: tmp/plans/{timestamp}/design-system-profile.yaml
# Generated by: discoverDesignSystem() — do not edit manually

library: shadcn_ui              # Primary library: shadcn_ui | untitled_ui | custom_design_system | unknown
library_version: "0.8.0"       # From components.json "style" or package.json version, null if unknown
confidence: 0.95               # 0.0–1.0 — see confidence formula above

tokens:
  format: tailwind-v4-theme    # tailwind-v4-theme | tailwind-v3-config | style-dictionary | css-variables | unknown
  source_file: app/globals.css # Relative path to token source
  semantic_colors:
    background: "oklch(1 0 0)"
    foreground: "oklch(0.145 0 0)"
    primary: "oklch(0.205 0 0)"
    # ... additional token values
  spacing_scale: []            # List of spacing values, empty if not detected
  border_radius_scale:
    default: "0.625rem"        # --radius from components.json or CSS
  shadow_scale: []             # List of shadow values, empty if not detected

variants:
  system: cva                  # cva | css-in-js | css-modules | unknown
  pattern: class-variance-authority

components:
  path: src/components/ui      # Primary component directory (relative)
  naming: PascalCase           # PascalCase | kebab-case | snake_case
  existing:                    # Discovered component names
    - Button
    - Card
    - Dialog
    - Input
  count: 4

accessibility:
  layer: radix                 # radix | unknown

class_merge:
  utility: cn                  # cn | clsx | none
  import: "@/lib/utils"

dark_mode:
  strategy: class              # class | media | unknown
  class_name: dark

tailwind:
  version: "4"                 # "4" | "3" | null
  config_type: css             # js | ts | css | null
  plugins: []                  # e.g., ["@tailwindcss/typography", "tailwindcss-animate"]

path_alias: "@"                # "@" | null
evidence_files:
  - package.json
  - components.json
  - app/globals.css

Edge Cases

8 edge cases are handled: Monorepo (EC-1), Migration (EC-2), Custom-on-Radix (EC-3), Bare Tailwind (EC-4), Figma Code Connect (EC-5), Storybook-Only (EC-6), CSS Modules (EC-7), RSC (EC-8).

See edge-cases.md for detection criteria and handling rules for each case.

discoverUIBuilder(sessionCacheDir, repoRoot, detectedLibrary, figmaFramework)

Input: sessionCacheDir — session-scoped temp directory; repoRoot — repository root path; detectedLibrary — (optional) library from discoverDesignSystem(), null for independent operation; figmaFramework — (optional) framework from discoverFigmaFramework(), null when Figma data unavailable Output: builder-profile.yaml (written to {sessionCacheDir}/), builder config object returned to caller or null

Discovers which UI builder MCP is available. Operates independently of discoverDesignSystem() — when called without detectedLibrary, skips library-dependent steps (2-4) and runs heuristic-only MCP detection. When called with detectedLibrary, runs the full 5-step priority cascade.

Called after discoverDesignSystem() during devise Phase 0.5 and strive Phase 1.5. Called independently during design-prototype Phase 0 (Layer 3).

5-step priority cascade: session cache → talisman binding (0.95) → project skill frontmatter (0.90) → plugin skill frontmatter (0.90) → known MCP registry + heuristic (0.50). First match wins. Steps 2-4 require detectedLibrary; Step 5 runs unconditionally.

See ui-builder-discovery.md for the full algorithm, parseBuilderFrontmatter(), known MCP registry, heuristic detection, and builder-profile.yaml output schema.

discoverFrontendStack(repoRoot)

Input: repoRoot — repository root path Output: frontend stack profile object with framework, version, build tool, CSS framework, and confidence

Extends the existing detectTypeScriptStack() with version extraction for the design-prototype pipeline (Layer 1 of 3-layer detection). Extracts major version from package.json semver strings, detects build tool (vite/next/webpack), and identifies CSS framework with version (Tailwind v3 vs v4).

Fallback: { framework: null, css_framework: "tailwind", css_version: 4, confidence: 0.0 } — ensures the pipeline always has a valid CSS target.

See tiered-scanning.md for the full algorithm, extractMajor() helper, output schema, and relationship to detectTypeScriptStack().

discoverFigmaFramework(figmaApiResponse, nodeId)

Input: figmaApiResponse — full Figma API response object; nodeId — target node ID from Figma URL Output: detection result with framework identifier, numeric score (0.0-1.0), match details, and alternatives — or null-safe fallback

Analyzes Figma API component metadata (component names, variant props, icon names, typography styles, effect styles, remote flags) to identify which UI library a design references. Layer 2 of the 3-layer detection pipeline. Called during design-prototype Phase 0 after Figma data is fetched. Not called in text-only (--describe) mode.

Uses weighted signal matching (component 0.35, variant 0.25, icon 0.15, typography 0.10, effect 0.05, remote 0.10) against the framework signature registry. Returns framework: null when score < 0.40 or margin between top two candidates < 0.15.

See figma-framework-detection.md for the full algorithm, signal weights, error handling, and output schema. See figma-framework-signatures.md for the framework signature registry (untitled_ui, shadcn_ui, material_ui, ant_design).

composeDesignContext(frontendStack, figmaFramework, builderMCP, mode)

Input: frontendStack — Layer 1 output; figmaFramework — Layer 2 output (null in text-only mode); builderMCP — Layer 3 output (null when no builder); mode — "url" or "describe" Output: unified DesignContext object with synthesis_strategy ("library" | "hybrid" | "tailwind")

Merges all 3 detection layers into a single context consumed by design-prototype Phase 1+. Includes conflict resolution (e.g., Vue project + shadcn Figma → tailwind), mode guard for text-only paths, and timeout budget (5000ms default).

See design-context.md for the full composition algorithm, decision matrix, conflict resolution rules, parallelization strategy, and output schema.

Integration Points

devise Phase 0.5 (Pre-Brainstorm)

profile = discoverDesignSystem(repoRoot, sessionCacheDir)
IF profile.confidence >= talisman.devise.design_system_discovery.confidence_threshold:
  INJECT profile summary into brainstorm context
  SET brainstorm_context.design_system = profile

// discoverUIBuilder() runs immediately after discoverDesignSystem()
uiBuilder = discoverUIBuilder(sessionCacheDir, repoRoot)
IF uiBuilder is not null:
  INJECT builder summary into brainstorm context
  SET brainstorm_context.ui_builder = uiBuilder

strive Worker Injection (Phase 1.5)

See strive worker-prompts.md for the component constraint injection protocol.

Workers receive a trimmed profile (max talisman.strive.frontend_component_context.max_profile_lines lines).

arc Phase 2.8 Semantic Verification

During semantic verification, the profile validates that implementation code:

• Uses the correct component import paths (@/components/ui/* for shadcn/ui)
• Applies the correct variant system (cva() calls, not ad-hoc className strings)
• Respects dark mode strategy (no hardcoded colors, only semantic tokens)

Configuration

# talisman.yml
devise:
  design_system_discovery:
    enabled: true                # Master switch (default: true)
    confidence_threshold: 0.5   # Min confidence to inject profile into context

strive:
  frontend_component_context:
    enabled: true                # Inject profile into strive worker prompts (default: true)
    max_profile_lines: 200       # Cap profile size before injection (default: 200)
    token_cap_lines: 50          # Cap token constraint section (default: 50)

stack_awareness:
  design_compliance: true        # Enable design-system-compliance-reviewer (default: true)

Cross-References

• stacks — Stack detection; design system discovery is a sub-layer
• frontend-design-patterns — Implementation patterns using the discovered system
• design-sync — Figma design synchronization workflow
• strive — Worker prompt injection for component constraints
• untitledui-mcp — Built-in UntitledUI builder skill with builder-protocol frontmatter (detected by discoverUIBuilder())