moai-design-tools

Design Tools Integration Specialist Comprehensive design-to-code workflow guidance covering three major capabilities: Figma MCP (design fetching), Pencil MCP (visual rendering), and Pencil-to-code export (React/Tailwind generation). Default Design Style (shadcn/ui Nova) When no specific design style is requested, use the shadcn/ui Nova preset with Notion-style neutral color scheme: bunx --bun shadcn@latest create --preset "https://ui.shadcn.com/init?base=radix&style=nova&baseColor=neutral&theme=neutral&iconLibrary=hugeicons&font=noto-sans&menuAccent=bold&menuColor=default&radius=small&template=next&rtl=false" --template next Nova Style Configuration Property Value Description Style nova Modern, clean design language Base Color neutral Notion-style grayscale palette Theme neutral Consistent neutral theming Icon Library hugeicons Comprehensive icon set Font noto-sans Clean, readable sans-serif Radius small Subtle rounded corners Menu Accent bold Strong menu highlighting When to Use Default Style Apply the Nova preset when: User requests "clean", "modern", or "minimalist" design without specifics No brand guidelines or design system specified Creating dashboards, admin panels, or productivity tools Building documentation or content-focused interfaces Quick Tool Selection Figma MCP - Design Context Fetching Figma integration for fetching design context, metadata, and screenshots from Figma files. Best For: Fetching design tokens, component specifications, layout information, and style guides from existing Figma files. Extracting design system values and understanding design structure. Key Strengths: Direct access to Figma file metadata, component hierarchy extraction, style guide generation, design token retrieval, screenshot capture for visual reference. Workflow: Connect to Figma file → Fetch file metadata → Extract component tree → Retrieve design tokens → Generate style documentation. Context7 Library: /figma/docs Pencil MCP - Visual Design Rendering Pencil MCP integration for creating and editing .pen design files with AI-assisted design generation. Best For: Rapid prototyping, visual design iterations, creating UI mockups from text descriptions, collaborative design discussions, visual proposals before implementation. Key Strengths: Text-to-design conversion, batch design operations, style guide integration, visual preview without implementation, collaborative design workflow. Available Pencil MCP Tools: Tool Purpose batch_design Create, modify, and manipulate design elements in batches batch_get Read design components and hierarchy by patterns or node IDs get_screenshot Render design previews as images snapshot_layout Analyze computed layout structure get_editor_state Get current editor context and active file get_variables Read design tokens and theme variables set_variables Update design tokens and theme variables get_guidelines Get design guidelines for code, tables, Tailwind, or landing pages get_style_guide Get style guide by name or tags get_style_guide_tags List all available style guide tags open_document Open existing .pen file or create new one find_empty_space_on_canvas Find available space for new elements Workflow: Describe UI in natural language → Generate design with batch_design → Visually review with get_screenshot → Iterate on design → Export to code when ready. Context7 Library: /pencil/docs Pencil-to-Code Export - React/Tailwind Generation Export .pen designs to production-ready React and Tailwind CSS code. Best For: Converting approved .pen designs to implementation, generating React components with Tailwind styling, maintaining design fidelity in code, rapid frontend development from visual designs. Key Strengths: Design-to-code automation, React component generation, Tailwind CSS styling, responsive layout handling, component structure preservation, design system integration. Workflow: Finalize .pen design → Configure export options → Generate React components → Apply Tailwind classes → Review generated code → Integrate into project. Quick Decision Guide Choose Figma MCP when: Need to extract design context from existing Figma files Working with designers who use Figma Required to fetch design tokens and component specifications Need screenshots or visual references from Figma Documenting existing design systems Choose Pencil MCP when: Creating new designs from scratch Rapid prototyping and visual iteration needed Text-based design workflow preferred Want AI-assisted design generation Collaborative design discussions with team Choose Pencil-to-Code Export when: Design is finalized in .pen format Ready to implement visual designs as code Need React components with Tailwind styling Maintaining design fidelity is critical Rapid frontend development from designs Pencil MCP Workflow Starting a Design Session Check Editor State get_editor_state() → Determine active .pen file and user selection Open or Create Document open_document(filePathOrNew: "new") → Create new .pen file open_document(filePathOrNew: "/path/to/file.pen") → Open existing Get Design Guidelines get_guidelines(topic: "code" | "table" | "tailwind" | "landing-page") get_style_guide_tags() → Get available style tags get_style_guide(tags: ["minimalist", "dashboard"], name: "nova") Creating Designs Generate with batch_design Use batch_design for efficient batch operations. Syntax: foo=I("parent", { ... }) // Insert new node baz=C("nodeid", "parent", { ... }) // Copy node foo2=R("nodeid1/nodeid2", {...}) // Replace node U(foo+"/nodeid", {...}) // Update node D("dfFAeg2") // Delete node M("nodeid3", "parent", 2) // Move node G("baz", "ai", "...") // Generate image with AI Design with Default Nova Style When creating components without user-specified style: Use neutral color palette (grays, whites) Apply small radius (4-6px) Use Noto Sans or system sans-serif Maintain clean, minimal aesthetic Apply consistent 4px/8px spacing grid Review with get_screenshot get_screenshot() → Visual validation of design Managing Design Tokens Read Variables get_variables() → Current design tokens and themes Update Variables set_variables(variables: { primary: "#3B82F6", ... }) Layout Analysis snapshot_layout() → Analyze computed layout rectangles find_empty_space_on_canvas(direction: "right", size: { w: 200, h: 100 }) Common Design-to-Code Patterns Universal Patterns These patterns apply across all three tools with tool-specific implementations. Design Token Management: All tools support design token extraction and management. Figma MCP extracts tokens from existing files, Pencil MCP generates tokens during design creation, Pencil-to-code exports tokens as CSS variables or Tailwind config. Component Architecture: All tools maintain component hierarchy. Figma MCP reads component structure from Figma, Pencil MCP creates component structure in DNA codes, Pencil-to-code generates React components preserving hierarchy. Responsive Design: All tools handle responsive layouts. Figma MCP extracts responsive variants, Pencil MCP defines responsive breakpoints in DNA, Pencil-to-code generates Tailwind responsive classes. Style Consistency: All tools ensure design consistency. Figma MCP validates against design system, Pencil MCP enforces design tokens, Pencil-to-code applies consistent Tailwind classes. Workflow Best Practices Applicable to all tools: Design System Integration: Define design tokens before starting design work Use consistent naming conventions across tools Maintain single source of truth for design values Document token usage and component patterns Version Control: Commit Figma metadata snapshots for reference Version .pen files in repository Track design iterations with git Document design decisions in code comments Collaboration: Use Figma comments for design feedback Share .pen frames for visual review Create pull requests for design changes Maintain design documentation alongside code Quality Assurance: Validate design tokens against style guide Test responsive breakpoints Verify accessibility compliance Review generated code for optimization Tool-Specific Implementation For detailed tool-specific implementation guidance, see the reference files: Figma MCP Implementation File: reference/figma.md Covers Figma MCP connection setup, file metadata fetching, component tree extraction, design token retrieval, screenshot capture, and style guide generation. Key sections: MCP configuration, authentication setup, file access patterns, metadata queries, component hierarchy parsing, token extraction formats, screenshot API usage, design system documentation. Pencil MCP Rendering File: reference/pencil-renderer.md Covers batch_design operations, style guide integration, .pen frame rendering, visual design iteration, collaborative workflows, and design version control. Key sections: batch_design syntax, natural language design prompts, rendering options, frame configuration, design refinement patterns, version control strategies, team collaboration workflows. Pencil-to-Code Export File: reference/pencil-code.md Covers .pen design export to React components, Tailwind CSS generation, component structure preservation, responsive layout handling, and design system integration. Key sections: Export configuration, React component generation, Tailwind class application, props API design, state management integration, testing generated components, optimization strategies. Tool Comparison File: reference/comparison.md Provides detailed comparison matrix covering use cases, workflow patterns, integration complexity, and when to use each tool. Key sections: Feature comparison table, workflow decision matrix, tool integration patterns, migration strategies, ecosystem compatibility, team workflow recommendations. Navigation Guide When working with design-to-code features: Start with Quick Tool Selection (above) if choosing a tool Apply Default Nova Style when no style specified Review Common Design-to-Code Patterns for universal concepts Open tool-specific reference file for implementation details Refer to comparison.md when evaluating multiple tools Use Context7 tools to access latest tool documentation Context7 Documentation Access Access up-to-date tool documentation using Context7 MCP: Figma: Use resolve-library-id with "figma" to get library ID Use get-library-docs with topic "mcp", "api", "design-tokens", "metadata" Pencil: Use resolve-library-id with "pencil" to get library ID Use get-library-docs with topic "mcp", "dna-codes", "rendering", "export" Official Documentation Pencil Official: https://pencil.dev Pencil Docs: https://docs.pencil.dev Pencil AI Integration: https://docs.pencil.dev/getting-started/ai-integration Works Well With moai-domain-uiux: Design systems and component architecture moai-domain-frontend: React implementation patterns moai-library-shadcn: shadcn/ui component integration (Nova preset) moai-lang-typescript: TypeScript for generated components moai-lang-react: React best practices moai-foundation-core: SPEC-driven development workflows Status: Active Version: 3.0.0 (Nova Style + Pencil MCP Tools Integration) Last Updated: 2026-02-21 Tools: Figma MCP, Pencil MCP, Pencil-to-Code Export Default Style: shadcn/ui Nova (neutral, noto-sans, small radius)