bendc Frontend Guidelines

Triggers

Use this skill when the task benefits from foundational HTML, CSS, and vanilla JS craft guidance from the vendored bendc/frontend-guidelines checklist, including:

• Semantic HTML, document structure, lang, charset, and meaningful elements (main, article, time, etc.)
• Accessibility basics called out upstream: alt text, real links and buttons, not relying on color alone, labelling controls
• CSS structure: selector weight, avoiding unnecessary !important, inheritance, shorthand, flow and layout (flex/grid over absolute positioning when appropriate)
• CSS performance habits: prefer opacity / transform for animation; avoid animating layout-heavy properties (aligns with repo motion rules)
• Vanilla or legacy JS style: readability, native APIs, avoiding foot-guns called out in the upstream doc

Also load docs/ai/rules/frontend.md for any apps/* or packages/ui work in this monorepo.

Do not use when

• The task is strictly backend, migrations, or database-only work.
• You only need React / Next.js / App Router patterns — prefer docs/ai/skills/nextjs-app-router/SKILL.md and framework docs.
• You only need Tailwind, design tokens, or shared @asym/ui primitives — the upstream doc is not Tailwind-specific; follow docs/ai/rules/frontend.md first.

Precedence (this repo wins)

The full text of the upstream guide lives in references/readme-original.md. When that reference conflicts with the Precedence table below, follow the table.

Topic	Authoritative in this repo
Tailwind, Maia/Zinc tokens, cn(), no arbitrary hex in components	docs/ai/rules/frontend.md
Motion timing, tokens, reduced motion, transition-all ban, route view transitions	docs/ai/rules/frontend.md, docs/ai/skills/emil-design-engineering/SKILL.md, docs/ai/skills/anim/SKILL.md
General JavaScript / TypeScript code shape, control flow, helper extraction	ESLint, TypeScript configuration, formatter output, and nearby source patterns — prefer explicit, straightforward code over upstream terseness, loop avoidance, recursion, or shorthand
TypeScript types, strict, equality (===), linted patterns	ESLint / TS config and existing code style — do not adopt upstream examples that rely on loose equality or patterns that fail lint here
React component structure, Server Components, hooks	Next.js docs and docs/ai/skills/react-component-dev/SKILL.md

Use the bendc guide as a second opinion on semantics, DOM clarity, CSS discipline, and readable JS. Do not copy upstream JavaScript advice about terseness, avoiding loops, recursion, composition, or shorthand unless it improves clarity under this repo's AGENTS.md conventions.

Workflow

1. Confirm the surface is in scope (markup, styles, or JS where the upstream checklist applies).
2. Load references/readme-original.md (or skim the sections you need: HTML, CSS, JavaScript).
3. Cross-check Precedence above before recommending a change that touches tokens, Tailwind, motion, JS/TS code shape, or TS types.
4. For shared UI or app routes, reconcile recommendations with docs/ai/rules/frontend.md and nearby components.
5. Prefer small, evidence-based edits; do not rewrite large areas solely to match upstream brevity examples if repo style differs.

Checklist

• Confirmed triggers match (HTML/CSS/JS craft vs pure React/Next/backend).
• Read the relevant sections of references/readme-original.md or the live upstream README.
• Applied Precedence: repo frontend rules, motion skills, AGENTS.md code style, and TypeScript lint are satisfied.
• Did not strip accessibility or semantics for brevity.
• If you edited files under docs/ai/skills/bendc-frontend-guidelines/, ran bun run skills:sync and bun run skills:verify before committing.

See also

• Repo UI policy: docs/ai/rules/frontend.md
• Motion craft: docs/ai/skills/emil-design-engineering/SKILL.md, docs/ai/skills/anim/SKILL.md
• React component patterns: docs/ai/skills/react-component-dev/SKILL.md
• Maintainer refresh notes: references/upstream.md