CSS Development Standards
REFERENCE MODE: This skill provides reference material. Load specific standards on-demand based on current task.
Overview
Provides modern CSS development standards for CUI projects, covering fundamentals, responsive design patterns, performance optimization, accessibility, and build tooling.
Standards Documents
- •css-essentials.md - Core principles, naming conventions (BEM), custom properties, selectors, file structure, component architecture
- •css-responsive.md - Mobile-first approach, Grid/Flexbox layouts, Container Queries, fluid typography, responsive patterns
- •css-quality-tooling.md - Performance optimization, accessibility standards, dark mode, PostCSS/Stylelint/Prettier setup, build pipeline
What This Skill Provides
CSS Essentials
- •Modern CSS features (custom properties, Grid, Flexbox, modern functions)
- •BEM naming methodology and semantic naming patterns
- •Selector best practices (low specificity, avoiding IDs, nesting limits)
- •Property organization and file structure
- •Component architecture patterns
- •Utility classes and hybrid approach
Responsive Design
- •Mobile-first development patterns
- •CSS Grid layouts (dashboard, content grid, auto-fit)
- •Flexbox patterns (navigation, cards, centering)
- •Container Queries for responsive components
- •Fluid typography with clamp()
- •Responsive images, spacing, and common patterns
Quality & Tooling
- •Performance (efficient selectors, containment, critical CSS, bundle optimization)
- •Accessibility (focus management, color contrast, motion preferences, touch targets)
- •Dark mode (system preference and manual toggle)
- •PostCSS configuration (import, nested, autoprefixer, csso)
- •Stylelint setup (property ordering, naming patterns, best practices)
- •Build pipeline (development, production, quality checks)
- •CI/CD integration
When to Activate
Use this skill when:
- •Writing or modifying CSS code
- •Setting up CSS tooling (PostCSS, Stylelint, Prettier)
- •Implementing design systems and theming
- •Building responsive layouts
- •Optimizing CSS performance
- •Ensuring accessibility compliance
- •Reviewing CSS code
Workflow
- •Identify task - Determine which standards document(s) apply
- •Apply standards - Follow BEM naming, use custom properties, implement responsive patterns, ensure accessibility
- •Quality check - Run Stylelint, Prettier, test responsiveness and accessibility
- •Document - Comment complex patterns, explain custom properties
Best Practices
- •Use CSS custom properties for design tokens
- •Follow mobile-first approach
- •Use BEM naming convention
- •Implement container queries for responsive components
- •Support dark mode via custom properties
- •Ensure accessibility (focus states, motion preferences, contrast ratios)
- •Run quality tools before committing