README

DESIGN.md

A format specification for describing a visual identity to coding agents. DESIGN.md gives agents a persistent, structured understanding of a design system.

 The Format

A DESIGN.md file combines machine-readable design tokens (YAML front matter or interleaved YAML code blocks) with human-readable design rationale (markdown prose). Tokens give agents exact values. Prose tells them why those values exist and how to apply them.

md
---
name: Heritage
colors:
  primary: "1A1C1E"
  secondary: "6C7278"
  tertiary: "B8422E"
  neutral: "F7F5F2"
typography:
  h1:
    fontFamily: Public Sans
    fontSize: 3rem
  body-md:
    fontFamily: Public Sans
    fontSize: 1rem
  label-caps:
    fontFamily: Space Grotesk
    fontSize: 0.75rem
rounded:
  sm: 4px
  md: 8px
spacing:
  sm: 8px
  md: 16px
---

 Overview

Architectural Minimalism meets Journalistic Gravitas. The UI evokes a
premium matte finish — a high-end broadsheet or contemporary gallery.

 Colors

The palette is rooted in high-contrast neutrals and a single accent color.

- Primary (1A1C1E): Deep ink for headlines and core text.
- Secondary (6C7278): Sophisticated slate for borders, captions, metadata.
- Tertiary (B8422E): "Boston Clay" — the sole driver for interaction.
- Neutral (F7F5F2): Warm limestone foundation, softer than pure white.


An agent that reads this file will produce a UI with deep ink headlines in Public Sans, a warm limestone background, and Boston Clay call-to-action buttons.

 Getting Started

Validate a DESIGN.md against the spec, catch broken token references, check WCAG contrast ratios, and surface structural findings — all as structured JSON that agents can act on.

bash
npx @google/design.md lint DESIGN.md


json
{
  "findings": [
    {
      "severity": "warning",
      "path": "components.button-primary",
      "message": "textColor (ffffff) on backgroundColor (1A1C1E) has contrast ratio 15.42:1 — passes WCAG AA."
    }
  ],
  "summary": { "errors": 0, "warnings": 1, "infos": 1 }
}


Compare two versions of a design system to detect token-level and prose regressions:

bash
npx @google/design.md diff DESIGN.md DESIGN-v2.md


json
{
  "tokens": {
    "colors": { "added": ["accent"], "removed": [], "modified": ["tertiary"] },
    "typography": { "added": [], "removed": [], "modified": [] },
    "rounded": { "added": [], "removed": [], "modified": [] },
    "spacing": { "added": [], "removed": [], "modified": [] },
    "components": { "added": [], "removed": [], "modified": [] }
  },
  "findings": {
    "before": { "errors": 0, "warnings": 1, "infos": 1 },
    "after": { "errors": 0, "warnings": 1, "infos": 1 },
    "delta": { "errors": 0, "warnings": 0 }
  },
  "regression": false
}


 The Specification

The full DESIGN.md spec lives at docs/spec.md. What follows is a condensed reference.

 File Structure

A DESIGN.md file has two layers:

1. YAML Design tokens — Machine-readable design tokens, delimited by --- fences at the top of the file or interleaved as fence