stage-ui-design-system

Design

Stagewise UI theming, design tokens, derived utilities, and component library reference. Use when creating, editing, or reviewing UI in apps/browser, implementing new screens or components, or styling with Tailwind in the stagewise codebase.

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Stage UI Design System

All UI in apps/browser/ is built on @stagewise/stage-ui — a shared design system using OKLCH colors, Tailwind CSS 4, and Base UI (React) primitives.

Importing Styles & Components

Styles — import the CSS entry point (already done in the browser app):

@import "../../../../../packages/stage-ui/src/styles/index.css";

Components — import via package alias:

import { Button } from '@stagewise/stage-ui/components/button';
import { Tooltip, TooltipTrigger, TooltipContent } from '@stagewise/stage-ui/components/tooltip';

Utility function — cn() merges Tailwind classes (clsx + twMerge):

import { cn } from '@stagewise/stage-ui/lib/utils';

Color System (OKLCH)

All colors use OKLCH with a shared hue --H: 265 (purple). The palette is defined in palette.css.

Base colors (--color-base-50 to --color-base-950): Low-chroma, nearly grayscale but subtly tinted. Used for 95%+ of the app.

Primary colors (--color-primary-50 to --color-primary-950): High-chroma, saturated. Used for CTAs, links, active states.

Semantic colors: success (green), error (red), warning (yellow), info (blue) — each has -background, -foreground, -solid variants that auto-switch with light/dark.

Theme Tokens

Defined in theme.css, tokens auto-switch between light and dark mode via prefers-color-scheme.

Backgrounds

Tailwind class	Token	Usage
`bg-app-background`	`--color-app-background`	Outermost app chrome
`bg-background`	`--color-background`	Main content areas, cards, panels
`bg-surface-1`	`--color-surface-1`	First elevation above background
`bg-surface-2`	`--color-surface-2`	Second elevation (nested elements)
`bg-surface-3`	`--color-surface-3`	Third elevation (deeply nested)
`bg-surface-tinted`	`--color-surface-tinted`	Primary-tinted highlight surface
`bg-overlay`	`--color-overlay`	Modal/dialog backdrops (use with opacity)

Text

Tailwind class	Usage
`text-foreground`	Primary readable text
`text-muted-foreground`	Secondary/less important text
`text-subtle-foreground`	Hints, placeholders, disabled text
`text-primary-foreground`	Accent text (links, highlights)
`text-solid-foreground`	Text on solid/primary backgrounds

Borders

Tailwind class	Usage
`border-border`	Regular borders
`border-border-subtle`	Subtle/lighter borders

Primary

Tailwind class	Usage
`bg-primary-solid`	Solid primary fill (buttons, badges)

Semantic

Pattern: (bg|text)-{success|error|warning|info}-{background|foreground|solid}

Elevation & Shadows

Light mode: Use bg-background for cards. Depth comes from shadows. Dark mode: Use escalating surfaces based on nesting depth:

Element on bg-background → use bg-surface-1
Element on bg-surface-1 → use bg-surface-2
Element on bg-surface-2 → use bg-surface-3

Shadow utilities (defined in shadows.css):

shadow-elevation-1 — subtle card shadow
shadow-elevation-2 — prominent popup/modal shadow

Derived Utilities

These auto-derive border/hover/active colors from an element's background. Requires the element to have a bg-* class set.

Borders (derived from background)

border-derived-subtle — light border
border-derived — regular border
border-derived-strong — strong border
border-derived-lighter-subtle / border-derived-lighter — explicitly lighter

Same pattern for rings: ring-derived-subtle, ring-derived, ring-derived-strong

Hover & Active States

hover:bg-hover-derived — hover background
active:bg-active-derived — active/pressed background
hover:text-hover-derived — hover text
active:text-active-derived — active text

Explicit Lighten/Darken (ignores dark/light mode)

bg-derived-lighter / bg-derived-lighter-subtle
bg-derived-darker / bg-derived-darker-subtle
text-derived-lighter / text-derived-lighter-subtle

Animations

Defined in animations.css. Use as Tailwind classes:

Class	Effect
`animate-progress-bar-indicator`	Repeating slide for progress bars
`animate-skeleton-shimmer`	Loading shimmer for skeletons
`animate-caret-blink`	Blinking caret for inputs
`animate-icon-pulse`	Stroke-width pulse for icons
`animate-pulse-full`	Full opacity pulse (0→1→0)
`animate-text-pulse`	Muted↔foreground text pulse
`animate-text-pulse-warning`	Foreground↔warning text pulse
`shimmer-text`	Shimmering gradient text effect
`shimmer-text-primary`	Primary-colored shimmer preset
`shimmer-text-once`	One-shot shimmer that settles

Shimmer config: shimmer-duration-{ms}, shimmer-from-{color}, shimmer-to-{color}

Component Patterns

All components follow these patterns:

Built on Base UI (@base-ui/react) — unstyled React primitives
Variants via CVA (class-variance-authority) — variant and size props
Class merging via cn() — all accept className for overrides
Compound components — e.g. Dialog + DialogContent + DialogTitle

Typical usage example

import { Button } from '@stagewise/stage-ui/components/button';
import { Tooltip, TooltipTrigger, TooltipContent } from '@stagewise/stage-ui/components/tooltip';

<Tooltip>
  <TooltipTrigger>
    <Button variant="secondary" size="sm">Click me</Button>
  </TooltipTrigger>
  <TooltipContent side="top">Helpful hint</TooltipContent>
</Tooltip>

Available Components

For detailed API and props of each component, see components-reference.md.

Component	Import path	Key props
Button	`components/button`	`variant`: primary, secondary, destructive, warning, success, ghost. `size`: xs, sm, md, lg, icon-2xs, icon-xs, icon-sm, icon-md
Input	`components/input`	`size`: xs, sm, md. `debounce`: ms. Built on Base UI Input
Select	`components/select`	`items`, `value`, `onValueChange`, `size`, `triggerVariant`: ghost/secondary, `multiple`
Checkbox	`components/checkbox`	`size`: xs, sm, md. Built on Base UI Checkbox
Switch	`components/switch`	`size`: xs, sm, md. Built on Base UI Switch
Radio	`components/radio`	`RadioGroup` + `Radio` + `RadioLabel`. Built on Base UI Radio
Tabs	`components/tabs`	`Tabs`, `TabsList`, `TabsTrigger`, `TabsContent`
Dialog	`components/dialog`	`Dialog`, `DialogTrigger`, `DialogContent`, `DialogTitle`, `DialogDescription`, `DialogClose`, `DialogHeader`, `DialogFooter`
Popover	`components/popover`	`Popover`, `PopoverTrigger`, `PopoverContent`, `PopoverTitle`, `PopoverDescription`, `PopoverClose`, `PopoverFooter`
Tooltip	`components/tooltip`	`Tooltip`, `TooltipTrigger`, `TooltipContent`, `TooltipProvider`
Menu	`components/menu`	`Menu`, `MenuTrigger`, `MenuContent`, `MenuItem`, `MenuSeparator`, `MenuSubmenu`, `MenuSubmenuTrigger`, `MenuSubmenuContent`
Collapsible	`components/collapsible`	`Collapsible`, `CollapsibleTrigger` (size: default/condensed), `CollapsibleContent`
Progress	`components/progress`	`Progress`, `ProgressTrack` (variant: normal/warning, busy, slim), `ProgressLabel`, `ProgressValue`
Skeleton	`components/skeleton`	`variant`: rectangle, circle, text. `size`: xs–full. `animate`: boolean
Form	`components/form`	`Form`, `FormFieldset`, `FormField`, `FormFieldLabel`, `FormFieldTitle`, `FormFieldDescription`, `FormFieldError`, `FormFieldSeparator`
Resizable	`components/resizable`	`ResizablePanelGroup`, `ResizablePanel`, `ResizableHandle`. Built on react-resizable-panels
OverlayScrollbar	`components/overlay-scrollbar`	Custom scrollbar wrapper
Toaster	`components/toaster`	Toast notification system
Breadcrumb	`components/breadcrumb`	Breadcrumb navigation
Combobox	`components/combobox`	Combobox/autocomplete input
InputOtp	`components/input-otp`	OTP code input
SearchableSelect	`components/searchable-select`	Searchable dropdown select
SplitText	`components/split-text`	Text splitting utility
PreviewCard	`components/preview-card`	Card with preview content
LogoText	`components/logo-text`	Stagewise logo text

Quick Decision Guide

Picking a background:

Top-level page → bg-app-background
Card/panel → bg-background
Nested element → escalate: bg-surface-1 → bg-surface-2 → bg-surface-3

Picking text color:

Primary content → text-foreground
Secondary info → text-muted-foreground
Placeholder/disabled → text-subtle-foreground
Links/accents → text-primary-foreground

Borders & states (on elements with bg-*):

Border: border border-derived or border border-derived-subtle
Hover: hover:bg-hover-derived
Active: active:bg-active-derived

Icons: Use lucide-react or nucleo-ui-fill-18 (project-specific icon set).

Storybook

Preview components and color definitions:

pnpm --filter stagewise storybook