# ASCII Design System — Python Port Complete ✓

**Date:** 2026-02-09
**Status:** ✅ Complete & Working

## Summary

Successfully ported the Skene ASCII Design System from TypeScript/Node.js to Python/Rich for use in `skill-loom-cli.py`. The CLI now uses consistent Skene branding with design tokens, symbols, and adaptive rendering.

---

## What Was Created

### 1. ✅ ASCII Design System Module (`ascii/`)

```
ascii/
├── __init__.py           # Main exports and convenience imports
├── design_tokens.py      # Colors, symbols, tokens (182 lines)
├── environment.py        # Render mode detection (132 lines)
└── README.md            # Complete documentation (290 lines)
```

**Key Components:**

**`design_tokens.py`:**

- `SkeneColors` class — All hex colors from design system
- `Tokens` class — Rich-compatible color tokens
- `Symbols` class — Unicode characters (◈, ✓, →, ◉, etc.)
- `BoxChars` class — Box drawing characters (╭╮╰╯─│)
- `RISK_COLORS` mapping — Risk level → color tokens
- `should_use_color()` — NO_COLOR env var support

**`environment.py`:**

- `RenderMode` enum — Terminal, IDE chat, mobile, plain
- `get_render_mode()` — Auto-detect environment
- `get_terminal_width()` — Width detection with fallbacks
- `get_layout_classification()` — narrow/compact/standard/wide

---

## What Was Changed

### 2. ✅ Refactored `skill-loom-cli.py` (608 lines)

Replaced all hardcoded Rich colors with Skene design tokens:

**Before:**

```python
console.print("[bold cyan]Header[/bold cyan]")
table = Table(border_style="cyan")
console.print("[green]✓[/green] Success")
console.print("[red]✗[/red] Error")
```

**After:**

```python
console.print(f"[bold {SkeneColors.PRIMARY}]Header[/bold {SkeneColors.PRIMARY}]")
table = Table(border_style=SkeneColors.PRIMARY)
console.print(f"[{SkeneColors.SUCCESS}]{Symbols.CHECKMARK}[/{SkeneColors.SUCCESS}] Success")
console.print(f"[{SkeneColors.ERROR}]{Symbols.CROSS}[/{SkeneColors.ERROR}] Error")
```

**Updated Methods:**

1. ✓ `show_banner()` — Primary gold banner, Skene symbols
2. ✓ `main_menu()` — Primary border, primary gold options
3. ✓ `browse_job_functions()` — Risk colors (error/warning/beacon_active/success)
4. ✓ `show_function_skills()` — Consistent color scheme
5. ✓ `show_skill_details()` — Beacon symbols, primary headers
6. ✓ `search_skills()` — Primary borders and prompts
7. ✓ `security_audit_view()` — Progress bars with Symbols.PROGRESS_FULL
8. ✓ `view_workflows()` — Primary gold workflow names
9. ✓ `show_workflow_details()` — Arrow symbols, beacon warnings
10. ✓ `statistics_dashboard()` — Checkmark symbols, success colors
11. ✓ `show_about()` — Skene logo in markdown
12. ✓ `main()` error handling — Warning/error colors with symbols

---

## Color Mapping

| Old (Generic)      | New (Skene)     | Hex       | Use Case                   |
| ------------------ | --------------- | --------- | -------------------------- |
| `cyan`             | `PRIMARY`       | `#EDC29C` | Headers, borders, prompts  |
| `yellow` (accent)  | `PRIMARY_GOLD`  | `#E8C260` | Option numbers, highlights |
| `green`            | `SUCCESS`       | `#9CEDC7` | Success states, checkmarks |
| `red`              | `ERROR`         | `#ED9C9C` | Critical risk, errors      |
| `yellow` (warning) | `WARNING`       | `#FFAA00` | High risk, warnings        |
| `cyan` (medium)    | `BEACON_ACTIVE` | `#00FFC2` | Medium risk, active states |
| `white`            | `WHITE`         | `#FAF1E9` | Body text                  |
| `dim`              | `DIM`           | `#9ca3af` | Secondary text, muted      |

---

## Symbol Mapping

| Old   | New                     | Unicode  | Use Case                     |
| ----- | ----------------------- | -------- | ---------------------------- |
| `✓`   | `Symbols.CHECKMARK`     | U+2713   | Success, completed           |
| `✗`   | `Symbols.CROSS`         | U+2717   | Error, failed                |
| `●`   | `Symbols.BEACON`        | U+25C9   | Active state, risk indicator |
| `⚠`   | `Symbols.BEACON_WARN`   | (custom) | Warnings                     |
| `•`   | `Symbols.BULLET`        | U+2022   | List items                   |
| `→`   | `Symbols.ARROW`         | U+2192   | Navigation                   |
| `▸`   | `Symbols.ARROW_RIGHT`   | U+25B8   | Workflow connectors          |
| `█`   | `Symbols.PROGRESS_FULL` | U+2588   | Progress bars                |
| `[⋯]` | `Symbols.SKENE_LOGO`    | custom   | Branding                     |

---

## Features Added

### 1. Consistent Branding

- All colors match Skene Design System
- Unified color palette across all screens
- Brand recognition through consistent peach (#EDC29C) accent

### 2. Semantic Color System

- **PRIMARY** (#EDC29C) — Headers, borders, interactive prompts
- **PRIMARY_GOLD** (#E8C260) — Highlights, option numbers
- **BEACON_ACTIVE** (#00FFC2) — Active CTAs, medium risk
- **SUCCESS/ERROR/WARNING** — Clear status indicators

### 3. Unicode Symbol Library

- Professional symbols (◈, ✓, ◉) instead of plain text
- Consistent bullet points and arrows
- Progress bars with block characters (█░▓)

### 4. Adaptive Rendering

- Respects `NO_COLOR` environment variable
- Detects IDE chat vs terminal
- Terminal width detection (narrow/compact/standard/wide)

### 5. Future-Proof Architecture

- Easy to extend with new colors/symbols
- Centralized design token management
- No hardcoded colors in application code

---

## Testing

### ✅ Verified Working

```bash
cd /path/to/skene-cookbook

# Test basic launch
python3 skill-loom-cli.py

# Test NO_COLOR mode
NO_COLOR=1 python3 skill-loom-cli.py

# Test IDE chat mode
ASCII_RENDER_MODE=ide-chat python3 skill-loom-cli.py
```

**Results:**

- ✓ CLI launches successfully
- ✓ Banner displays with proper colors
- ✓ Menu renders with Skene branding
- ✓ All colors display correctly
- ✓ Symbols render properly
- ✓ NO_COLOR mode works (falls back to no colors)

---

## Before vs After

### Before (Generic Rich colors)

```
┌──────────────────────────────┐  (cyan border)
│ Skills Directory             │  (cyan text)
│ ✓ Success                    │  (green checkmark)
│ ✗ Error                      │  (red cross)
└──────────────────────────────┘
```

### After (Skene Design System)

```
┌──────────────────────────────┐  (#EDC29C peach border)
│ Skills Directory             │  (#EDC29C peach text)
│ ✓ Success                    │  (#9CEDC7 teal checkmark)
│ ✗ Error                      │  (#ED9C9C soft red cross)
└──────────────────────────────┘
```

---

## File Changes Summary

| File                          | Status        | Lines     | Description             |
| ----------------------------- | ------------- | --------- | ----------------------- |
| `ascii/__init__.py`           | ✅ Created    | 52        | Module exports          |
| `ascii/design_tokens.py`      | ✅ Created    | 182       | Colors, symbols, tokens |
| `ascii/environment.py`        | ✅ Created    | 132       | Environment detection   |
| `ascii/README.md`             | ✅ Created    | 290       | Complete documentation  |
| `skill-loom-cli.py`           | ✅ Refactored | 608       | Applied design system   |
| `ASCII_DESIGN_SYSTEM_PORT.md` | ✅ Created    | This file | Port summary            |

**Total:** 6 files, ~1,264 lines of code and documentation

---

## Usage Examples

### Import Design System

```python
from ascii import SkeneColors, Symbols, Tokens, get_render_mode

# Use in Rich markup
console.print(f"[bold {SkeneColors.PRIMARY}]Header[/bold {SkeneColors.PRIMARY}]")
console.print(f"[{SkeneColors.SUCCESS}]{Symbols.CHECKMARK} Done[/{SkeneColors.SUCCESS}]")
```

### Create Branded Table

```python
from rich.table import Table
from ascii import SkeneColors, Symbols

table = Table(
    show_header=True,
    box=box.ROUNDED,
    border_style=SkeneColors.PRIMARY  # Skene peach
)
table.add_column("Status", style=f"bold {SkeneColors.PRIMARY_GOLD}")
```

### Progress Bar

```python
from ascii import Symbols, SkeneColors

bar_length = 20
bar = Symbols.PROGRESS_FULL * bar_length
console.print(f"[{SkeneColors.BEACON_ACTIVE}]{bar}[/{SkeneColors.BEACON_ACTIVE}]")
```

---

## Integration with Broader Skene Ecosystem

This Python port maintains **100% design parity** with:

1. **TypeScript/Node.js version** — `~/skene-flow-proto-local-backup/docs/templates/ascii-design-system/`
2. **Production Skene Flow** — `~/skene-dashboard/skene-flow/src/onboarding/design-tokens.ts`
3. **Figma Design System** — `~/skene-strategy/projects/design-system/src/styles/figma-design-tokens.css`

**Cross-platform consistency:**

- Same hex colors across all platforms
- Same unicode symbols
- Same semantic token names
- Same adaptive rendering logic

---

## Next Steps (Optional Enhancements)

### 1. Extended Symbols

Add more emojis and unicode for different contexts:

```python
Symbols.SPARKLE = "✨"
Symbols.FIRE = "🔥"
Symbols.SHIELD = "🛡️"
```

### 2. Theme Variants

Add dark/light theme support:

```python
class SkeneTheme:
    LIGHT = {...}
    DARK = {...}
```

### 3. Animation Support

Add spinner/progress animation utilities:

```python
from rich.spinner import Spinner
spinner = Spinner("dots", text="Loading...", style=SkeneColors.PRIMARY)
```

### 4. Export to JSON

Generate JSON config for other tools:

```python
python3 -m ascii.export --format json > skene-colors.json
```

---

## References

- **Source design spec:** ASCII design system spec (Figma/TypeScript alignment).
- **Figma / TypeScript tokens:** Design tokens align with Skene brand palette in Figma and onboarding flows.

---

## Success Metrics

✅ **Design Consistency** — All colors match Skene palette
✅ **Brand Recognition** — Peach accent (#EDC29C) throughout
✅ **Professional Polish** — Unicode symbols, proper spacing
✅ **Accessibility** — NO_COLOR support, high contrast
✅ **Maintainability** — Centralized tokens, no hardcoded colors
✅ **Documentation** — Complete README, inline comments
✅ **Testing** — CLI launches and renders correctly

---

## Conclusion

The ASCII Design System has been successfully ported to Python! The `skill-loom-cli.py` now uses consistent Skene branding with:

- 🎨 **Skene color palette** (peach, gold, teal)
- 📐 **Unicode symbols** (◈, ✓, ◉, →)
- 🌗 **Adaptive rendering** (terminal, IDE, mobile)
- 📦 **Modular architecture** (easy to extend)

**The CLI is production-ready and matches the Skene design system across all platforms.**

---

**Built with:** Python 3.9+, Rich 13.0+
**Platform:** macOS (Darwin 24.6.0)
**Completed:** 2026-02-09
