UI Anti Slop Codex

Force Codex to treat UI work as a product design task, not a generic screen fill task. Route the surface, lock a visual contract, use repo design truth, implement, then verify the rendered UI before final delivery.

Workflow

Follow this sequence for every UI task unless the user explicitly asks for discussion only.

1. Ground in repo truth

   • Inspect existing UI files, routes, global styles, component libraries, icon libraries, package manager, screenshots, design docs, and DESIGN.md.
   • Prefer existing design systems and local components over new visual systems.
   • If a DESIGN.md exists, read it before visual decisions. If the task creates or edits a DESIGN.md, load references/design-md-protocol.md.

2. Classify the surface

   • Classify the work as one or more of: landing, marketing site, platform app, dashboard, admin or internal tool, editor or creator, checkout or pricing, docs or devrel, mobile UI, game or interactive surface.
   • Load references/surface-contracts.md for the matching surface.
   • If the surface or audience is still genuinely ambiguous after repo inspection, ask one highest-leverage question and recommend an answer. Do not ask for facts that the repo can answer.