May 15, 2026
Top 10 Claude Code Skills, Plugins & CLIs for better Frontend Design
By Synthex
Claude Code can build a working frontend quickly. The harder part is making the result look specific.
Without good direction, AI-generated websites often fall into the same patterns: purple-blue gradients, generic SaaS cards, over-rounded boxes, Inter everywhere, vague feature sections, and decorative effects that do not help the user. The site may function, but it feels like a template that forgot to become a product.
This guide is based on Chase AI's video on Claude Code frontend design tools. The goal here is simple: explain what each tool is for, when it is useful, and what to watch out for. You do not need all 10 at once. Most projects need one or two better inputs, then careful human review.
What you'll learn
- Which Claude Code frontend design skills, plugins, CLIs, and resources are worth knowing.
- What each one helps with, from design direction to interaction testing.
- Which tools are beginner-friendly and which are more advanced.
- How to use references without making the final design feel copied or generic.
Start with the real problem
Bad AI frontend design usually comes from weak direction.
Prompts like these are too broad:
Those words do not give the model much to work with. A better process gives Claude Code concrete references:
- What kind of product is this?
- Who is using it?
- Should it feel quiet, editorial, technical, playful, clinical, luxurious, dense, or fast?
- Which sites or products are close to the target?
- Which visual habits should be avoided?
- Which interactions need testing before the page is considered done?
The tools below help with different parts of that job.
Quick map of the 10 tools
| Tool | Best for | Use when |
|---|---|---|
| Impeccable | Avoiding common AI design habits | The output looks generic or over-decorated |
| Skill UI | Learning from an existing website | You want Claude Code to understand a visual reference |
| WebGPU Skill | Advanced graphics and effects | The design needs custom GPU-driven visuals |
| awesome-design.md | Reusing design-system prompts | You want a design reference before coding |
| Stitch | Generating and comparing visual directions | You need mockups before implementation |
| UI/UX Pro Max | Structured design-system generation | You want Claude to ask better design questions |
1. Impeccable
Impeccable (opens in new tab) is a skill focused on avoiding common AI frontend mistakes.
This is useful because many design prompts describe what good design should feel like, but they do not clearly define what bad AI design looks like. Impeccable goes the other direction. It points out patterns to avoid.
Use it when Claude Code keeps producing:
- Generic card grids.
- Unnecessary glassmorphism.
- Weak contrast.
- Decorative charts that mean nothing.
- Overused gradients.
- UI sections that look polished but do not explain the product.
This kind of skill will not make every page excellent. It can still help by narrowing the failure zone.
A practical prompt:
2. Skill UI
Skill UI (opens in new tab) is a CLI that analyzes an existing website and turns what it finds into a Claude-usable design skill.
The use case is straightforward: you like the design language of an existing site, and you want Claude Code to understand why it works. Skill UI can inspect layout, colors, typography, spacing, and interaction states. Its more advanced mode uses Playwright to capture more than a static page.
This is useful when you have a clear reference but struggle to explain it.
Good use:
Useful boundary: use reference sites for direction, not duplication. Study the spacing, typography, layout rhythm, and interaction patterns. Keep the final page tied to your own product, copy, assets, and brand.
Also check the current repository before using it. Skill UI was described as very new around the time this video was published, so its setup, stability, and feature set may have changed.
3. WebGPU Skill
WebGPU Skill (opens in new tab) is for more advanced visual work.
Most websites do not need WebGPU. A content site, a dashboard, a landing page, or a simple tool can usually be excellent without GPU programming. But if the project needs custom particles, shader-like effects, or interactive visual systems, ordinary CSS may not be enough.
Use this only when the visual effect is part of the product experience.
Good use:
- Generative backgrounds for an art tool.
- Data visualization with thousands of points.
- Interactive simulation.
- High-end portfolio motion.
- Visual experiments where performance matters.
Poor use:
- Adding spectacle because the page feels empty.
- Replacing clear content with animation.
- Making a simple product page harder to load.
For beginners, this is a later tool. Learn layout, typography, and interaction states first.
4. awesome-design.md
awesome-design.md (opens in new tab) collects design.md files inspired by existing design systems and websites.
A design.md file is not a finished interface. It is a structured design brief that Claude Code can use before building. It may describe things like typography, color, spacing, layout patterns, tone, and component behavior.
This is useful when you do not want to start from a blank prompt.
A practical flow:
- Pick a design direction from the repository.
- Read it before using it.
- Remove anything that does not fit your project.
- Add your product-specific constraints.
- Ask Claude Code to build from the edited design brief.
Do not treat a design brief as a replacement for taste. It gives Claude a better starting point, but you still need to decide whether the result fits the product.
5. Stitch
Stitch (opens in new tab) is Google's prompt-based design tool for generating visual directions, mockups, and design-system material.
This is useful before coding. Instead of asking Claude Code to build a page and then judging it only after the code exists, you can use Stitch to explore directions visually first.
That helps when you are unsure what you want.
Use Stitch when:
- You want multiple design directions side by side.
- You need a rough visual system before implementation.
- You are working with a client or teammate who reacts better to visuals than text.
- You want to compare hero layouts, card systems, or app screens before building.
The output still needs review. A mockup can look good and still fail once it becomes responsive, interactive, and filled with real content.
6. UI/UX Pro Max Skill
UI/UX Pro Max (opens in new tab) is a design-system generation skill.
The useful part is not just "make better UI." The useful part is asking more specific questions before design starts.
A frontend for a finance dashboard should not feel like a creator portfolio. A medical intake form should not feel like a gaming site. A tool used every day by a busy team should usually be denser and quieter than a product launch page.
Use this kind of skill when Claude Code needs to understand:
- Industry.
- Audience.
- Page purpose.
- Primary user task.
- Information density.
- Trust requirements.
- Brand tone.
- Accessibility needs.
A good prompt:
For beginner work, this is one of the more practical tools because it slows down the design decision before implementation.
7. 21st.dev
21st.dev (opens in new tab) is a library of UI components and prompts.
This helps with a common beginner problem: you know the current component looks weak, but you do not know what stronger alternatives exist.
Component libraries expose you to options:
- Better hero sections.
- More specific buttons.
- Better cards.
- Pricing sections.
- Navigation ideas.
- Animated flourishes.
- Empty states.
Use it as a reference library, not as a dumping ground.
Do not add a fancy component just because it looks impressive in isolation. Ask whether it helps the user complete the page's main task.
A simple workflow:
- Find one component close to your need.
- Copy the prompt or implementation guidance.
- Ask Claude Code to adapt it to your current design system.
- Remove anything that does not fit the product.
- Test the result on mobile.
8. Taste Skill
Taste Skill (opens in new tab) is meant to push Claude Code toward more interesting design choices.
This can help when every layout feels safe in the same way:
- Centered hero.
- Three cards.
- Generic icons.
- Rounded everything.
- Same spacing rhythm on every section.
Taste is not a plugin you install and forget. It is a set of constraints and examples that help the model try a less obvious direction.
Use it when the design works mechanically but has no point of view.
Ask for concrete changes:
Then choose one direction. Do not ask the model to combine all three. Mixed directions usually produce visual noise.
9. Google Fonts
Google Fonts (opens in new tab) is the least exotic tool on the list, and it may be the most immediately useful.
Typography changes the whole mood of a site. If every Claude Code project uses the same default font stack, the pages begin to feel related even when the products are different.
You do not need to become a type designer. Start with basic decisions:
- Should headings feel editorial, technical, soft, sharp, or utilitarian?
- Should body text feel neutral and readable?
- Does the product need warmth or precision?
- Are numbers important?
- Will the font hold up on mobile?
A practical prompt:
Then test the fonts with real content. A font can look good in a sample and feel wrong in a dense interface.
10. Playwright CLI
Playwright (opens in new tab) is not a design inspiration tool. It is how you check whether the frontend actually works.
This matters because a page can look fine in a screenshot and still fail in use:
- Menus do not open.
- Buttons have no accessible name.
- Dialogs do not trap focus.
- Mobile layout overflows.
- Links go to the wrong route.
- Hover states work, keyboard states do not.
- A component looks good at desktop width and breaks on a phone.
Use Playwright after Claude Code builds the interface.
A practical prompt:
This is the tool that keeps the design work honest. A good interface is not only a good screenshot.
A realistic order for beginners
If you are new, do not start with all 10 tools.
Try this order:
- Use Google Fonts to escape the default type choices.
- Use Impeccable to identify obvious AI-generated visual habits.
- Use UI/UX Pro Max or a design brief to clarify the product direction.
- Use 21st.dev for one or two stronger component references.
- Use Playwright to test the result.
Add Skill UI when you have a strong reference website and want Claude Code to learn from it.
Add Stitch when you need visual exploration before implementation.
Add WebGPU only when advanced graphics are actually part of the experience.
What to ask before using any design tool
Before installing another skill or copying another component, answer these:
- What is the page for?
- What does the user need to do here?
- What should the user notice first?
- What should feel quiet?
- What content is real, and what is placeholder?
- What should be removed?
- What would make this easier to use, not just more decorated?
Most weak frontend design is not caused by missing tools. It is caused by vague goals.
A safer prompt for Claude Code frontend work
Use this when starting a new page:
This prompt will not replace design judgment. It gives the assistant a clearer lane.
Final note
These tools are useful because they add friction in the right places.
They make you specify the style. They give Claude Code better references. They expose you to stronger components. They help test the work after it is built.
Use the smallest set that solves the current problem. A specific design brief, one better font pairing, one stronger component reference, and one Playwright pass will usually do more than installing every design skill you can find.