Impeccable: Paul Bakaus's design skill for Claude Code and Cursor
Impeccable makes Claude review and fix your UI with 23 design commands, such as critique, audit and polish.
- Installs
- 378.7K
- on skills.sh
- Stars
- 99.3K
- on GitHub
- Files
- 57
- besides SKILL.md
- Updated
- Nov 2026
- last repo commit
Type /impeccable critique the pricing cards and Claude gives a scored UX review with ranked fixes. Other commands tone a page down, fix type and spacing, or check accessibility before you ship. Know this first: it checks every UI edit through a hook, and the author says it is not a one-shot design tool, so give it specific direction.
Good for
- Developers who ship UI with Claude Code, Cursor or Codex and want it to look less generic
- Designers who want a scored second opinion on a layout or flow
- Solo founders with no design background who need a pre-launch check
- Front-end teams that want an accessibility and AI-look check in CI
Install impeccable
Claude Code
- 1
Copy this prompt.
Install the impeccable skill in Claude Code. Run this command: npx impeccable install Then check that it loaded and tell me how to use it.
- 2
Paste it into Claude Code. It shows the change and asks before running it.
Requires Node.js 18.19 or later.
Read-only mode: Run critique or audit, which only report. Run /impeccable hooks off to stop the edit hook, or install with --no-hooks.
Pick the installer or the plugin: the author calls the design hook the place where most generic design gets caught, and only these two set it up. On first run the skill downloads its engine program. Update with npx impeccable update.
From the project README. Source.
What's in the skill
When it loads
Use when the user wants to design, redesign, shape, critique, audit, polish, simplify, harden, animate, or otherwise improve a frontend interface: websites, landing pages, dashboards, product UI, components, forms, settings, onboarding, empty states, and native iOS or Android screens. Handles UX review, hierarchy, layout, typography, color, motion, UX copy, accessibility, responsive behavior, edge cases, and capturing or documenting design systems (DESIGN.md, tokens). Also for making bland UI bolder, loud UI quieter, or ambitious visual effects. Not for backend-only or non-UI tasks.
Sections in SKILL.md
- Setup
- How to design
- Modes
- Commands
Key facts
- Author
- Paul Bakaus
- License
- Apache-2.0
- Installs on skills.sh
- 378.7K, checked 2026-11-02
- GitHub stars
- 99.3K, checked 2026-11-02
- Version
- 4.8.0, released 2026-10-26
- Last commit to the skill folder
- 2026-11-01
What it includes
Interview you and write PRODUCT.md
Asks about your audience, tone and goals and saves them as PRODUCT.md so later commands match your project. Run it once per project. Also called teach.
Try: “/impeccable init”
Write ·
/impeccable initWrite DESIGN.md from your existing code
Reads your code and records colors, type and components in DESIGN.md.
Write ·
/impeccable documentPlan the UX before any code
Works out the flow and layout of a screen first, before Claude writes code.
Read ·
/impeccable shapeScored UX review with ranked fixes
Reviews a screen or flow against usability heuristics and lists fixes by priority. It reports only and does not edit.
Try: “/impeccable critique the pricing cards”
Read ·
/impeccable critiqueAccessibility, speed and responsive report
Checks accessibility, performance, theming and responsive behavior and ranks issues P0 to P3. It reports only.
Read ·
/impeccable auditFinal quality pass before shipping
Cleans up spacing, alignment and small inconsistencies on a finished screen.
Try: “/impeccable polish settings”
Write ·
/impeccable polishHandle errors, long text and edge cases
Adds handling for errors, translations, overflow and other edge cases.
Try: “/impeccable harden checkout”
Write ·
/impeccable hardenRewrite confusing labels and messages
Improves UX copy such as labels, help text and error messages.
Write ·
/impeccable clarifyFit other screen sizes and devices
Reworks a design for other screen sizes and devices, including a native variant.
Write ·
/impeccable adaptSpeed up loading and rendering
Looks for loading and rendering slowdowns in the UI and fixes them.
Write ·
/impeccable optimizeDesign first-run flows and empty states
Improves first-run screens, empty states and the steps toward first use.
Write ·
/impeccable onboardMake a safe or bland design stand out
Amplifies a design that feels generic.
Write ·
/impeccable bolderTone down a loud design
Reduces visual intensity on an overstimulating page.
Try: “/impeccable quieter the landing page”
Write ·
/impeccable quieterRemove what the page does not need
Strips elements that add noise and no value.
Write ·
/impeccable distillAdd strategic color to a gray UI
Introduces purposeful color to a flat interface.
Write ·
/impeccable colorizeFix fonts, hierarchy and sizing
Improves font choice, size scale and text hierarchy.
Write ·
/impeccable typesetFix spacing, rhythm and hierarchy
Reworks spacing and structure so the eye knows where to go.
Write ·
/impeccable layoutAdd transitions and interaction feedback
Adds motion where it helps users see what changed.
Write ·
/impeccable animateAdd personality and memorable touches
Adds small touches of character to a plain screen.
Write ·
/impeccable delightAdd shaders, spring physics and scroll effects
Pushes a hero or key section toward ambitious visual effects.
Write ·
/impeccable overdrivePick elements in the browser and cycle variants
Overlays your running dev server so you can pick an element, try variants and accept one back into your source. Works with Vite, Next, SvelteKit, Astro, Nuxt and plain HTML.
Runs code ·
/impeccable liveMake variants of a named element
Creates several versions of one element without manual picking.
Write ·
/impeccable generatePull repeated styles into a design system
Moves repeated tokens and components into shared, reusable ones.
Write ·
/impeccable extractScan code or a URL for AI-look patterns, no AI
A 62-rule checker you run from the terminal or CI. It scans files or a live URL (using Chrome or Edge) and calls no AI model.
Try: “npx impeccable detect src/”
Runs code ·
npx impeccable detectTurn the edit hook on or off
Controls the check that runs after each edit, with on, off, status and ignore options.
Runs code ·
/impeccable hooksFind stale context files and broken hooks
Checks your setup for outdated PRODUCT.md or DESIGN.md and hooks that stopped working.
Read ·
/impeccable doctorMake a command its own shortcut
Adds a standalone slash command for one you use often. unpin removes it.
Try: “/impeccable pin audit”
Write ·
/impeccable pin
From the official docs
Permissions
Medium risk
It runs a downloaded program and edit hooks on your machine and rewrites UI files in your project. Commit your work first, review the diff after each command, and turn the hooks off if you do not want them.
What it can do
- Read your data
- Create and change things
- Delete things
- Read-only modeHow to turn it on
Watch out for
It downloads and runs a program on first use
The launcher fetches an engine binary from the repo's GitHub releases into ~/.impeccable/bin/ and refuses to run it without a matching checksum shipped in the skill. Review the launcher script first if you need to approve what runs on your machine. raw.githubusercontent.com
Hooks run on every edit, even if you deny commands
The Claude Code plugin runs a command at session start, after each file edit and at the end of each turn. The README says this happens even when you deny the model's own commands. Turn them off with /impeccable hooks off. raw.githubusercontent.com
It calls impeccable.style and sends anonymous usage data
No project files, code or PRODUCT.md are sent. Turn the anonymous telemetry off with npx impeccable telemetry off or set DO_NOT_TRACK=1. impeccable.style
Live mode can run a script from your project
Applying copy edits can run the impeccable:manual-edit-validate script in your package.json with your permissions. Read that script before you accept edits. github.com
Image generation sends prompts to OpenAI
Only if you set OPENAI_API_KEY. Prompts and reference images then leave your machine for OpenAI. impeccable.style
Socket flags one low item in a bundled script
The skills.sh Socket scan warns that modern-screenshot.umd.js can fetch and inline remote resources referenced by the page. Gen Agent Trust Hub and Snyk both pass. skills.sh
Security advisories
No published security advisories as of Nov 2, 2026.
Technical details
| Turning on read-only | critique and audit only report findings, and npx impeccable detect scans files or a URL without editing. Turn the edit hook off with /impeccable hooks off or install with --no-hooks. |
|---|---|
| Talks to | github.com/pbakaus/impeccable/releases (engine download on first run). impeccable.style (design directions for new work, about daily version check, optional anonymous telemetry). OpenAI (only if you set OPENAI_API_KEY for image generation) |
| Sign-in and keys | No account or key needed. OPENAI_API_KEY is optional and only for image generation. |
| Scopes |
|
What people say
People like the review commands and the detector, and some say the designs still look alike unless you give clear direction.
What people like
- A user with no design experience found critique feedback useful on a personal project
- One developer says it clearly improved their coding agent's visual design
- The no-AI detector is used to check sites for AI-looking patterns
Common complaints
- At launch, many commenters found the before and after examples worse than the originals, and the author removed them
- Some users say designs still converge on the same look unless you are very explicit
- An open issue reports the critique score staying flat across repeated rounds
In their words
“I tried having it critique my personal project and the feedback I got feels good. I have 0 design experience, so I think it can only improve things.”DansvidaniaHacker NewsSep 2026
“Oh and if you are using a coding agent and are wanting to improve the visual design, I found the https://impeccable.style set of skills to be very helpful.”yokuzeHacker NewsJan 2026
“Ironically I've used these design commands on a production project very effectively, and hence decided to open source, but couldn't screenshot the real examples as the project has not launched. I've removed the lackluster examples for now.”paulbakausHacker NewsJul 2026
“I have used skills like impeccable, ui-ux-max, and many, many others and they all seem to converge on the same thing. They are good to help out with some inconsistencies, accessibility, streamlining, but the design itself is the same unless you are extremely explicit.”mstkllah
2 more quotesFewer quotes
Examples
Set up project context first
/impeccable init
Claude interviews you and writes PRODUCT.md so later commands know your audience and tone.
SourceGet a scored UX review of one component
/impeccable critique the pricing cards
A scored review against usability heuristics, with fixes ranked by priority.
SourceTone down a loud landing page
/impeccable quieter the landing page
Claude reduces visual intensity on that page.
SourceFinal pass on a settings screen before shipping
/impeccable polish settings
A last quality pass over spacing, details and consistency.
SourceCover errors, i18n, overflow and edge cases in checkout
/impeccable harden checkout
Claude adds handling for long text, errors and other edge cases.
SourceCheck accessibility and performance of checkout
/impeccable audit checkout
A technical report on accessibility, performance, theming and responsive issues, ranked P0 to P3.
Scan source files for AI-look patterns from the terminal
npx impeccable detect src/
The 62-rule detector lists matches without calling any AI model.
Source
Questions
How do I install Impeccable in Claude Code?
Use the first option in the install box above, then reload Claude Code and run /impeccable init. The plugin route also works. The skills CLI route works too but skips the design hook and the four helper agents, so pick it last.
Does Impeccable work in Claude.ai or the Claude app?
Not documented. The author documents Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and others, but never the Claude chat apps. Use Claude Code.
Does Impeccable work in Cursor and Codex?
Yes. Use the Cursor and Codex tabs in the install box. In Codex you type $impeccable instead of /impeccable, and you must approve the hook under /hooks.
Is Impeccable safe?
Mostly, with things to check. It downloads an engine program, runs hooks on every edit and calls impeccable.style. The skills.sh scans pass from Gen Agent Trust Hub and Snyk, and Socket warns about one low item. No security advisories are published.
Does Impeccable send my code anywhere?
No. The author says project files, code and PRODUCT.md are not sent. It fetches design directions from impeccable.style, checks for updates about daily and sends anonymous usage data, which you can turn off with DO_NOT_TRACK=1.
How do I turn off the design hook?
Run /impeccable hooks off for the project, or install with --no-hooks. In Claude Code you can also skip hooks for one run with --settings '{"disableAllHooks": true}'.
Is Impeccable free?
Yes. It is open source under Apache 2.0. Your coding tool or model provider may still charge for usage, including image generation.
Impeccable vs frontend-design?
Impeccable started from Anthropic's frontend-design skill. frontend-design is one set of style guidance for new UI. Impeccable adds 23 named commands, project context files, an edit hook and a 62-rule detector. Pick frontend-design for a light touch and Impeccable to review and refine existing screens.
Impeccable vs Taste Skill or UI UX Pro Max?
Taste Skill sets art direction before Claude generates, and UI UX Pro Max is a broad UI and UX knowledge skill. Neither has Impeccable's command set or no-AI detector. One Hacker News user runs the Impeccable detector on top of Taste Skill.
Why does the critique score stay the same after I fix everything?
This is an open issue on version 4.8.0. Each critique round uses fresh reviewers who can find new problems, so the score may not rise. Read the ranked fixes rather than the number.
Information
updated Nov 2, 2026
- Repository
- pbakaus/impeccable
- Folder
cursor-plugin/skills/impeccable
impeccable.styleDocumentationpbakaus/impeccableskills.shChangelog
Sources
Docs, issue trackers and discussions this page is built from.
Show all 20Hide
- Impeccable README · github.com
- impeccable.style · impeccable.style
- impeccable.style · impeccable.style
- impeccable README · github.com
- raw.githubusercontent.com · raw.githubusercontent.com
- Skill engineering and the case against one-shot AI design · latent.space
- skills.sh listing · skills.sh
- impeccable.style · impeccable.style
- FAQ · impeccable.style
- SKILL.md Commands table · raw.githubusercontent.com
- Hooks · impeccable.style
- Privacy · impeccable.style
- github.com · github.com
- news.ycombinator.com · news.ycombinator.com
- raw.githubusercontent.com · raw.githubusercontent.com
- raw.githubusercontent.com · raw.githubusercontent.com
- skills.sh Socket audit · skills.sh
- skills.sh Gen Agent Trust Hub audit · skills.sh
- news.ycombinator.com · news.ycombinator.com
- news.ycombinator.com · news.ycombinator.com