How to Use the Redesign-Skill for Existing Projects with Taste Skill

The redesign-existing-projects skill audits and upgrades existing codebases through a three-step pipeline—scan, diagnose, and fix—without forcing framework migrations or breaking existing functionality.

Taste Skill provides a specialized Redesign Skill (redesign-existing-projects) that modernizes pre-existing websites and applications without requiring a complete rewrite. The skill is defined declaratively in skills/redesign-skill/SKILL.md and integrates with the npx skills CLI to provide stack-aware improvements. This guide covers how to install, run, and interpret results from the redesign-skill for existing projects.

What is the Redesign Skill?

The Redesign Skill is a declarative automation packaged within the Leonxlnx/taste-skill repository. Unlike scaffolding tools that generate new projects, this skill specifically targets legacy or existing codebases to identify and resolve design debt.

The skill operates under two critical constraints:

• Stack Preservation: It detects your current UI framework (Tailwind CSS, vanilla CSS, styled-components, CSS Modules) and never forces a framework migration.
• No-Breakage Rule: Every change must pass your existing test suite or visual regression checks to confirm functionality remains intact.

The Three-Step Pipeline

The redesign-existing-projects skill executes a systematic pipeline defined in skills/redesign-skill/SKILL.md.

1. Scan

The skill reads your repository structure to detect the UI framework and extract current design tokens. It identifies configuration files like tailwind.config.js, CSS variable definitions, or theme files to understand the existing design system.

2. Diagnose

Using the extensive Design Audit checklist defined in the SKILL.md, the skill evaluates:

• Typography: Font choices, hierarchy, and readability
• Colour: Palette consistency and accessibility
• Layout: Grid systems, spacing, and responsive behavior
• Interactivity: Hover states, active states, and transitions
• Content: Text quality and information architecture
• Component Patterns: Reusability and consistency
• Iconography: Visual language alignment
• Code Quality: CSS organization and maintainability
• Strategic Omissions: Missing states (loading, empty, error)

Each generic or low-quality pattern is flagged as a specific "problem" requiring remediation.

3. Fix

The skill applies Upgrade Techniques from the SKILL.md specification, generating stack-aware improvements:

• Font swaps (e.g., Inter → Geist)
• Colour palette cleanup and contrast fixes
• Addition of missing hover/active states
• Grid-based layout corrections
• Modern component replacements
• Implementation of loading/empty/error states

Installation and Setup

Install the skill using the npx skills CLI wrapper.

Install the complete Taste Skill repository:

npx skills add https://github.com/Leonxlnx/taste-skill

Or install only the redesign skill:

npx skills add https://github.com/Leonxlnx/taste-skill \
    --skill "redesign-existing-projects"

The skill.sh helper script in the repository root handles the invocation logic for the CLI wrapper.

Running the Skill

You can execute the redesign-skill for existing projects via CLI commands or LLM prompts.

CLI Execution

Navigate to your project root and run:

npx skills run redesign-existing-projects .

The command auto-detects your project configuration and outputs a step-by-step audit:

🔎 Scan: Detected Tailwind v3, using src/styles/tailwind.css
📝 Diagnosis:
  • Typography – default Inter everywhere ➜ switch to Geist
  • Layout – missing max-width container ➜ add container-mx auto
  • Interactivity – no hover states on buttons ➜ add transition utilities
…
🚀 Fixes (applied in order):
  1️⃣ Font swap → updated tailwind.config.js
  2️⃣ Colour palette cleanup → modified src/css/theme.css

LLM Prompt Integration

For AI-assisted workflows, embed the skill description directly into prompts:

follow the skill: redesign-existing-projects

Or provide detailed instructions:

You are an AI code assistant. Apply the "redesign-existing-projects" skill to the repository at https://github.com/example/old-site. Follow the audit checklist, prioritize font swap and colour cleanup, and output the patches as a Git diff.

Understanding the Output

The skill generates three distinct deliverables:

• Diagnostic Report: A comprehensive list of every audit item requiring attention, categorized by severity.
• Patch Plan: An ordered sequence of fixes prioritized by visual impact (font swap → colour cleanup → hover states → layout corrections).
• Exact Code Snippets: Stack-specific changes including CSS modifications, Tailwind config updates, or HTML adjustments that you can apply directly.

Because the logic resides entirely in skills/redesign-skill/SKILL.md, you can also copy the markdown content into ChatGPT or Claude conversations and request the model apply the redesign-skill logic to your repository.

Summary

• The redesign-existing-projects skill in Leonxlnx/taste-skill provides systematic audits of existing codebases without mandating framework changes.
• The three-step pipeline—Scan, Diagnose, and Fix—operates entirely from the skills/redesign-skill/SKILL.md specification.
• Installation requires npx skills add https://github.com/Leonxlnx/taste-skill with optional --skill flag for specific skill selection.
• Execution via npx skills run redesign-existing-projects ./path auto-detects your tech stack and respects existing CSS architecture.
• All modifications follow a no-breakage rule, requiring validation against your existing test suite or visual regression suite.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can the redesign-skill migrate my project to a different CSS framework?

No. The skill explicitly respects your existing tech stack. Whether you use Tailwind CSS, vanilla CSS, styled-components, or CSS Modules, the skill generates fixes compatible with your current system. It never forces a framework migration or requires rewriting components in a different styling solution.

How does the skill determine which design issues to fix first?

The skill follows a priority order defined in the Patch Plan section of skills/redesign-skill/SKILL.md. Typically, it addresses high-impact visual changes first (font swaps and colour palette cleanup) before moving to interactive states (hover/active) and structural layout corrections. This sequencing maximizes visual improvement while minimizing the risk of breaking existing functionality.

Is it safe to run the redesign-skill on production code?

The skill includes a no-breakage rule requiring you to run your project's test suite or visual regression checks after each incremental change. While the skill generates targeted, non-invasive patches, you should always apply changes in a development environment first and verify through automated testing before deploying to production.

Can I use the redesign-skill without installing the CLI?

Yes. Because the skill is purely declarative (contained entirely within skills/redesign-skill/SKILL.md), you can copy the skill's markdown content directly into an LLM conversation with ChatGPT or Claude. Simply paste the SKILL.md content and ask the model to apply the "redesign-existing-projects" logic to your repository, specifying any priority areas like typography or colour updates.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "instagit": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "instagit@latest"]
    }
  }
}