Constraint: Only use this skill when the user explicitly mentions "Pencil" and "Bootstrap" or when orchestrating a Pencil design system initialization task.
When to use this skill
Use this skill when you need to initialize a new design system based on Bootstrap specifications, specifically to set up the global color palette and create the initial component library frames in a .pen file.
How to use this skill
This skill outputs a PENCIL_PLAN. The Agent then calls Pencil MCP tools in order: open_document, set_variables, batch_design, optionally get_screenshot.
Step 1: Initialize Variables (set_variables)
Use mcp__pencil__set_variables to register Bootstrap design tokens. Follow .pen file schema.
Primary / Semantic
bs-primary:#0d6efdbs-secondary:#6c757dbs-success:#198754bs-danger:#dc3545bs-warning:#ffc107bs-info:#0dcaf0bs-light:#f8f9fabs-dark:#212529
Body & Border
bs-body-color:#212529bs-border-color:#dee2e6bs-border-radius:0.375rem(6px)
Font
bs-font-size-base:1rem(16px)
Fill from Bootstrap Sass variables / CSS variables if more tokens are needed.
Step 2: Create Component Overview Structure (batch_design)
Use mcp__pencil__batch_design to create a "Components Overview" frame with sections based on Bootstrap documentation:
- Layout
- Container, Grid, Stack
- Content
- Typography, Images, Tables
- Forms
- Form, Input, Select, Checkbox, Radio, Switch, Range
- Components
- Accordion, Alert, Badge, Breadcrumb, Buttons, Button group, Card, Carousel, Close button, Collapse, Dropdowns, List group, Modal, Navbar, Offcanvas, Pagination, Placeholders, Popovers, Progress, Scrollspy, Spinners, Toasts, Tooltips
- Utilities
- Borders, Colors, Display, Flex, Float, Spacing
Organize frames using Auto Layout. Keep each batch_design call to maximum 25 operations.
Best Practices
- Verify token values against Bootstrap docs (Sass/CSS variables).
- Use
set_variableswithreplace: falseunless a full reset is requested. - Use Auto Layout for component overview frames.
Keywords
pencil, bootstrap, design system, init, variables, components
References
references/contract.md– Design tokens and component naming.references/official.md– Link to official documentation.references/examples.md– Example PENCIL_PLAN.references/components.md– Component specifications.