design-qa - SKILL.md Agent Skill

name: design-qa description: Set up or run design QA gates — token + hardcoded-value lint, automated a11y (axe), contrast, visual regression across variants/states/themes/RTL, and the manual a11y checklist. Use when the user wants CI quality gates, to prevent design regressions, or to QA a component/screen before shipping.

Stand up the automated + manual gates that stop quality from regressing.

Read workflows/design-qa.md (the QA pyramid: token/lint gates → automated a11y → visual regression → manual a11y).
Wire the fast gates first (every commit/PR): python3 scripts/validate_tokens.py, python3 scripts/validate_contrast.py (batch WCAG over the token pairs), and python3 scripts/lint_hardcodes.py <src> (no raw hex/px/timing in component code). The repo's .github/workflows/ci.yml runs these.
Add automated a11y (axe-core / Pa11y) over each component's states (error/loading/disabled/expanded/selected), zero serious/critical to merge. Run the real-render contrast gate node scripts/measure_render.mjs <file.html> (and --dark) — it opens the page in headless Chromium, disables transitions, and measures the true computed-style + alpha-composited contrast of every text element (catches what static token checks miss).
Add visual regression snapshots across variants × sizes × states × light/dark + key breakpoints + RTL; freeze animations + deterministic data.
Sign off the manual a11y checklist per release (keyboard, screen reader, 400% reflow, 200% text-spacing, reduced-motion, forced-colors — accessibility/*).

An unreviewed PR cannot introduce an unresolved token alias, a contrast failure, a raw hex/px, or an axe violation — a gate blocks each.
Snapshots cover dark mode + RTL + the semantic-changing states, not just the happy path.
Manual a11y checklist signed off for the release.