GitHub DESIGN.md for AI coding agents

Q: How do I add the GitHub DESIGN.md to my project?

Download or copy the DESIGN.md file from this page and place it in your project root. Then instruct your AI agent: "Read the DESIGN.md file in this project and follow its design system when generating UI." The agent will pick it up automatically in Cursor, Claude Code, Codex, and most modern AI coding tools.

Dima Braven·May 14, 2026

Code hosting and collaboration. Iconic devtool UI.

devtooldarkdesign-md

CursorClaude CodeCodexGoogle Stitch

# Design Language: GitHub · Change is constant. GitHub keeps you ahead. · GitHub

> Extracted from `https://github.com` on May 28, 2026
> 1930 elements analyzed

This document describes the complete design language of the website. It is structured for AI/LLM consumption — use it to faithfully recreate the visual design in any framework.

## Color Palette

### Primary Colors

| Role | Hex | RGB | HSL | Usage Count |
|------|-----|-----|-----|-------------|
| Primary | `#f0f6fc` | rgb(240, 246, 252) | hsl(210, 67%, 96%) | 644 |
| Secondary | `#08872b` | rgb(8, 135, 43) | hsl(137, 89%, 28%) | 2 |
| Accent | `#1f883d` | rgb(31, 136, 61) | hsl(137, 63%, 33%) | 2 |

### Neutral Colors

| Hex | HSL | Usage Count |
|-----|-----|-------------|
| `#ffffff` | hsl(0, 0%, 100%) | 1450 |
| `#000000` | hsl(0, 0%, 0%) | 366 |
| `#9198a1` | hsl(214, 8%, 60%) | 224 |
| `#58635b` | hsl(136, 6%, 37%) | 146 |
| `#59636e` | hsl(211, 11%, 39%) | 100 |
| `#a4aea6` | hsl(132, 6%, 66%) | 100 |
| `#d1d9e0` | hsl(208, 19%, 85%) | 12 |
| `#7c8980` | hsl(138, 5%, 51%) | 8 |
| `#404651` | hsl(219, 12%, 28%) | 6 |
| `#484f58` | hsl(214, 10%, 31%) | 5 |
| `#e4ebe6` | hsl(137, 15%, 91%) | 3 |
| `#2e374a` | hsl(221, 23%, 24%) | 1 |

Design System Overview

The GitHub design system captures the visual language of a well-known design and creative tools product. This DESIGN.md file distills its color palette, typography, spacing scale, and component patterns into a format that AI coding agents can read and follow when generating UI.

Code hosting and collaboration. Iconic devtool UI.

AI agents like Cursor, Claude Code, Codex, and Google Stitch can reference this file to produce UI that visually matches the GitHub aesthetic — consistent colors, proportional spacing, and recognizable component patterns — without requiring explicit pixel-by-pixel instructions for every element.

Browse more design and creative tools design systems or explore the full DESIGN.md directory.

Color System

Brand palette extracted from the design system. Click any swatch to copy the hex value.

Text / Primary

#f0f6fc

Accent

#08872b

Surface / Background

#1f883d

Border / Subtle

#ffffff

Color Tokens

Typography Specimen

Display

2.8rem / 700 / 1.04

The quick brown fox

Heading H1

2rem / 700 / 1.1

The quick brown fox jumps

Heading H2

1.5rem / 600 / 1.15

The quick brown fox jumps over

Heading H3

1.125rem / 600 / 1.2

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy

Body

1rem / 400 / 1.5

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog

Small / Caption

0.75rem / 400 / 1.5

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog and sat down.

Monospace

const primary = "System";

Layout & Spacing Tokens

Spacing Scale

space-14px

space-28px

space-312px

space-416px

space-624px

space-832px

space-1248px

space-1664px

Border Radius

radius-none0px

radius-sm4px

radius-md8px

radius-lg16px

radius-xl24px

radius-full9999px

Elevation & Shadow

Flatshadow-none

XSshadow-xs

SMshadow-sm

MDshadow-md

LGshadow-lg

XLshadow-xl

Use with AI Coding Agents

Copy one of these prompts into your AI coding agent to apply the GitHub design system to your project. The DESIGN.md file in your repo root is the source of truth.

# .cursor/rules (or DESIGN.md)
You are working in a project that uses the GitHub design system.

Read the DESIGN.md file in this project root and follow it strictly when generating UI.
Match the brand's exact colors, typography, spacing scale, and border radius.
Do not create generic Tailwind UI — apply the visual language from DESIGN.md.

Key rules:
- Use the defined color palette, not arbitrary hex values
- Apply the correct font family and weight scale
- Follow spacing tokens (4/8/12/16/24/32px scale)
- Match component patterns: buttons, cards, inputs, badges as specified

Cursor

AI-first code editor. Dark, minimal, keyboard-centric devtool.

View DESIGN.md

Spline

3D design tool for web. Dark, 3D-native aesthetic.

View DESIGN.md

Wise

International money transfers. Fresh, transparent, accessible.

View DESIGN.md

Stripe

Developer-first payments platform. Clean, trustworthy, minimal decoration.

View DESIGN.md

Paddle

Revenue delivery platform. Clean, modern B2B SaaS.

View DESIGN.md

Are.na

Research and bookmarking platform. Minimal, intellectual.

View DESIGN.md

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use the GitHub DESIGN.md with Cursor, Claude Code, or Codex?

Yes. Copy the DESIGN.md file into your project root and reference it in your agent rules. For Cursor, add it to .cursor/rules. For Claude Code, include it as CLAUDE.md. For Codex, add it to your system prompt. The agent will read it and apply the GitHub visual system to any UI it generates.

Is this an official GitHub file?

No — this is an independent reference created for AI coding agent compatibility. It is not officially endorsed by GitHub. The visual system was analyzed and documented to help AI agents produce UI that matches the GitHub aesthetic. Always verify against official GitHub documentation.

What is a DESIGN.md file?

A DESIGN.md file is a Markdown document that describes a product's visual design system in a format that AI coding agents can read and follow. It captures color palettes, typography, spacing, component patterns, and usage rules — giving AI agents like Cursor, Claude Code, and Codex a source of truth for consistent UI generation.

Can I use the GitHub color tokens and visual style in my own project?

The design tokens and visual patterns documented here are for reference and AI agent guidance. If you are building a project inspired by the GitHub visual style, ensure your use is consistent with GitHub's brand guidelines and any applicable trademark or copyright rules. This file helps AI agents understand a style — it does not grant license to use proprietary brand assets.

How do I add this to my project?

Download the DESIGN.md file (requires free account) and place it in your project root. Then tell your AI agent to read it: "Read the DESIGN.md file in this project and follow its design system when generating UI." The agent will pick it up automatically in most modern AI coding tools.