What is the od-design-refine skill?
The od-design-refine skill is a plugin in nexu-io/open-design for improving an existing artifact rather than creating a new one. Your AI coding agent inspects the artifact, picks one direction, makes the smallest useful patch, critiques it against the active design system and stops.
The od-design-refine skill is the Design Refine plugin from OpenDesign. Its SKILL.md says to use it when the user wants to improve an existing OpenDesign artifact rather than create a new one.
The skill is a short, strict workflow. The agent finds the highest-impact target, commits to one direction, applies the smallest useful patch and reports what changed and what to check next.
The five-step workflow
- Inspect the current artifact and identify the highest-impact refinement target.
- Pick one direction before editing: clarity, hierarchy, polish, accessibility, responsiveness or fidelity.
- Make the smallest useful patch that advances that direction.
- Critique the result against the active design system and the stated goal of the user.
- Stop when the patch is coherent, then summarize what changed and what should be checked next.
The quality bar
- Preserve the existing product intent.
- Prefer small reviewable patches over broad redesigns.
- Keep accessibility and responsive behavior intact.
- Do not introduce a new design language unless the user explicitly asks for one.
Who the od-design-refine skill is for
Best for
- An artifact that already exists and needs one focused improvement, such as clearer hierarchy or better responsive behavior.
- Teams that want each change small enough to review in one pass.
- Work that must stay inside the active design system.
Not for
- Starting a new design. The skill is written for improving an existing artifact.
- Broad redesigns or a new visual language, unless the user explicitly asks for one.
How to install OpenDesign Design Refine Skill: Small Patches for an Existing Artifact
od mcp install <agent>Connect OpenDesign to your agent
Run
od mcp install <agent>with your agent name, for exampleod mcp install codex. The README lists claude, codex, cursor, copilot, opencode and more.Or install from the app
In the OpenDesign desktop or web app, open the Plugin page to browse the marketplace and click Install.
Find the plugin
The plugin folder is plugins/_official/scenarios/od-design-refine and holds SKILL.md and open-design.json.
Point it at an artifact
Name the existing artifact and the direction you want, for example hierarchy or accessibility, and ask for the smallest useful patch.
Check that it loaded
Ask for a refinement of an existing artifact. Expect the agent to name one direction, apply a small patch, and end with a summary of what changed and what to check next.
Key features
- Inspect firstStep one is to inspect the current artifact and identify the highest-impact refinement target before anything is edited.
- One direction per passThe agent chooses a single direction before editing: clarity, hierarchy, polish, accessibility, responsiveness or fidelity.
- Smallest useful patchStep three asks for the smallest useful patch that advances the chosen direction, which keeps each change easy to review.
- Critique against the design systemStep four checks the result against the active design system and the stated goal of the user.
- Defined stopping pointThe agent stops when the patch is coherent, then summarizes what changed and what should be checked next.
- Product intent preservedThe first quality bar item keeps the existing product intent, so a refinement does not drift into a different product.
- Accessibility and responsive intactA refinement must keep accessibility and responsive behavior intact, so a fix in one area does not break another.
- No new design languageThe skill does not introduce a new design language unless the user explicitly asks for one.
Frequently asked questions
What is the od-design-refine skill?
It is the Design Refine plugin in the nexu-io/open-design repository, listed under plugins/_official/scenarios. Its SKILL.md tells an AI coding agent to improve an existing OpenDesign artifact instead of creating a new one, using a five-step workflow and a short quality bar.
How do I install od-design-refine?
Run od mcp install followed by your agent name, such as od mcp install codex, to connect OpenDesign to the AI coding agent you already use. The plugin is the folder plugins/_official/scenarios/od-design-refine in nexu-io/open-design. You can also open the Plugin page in the OpenDesign app and click Install.
What are the six directions in od-design-refine?
The six directions are clarity, hierarchy, polish, accessibility, responsiveness and fidelity. The agent picks one before editing, then makes the smallest useful patch that advances it. Choosing a single direction per pass keeps the change focused and easy to review afterward.
Does od-design-refine redesign my artifact?
No. The quality bar says to prefer small reviewable patches over broad redesigns and to preserve the existing product intent. It also says not to introduce a new design language unless you explicitly ask for one, so the artifact keeps its identity through each pass.
How does od-design-refine decide when to stop?
The agent stops when the patch is coherent. At that point it summarizes what changed and what should be checked next. The workflow is one pass with one direction, so you can review the summary and then start another pass if you want one.
Does od-design-refine check against my design system?
Yes. Step four critiques the result against the active design system and the stated goal of the user. This keeps the patch consistent with the system the artifact already uses, instead of adding a new look that conflicts with it.
Does od-design-refine protect accessibility?
Yes. The quality bar says to keep accessibility and responsive behavior intact. Accessibility is also one of the six directions, so you can aim a whole pass at it when that is the highest-impact target for the artifact. The patch is then critiqued against the design system like any other direction.
What license does od-design-refine use?
It is Apache-2.0 licensed. The plugin ships in the nexu-io/open-design repository, which GitHub lists under the Apache License 2.0, and it lives at plugins/_official/scenarios/od-design-refine in that repository. Use and redistribution follow the terms of that license.