name: chromatic
description: Reviews Chromatic visual tests and Storybook builds for UI regressions. Use when checking build results, accepting or rejecting visual changes, or triaging component snapshot diffs.
Chromatic
Purpose
Work with Chromatic visual testing and Storybook builds: fetch build results, review changed stories, and guide accept/reject decisions with evidence from the integration—not invented diffs.
When to Use
- User mentions Chromatic builds, visual snapshots, or UI regressions in Storybook.
- Reviewing PR visual checks or baseline updates.
- Accepting intentional UI changes or rejecting accidental diffs.
- Connecting Storybook publish flow to CI when Chromatic tools exist.
When NOT to Use
- Lighthouse performance/a11y audits → lighthouse.
- Non-visual unit/integration tests → add-tests.
- Design critique without snapshots → shadow-design-critic or review skills.
Expected Outcome
- Build ID/URL and change counts from Chromatic.
- List of changed stories/components with pass/fail/changed status.
- Clear recommendation: accept, fix, or re-run with rationale.
Inputs to Gather
- Project/app ID, branch, and commit or PR link.
- Build number or Chromatic build URL if provided.
- Which stories/components are in scope.
- Whether change is intentional (design token update vs bug).
Workflow
- Fetch latest or specified build via Chromatic MCP tools.
- List changed stories and diff status per component.
- For each change, note viewport/theme variants affected.
- Recommend accept vs fix based on user intent and diff scope.
- If fixing, point to Storybook story/file only when known from repo context.
- Document follow-up CI command or rebuild step if build failed.
Domain guidance
- Build first — always anchor on a concrete Chromatic build, not hypothetical diffs.
- Story granularity — report per-story status; batch accepts only when user confirms.
- Baselines — accepting updates baseline for future runs; call that out explicitly.
- Flakes — suggest retry or stabilization if intermittent snapshot noise.
- Tool fidelity — use Chromatic/storybook integration tools only.
Examples
User: "What changed in the latest Chromatic build on this PR?"
→ Return build link, count of changed stories, top components, and whether checks are blocking.
User: "Accept snapshot updates for the Button refactor."
→ Confirm stories in scope, perform accept via tools if available, note new baseline for branch.
Tool Availability Rules
| Access | Behavior |
|---|
| Full tool access | Fetch builds and apply accept/reject when exposed. |
| Read-only | Report diffs and manual UI steps for accept. |
| No integration | Do not fabricate snapshot diffs. |
Related tool sets
Review / Decision / Execution Criteria
- Intentional design changes require explicit user confirmation before accept.
- Flag cross-story widespread diffs (global CSS/token changes).
- Distinguish build failures (Storybook compile) from visual changes.
Output Format
- Build identifier and URL.
- Summary table: story, status, notes.
- Recommendation (fix / accept / retry).
- Blockers.
- Next steps for dev or CI.
Quality Bar
- No spreadsheet/A1 patterns—Chromatic is visual regression only.
- Link decisions to actual build artifacts.
Safety and Boundaries
- Do not accept production-blocking regressions without user sign-off.
- Do not expose Chromatic project tokens.
Escalation / Dispatch Rules
- Component implementation fixes → build-components, react-patterns.
- Broader QA → add-tests.
References
skills/old_skills.json (chromatic) — legacy catalog (Sheets boilerplate removed).
skills/skill.instruction.md, skills/meta.instructions.md