Oil UI: An Open‑Source UI‑Design Skill for Claude, Codex and Other AI Agents

Overview

Oil UI is an open‑source *skill* that lets large‑language‑model agents generate and refine user‑interface designs. The skill can propose a single direction or explore several alternatives side‑by‑side, then tighten the chosen design against real‑world screenshots. It works for websites, mobile apps, dashboards and reusable components.

How It Works

1. Product understanding – The skill first names the product category and pulls two‑to‑three peer examples with distinctive visual styles.
2. Tone to concrete choices – Abstract adjectives such as *premium* or *clean* are mapped to concrete UI decisions (typefaces, whitespace, colour usage) based on the product’s audience and brand voice.
3. Concrete starting point – Instead of vague descriptors, the skill anchors each direction in a material, scene, character or visual language taken from the product itself.
4. First‑screen focus – For browsing or transactional pages the initial screen showcases content; only persuasive pages get a pre‑written opening layout.
5. Explicit differentiation – When multiple directions are requested, layout, typography, colour and key imagery share at most one element between any two options. If two previews look too similar, the skill swaps layout rather than merely swapping colours.
6. Memorable moment – One or two details (e.g., a tap animation, a payment‑success micro‑interaction, a 404 illustration) are made exceptional; the rest of the page stays quiet.
7. Human‑in‑the‑loop refinement – The agent shows the previews on a comparison page, the user picks a favorite and provides feedback, and the skill iterates.
8. Real‑screen validation – After a design is finished, Oil UI opens the page at desktop and mobile breakpoints, captures screenshots, and optionally invites an external reviewer who has not seen the work in progress.

Using the Skill with AI Agents

Typical prompts include:

• “Use oil‑ui to explore three design directions for a course‑booking product and give me preview pages.”
• “Create three versions with different typography, colours and composition, then place them on a comparison page.”
• “Polish this homepage according to the existing design guidelines.”
• “Review this screenshot and tell me what to change without touching the files.”

The skill accepts brand assets, existing screenshots or even works from scratch, asking clarifying questions only when needed.

Comparison & Refinement Workflow

When the user asks for a comparison, Oil UI:

• Generates HTML files, static images or live development pages for each direction.
• Places them side‑by‑side on a single page, with desktop and mobile toggles.
• Allows navigation with arrow keys and a Select button to lock in the preferred version.
• Copies the user’s selection sentence back to the agent, which then continues the design process.

Practical Implications

• Speed – Designers can obtain multiple, visually distinct concepts in minutes rather than days.
• Consistency – By grounding decisions in peer analysis and brand tone, the output aligns with existing visual language.
• Iterative control – Users retain final say; the skill only recommends until feedback is given.
• Low‑code integration – The generated code is written back to the project’s `.oil‑ui` workspace, respecting existing conventions.
• Version safety – The skill checks for updates at most once every ten minutes, reads only the public version list, and never uploads project files.

How to Verify the Announcement

1. Visit the official repository at https://github.com/oil‑oil/oil‑ui** and review the README for feature lists and installation steps.
2. Check the live demo site ui.oiloil.org for example designs and a comparison of the open‑source vs. Pro versions.
3. Confirm the Pro pricing ($9.99 one‑time, lifetime updates) on ui.oiloil.org/pro.
4. Test the skill in a compatible agent (e.g., Claude Code, Codex, DeepSeek Harness) by installing the open‑source package (`pip install oil‑ui`) or the DeepSeek plugin `dsh‑oil‑ui`.

Availability & Pricing

• Open‑source edition – Free, ready after installation, no configuration required.
• Oil UI Pro – Adds advanced polishing, stricter review, and extra effects (light trails, dot patterns). Priced at $9.99 (one‑time, lifetime updates).
• Update handling – By default the skill notifies the user of newer versions; actual download occurs only on explicit request.

--- *All capabilities described are taken from the project's documentation. No independent testing has been performed by this writer.*