Working With the PM Design Kit

Overview

The Packmind design kit (@packmind/ui) is a component library built on top of Chakra UI v3. All components are prefixed with PM and provide a consistent, themed API across the application. The source lives in packages/ui/.

Import pattern: Always import from @packmind/ui, never from Chakra UI directly.

import { PMButton, PMBox, PMHeading, PMText } from '@packmind/ui';

Component Selection Guide

Before reaching for a raw <div> or Chakra primitive, check if a PM component exists. Consult references/component-catalog.md for the full inventory organized by category.

Decision Flow

1. Need a layout container? Use PMBox, PMVStack, PMHStack, PMFlex, or PMGrid.
2. Need text? Use PMHeading (with level prop for semantic h1–h6) or PMText (with variant and color).
3. Need a button? Use PMButton with the appropriate variant: primary for main actions, secondary/ghost for secondary, danger for destructive.
4. Need user input? Use PMInput, PMTextArea, PMSelect, PMCheckbox, PMSwitch, or PMRadioGroup.
5. Need feedback? Use pmToaster for transient messages, PMAlert for inline messages, PMConfirmationModal for destructive confirmations.
6. Need an overlay? Use PMDialog for modals, PMPopover for contextual info, PMDrawer for side panels.
7. Need to show nothing? Use PMEmptyState with title, description, icon, and an action button.
8. Need loading placeholders? Use PMSkeleton for content areas, PMSpinner for inline indicators.
9. Need a color indicator? Use PMColorSwatch to display a color sample.
10. No PM wrapper exists? Check Chakra UI v3 docs, then ask the user before using a raw Chakra component.

Compound Component Patterns

Several PM components use Chakra's compound pattern with dot notation. Always use the compound API — do not try to reconstruct these with standalone elements.

// Dialog
<PMDialog.Root open={isOpen} onOpenChange={setIsOpen}>
  <PMDialog.Backdrop />
  <PMDialog.Positioner>
    <PMDialog.Content>
      <PMDialog.Header>
        <PMDialog.Title>Title</PMDialog.Title>
        <PMDialog.CloseTrigger />
      </PMDialog.Header>
      {/* body */}
    </PMDialog.Content>
  </PMDialog.Positioner>
</PMDialog.Root>

// Accordion
<PMAccordion.Root>
  <PMAccordion.Item value="section-1">
    <PMAccordion.ItemTrigger>Section 1</PMAccordion.ItemTrigger>
    <PMAccordion.ItemContent>Content here</PMAccordion.ItemContent>
  </PMAccordion.Item>
</PMAccordion.Root>

// Timeline
<PMTimeline.Root>
  <PMTimeline.Item>
    <PMTimeline.Separator>
      <PMTimeline.Indicator />
      <PMTimeline.Connector />
    </PMTimeline.Separator>
    <PMTimeline.Content>
      <PMTimeline.Title>Event</PMTimeline.Title>
      <PMTimeline.Description>Details</PMTimeline.Description>
    </PMTimeline.Content>
  </PMTimeline.Item>
</PMTimeline.Root>

// Tabs (compound pattern — preferred for flexible tab layouts)
<PMTabsCompound.Root defaultValue="tab1">
  <PMTabsCompound.List>
    <PMTabsCompound.Trigger value="tab1">First Tab</PMTabsCompound.Trigger>
    <PMTabsCompound.Trigger value="tab2">Second Tab</PMTabsCompound.Trigger>
  </PMTabsCompound.List>
  <PMTabsCompound.Content value="tab1">First content</PMTabsCompound.Content>
  <PMTabsCompound.Content value="tab2">Second content</PMTabsCompound.Content>
</PMTabsCompound.Root>

Key compound components: PMDialog, PMAccordion, PMTimeline, PMCarousel, PMCopiable, PMSelect, PMMenu, PMTreeView, PMTabs, PMTabsCompound.

Always wrap overlays (dialogs, popovers, drawers) inside PMPortal to escape stacking context issues.

Layout Patterns

Spacing

Use gap on stacks/grids for consistent spacing between children — never use margin on individual children to create gaps.

<PMVStack gap="4">
  <PMHeading level="h2">Title</PMHeading>
  <PMText>Description</PMText>
</PMVStack>

Full-Height Layouts

For layouts that fill the viewport, use height="100vh" on the root, flex="1" on the expanding section, and minHeight={0} on flex children that need to scroll.

Grid Layouts

Use PMGrid with gridTemplateColumns for multi-panel layouts:

<PMGrid gridTemplateColumns="minmax(240px, 270px) 1fr minmax(280px, 320px)">
  <PMBox>Sidebar</PMBox>
  <PMBox>Main</PMBox>
  <PMBox>Detail</PMBox>
</PMGrid>

Page Structure

Use PMPage for full-page layouts with title, breadcrumbs, actions, and optional sidebar. Use PMPageSection for collapsible content sections within a page.

Typography

Headings

Use PMHeading with the level prop for semantic HTML (h1–h6) and color for emphasis:

<PMHeading level="h1" color="primary">Page Title</PMHeading>
<PMHeading level="h3" color="secondary">Section Title</PMHeading>

Available colors: primary, secondary, tertiary, faded, primaryLight, secondaryLight, tertiaryLight.

Body Text

Use PMText with variant for size and color for emphasis:

<PMText variant="body" color="primary">Main content</PMText>
<PMText variant="small" color="secondary">Supporting text</PMText>

Variants: body, body-important, small, small-important. Colors: primary, secondary, tertiary, error, faded, warning, success, primaryLight, secondaryLight, tertiaryLight.

Theming

Use semantic tokens — never hardcode hex colors or raw Chakra palette values.

Semantic Token Categories

Status Colors

Use the semantic color names for status indicators:

• Success: green palette or text.success
• Error/Danger: red palette or text.error
• Warning: orange palette or text.warning
• Info/Primary: blue palette

<PMButton variant="danger">Delete</PMButton>
<PMText color="error">Validation failed</PMText>
<PMBadge colorPalette="green">Active</PMBadge>

Form Patterns

Input Fields

PMInput provides label, error state, and helper text out of the box:

<PMInput
  label="Project name"
  value={name}
  onChange={(e) => setName(e.target.value)}
  error={errors.name}
  helperText="Must be unique within the organization"
  maxLength={255}
/>

Form Layout

Group related fields with PMFormContainer:

<PMFormContainer maxWidth="400px" centered>
  <PMInput label="Name" />
  <PMInput label="Email" />
  <PMButton variant="primary" type="submit">Save</PMButton>
</PMFormContainer>

Validation

Show errors directly on inputs via the error prop — this adds a red border and displays the message below the field. Disable submit buttons during async operations with isLoading.

Feedback Patterns

Toasts (Transient Notifications)

import { pmToaster } from '@packmind/ui';

pmToaster.create({
  type: 'success',        // 'success' | 'error' | 'warning' | 'info' | 'loading'
  title: 'Saved',
  description: 'Your changes have been saved.',
  closable: true,
  action: { label: 'Undo', onClick: handleUndo },  // optional
});

Confirmation Modals (Destructive Actions)

<PMConfirmationModal
  trigger={<PMButton variant="danger">Delete</PMButton>}
  title="Delete project?"
  message="This action cannot be undone."
  confirmText="Delete"
  confirmColorScheme="red"
  onConfirm={handleDelete}
  isLoading={isDeleting}
/>

Inline Alerts

<PMAlert.Root status="warning">
  <PMAlert.Indicator />
  <PMAlert.Title>Attention</PMAlert.Title>
  <PMAlert.Description>This feature is in beta.</PMAlert.Description>
</PMAlert.Root>

Empty States

<PMEmptyState
  title="No standards yet"
  description="Create your first coding standard to get started."
  icon={<LuInbox />}
>
  <PMButton variant="primary">Create Standard</PMButton>
</PMEmptyState>

Icons

Icons come from react-icons/lu (Lucide icon set). Import with the Lu prefix:

import { LuTrash2, LuPlus, LuChevronDown } from 'react-icons/lu';

<PMButton><LuPlus /> Add Item</PMButton>
<PMIconButton variant="ghost"><LuTrash2 /></PMIconButton>

Control size via fontSize or size props on the icon element.

Responsive Design

Use Chakra's responsive object syntax with breakpoints base, sm, md, lg, xl:

<PMBox
  display={{ base: 'none', md: 'flex' }}
  width={{ base: '100%', lg: '60%' }}
  padding={{ base: '4', md: '6' }}
/>

Mobile-first approach: base styles apply to all sizes, then override at larger breakpoints.

Button Variant Guide

Hooks

@packmind/ui exports several hooks for common UI patterns:

useTableSort

Manages sorting state for PMTable. Returns sortKey, sortDirection, handleSort, and getSortDirection:

import { useTableSort } from '@packmind/ui';

const { sortKey, sortDirection, handleSort, getSortDirection } = useTableSort({
  defaultSortKey: 'name',
  defaultSortDirection: 'asc',
});

<PMTable columns={columns} data={data} onSort={handleSort} />

Chakra Re-exports

• pmUseFilter — Chakra's useFilter for filtering collections
• pmUseListCollection — Chakra's useListCollection for managing list data (useful with PMSelect, PMCombobox)
• pmUseToken — Chakra's useToken for accessing design tokens programmatically

import { pmUseToken, pmUseListCollection } from '@packmind/ui';

Anti-Patterns

• Do not import from @chakra-ui/react directly — always use @packmind/ui wrappers.
• Do not use inline styles or hardcoded colors — use semantic tokens and component props.
• Do not create custom modal/overlay implementations — use PMDialog, PMDrawer, or PMPopover with PMPortal.
• Do not build custom loading indicators — use PMSkeleton or PMSpinner.
• Do not use as="h1" on headings — use the level prop on PMHeading for semantic HTML.

Resources

references/

• component-catalog.md — Full inventory of all PM components and hooks with props, organized by category.