Heuristic

Community

educlopez

heuristic

Produce a scored heuristic critique of the UI using Nielsen's 10 + 6 design laws + optional persona walkthroughs. Outputs a machine-parseable scorecard plus a 0-100 UsabilityScore (the judged companion to the deterministic UICraftScore). Invoke when the user asks for heuristic on their UI, or mentions 'heuristic' alongside design / UI / frontend work.

Overview

Publisher	educlopez
Repository	`ui-craft`
Skill name	`heuristic`
Stars	344
Forks	17
Bundled files	Instructions only
License	MIT
Links	Skill source Repository Homepage

Markdown instructions
A SKILL.md file the model loads on demand, so it only costs tokens when a request actually matches.
Works with any LLM
AI skills are plain Markdown, not provider-specific code, so this works with GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, or a local model.
Self-contained
Everything the model needs lives in the instructions — no extra files to sync.
Open source
Published by educlopez on GitHub. Read the source before you install it.

Installation

Install the Heuristic AI skill in TypingMind to use it with any LLM, or drop it into another agent that reads SKILL.md.

Install in TypingMind

TypingMind installs a skill straight from its GitHub folder — it reads SKILL.md, bundles the resource files, and stores the result locally.

Open the app and go to Plugins → Skills.
Choose "Install from GitHub".
Paste the skill folder URL below and confirm.
Enable the skill in any chat where you want it available.

Plugins → Skills → Add skill → From GitHub URL, then paste the folder URL and press Continue.

Install in another agent

Any agent that reads the Agent Skills format can use this skill — copy the folder into that agent's skills directory.

Claude Code — .claude/skills

git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/educlopez/ui-craft.git /tmp/ui-craft
mkdir -p .claude/skills
cp -r /tmp/ui-craft/cli/assets/codex/skills/heuristic .claude/skills/heuristic

Restart Claude Code after copying so it picks up the new skill.

Use it in TypingMind

Enable Heuristic in any TypingMind chat and the model takes it from there. Its name and description sit in the system prompt, and the moment a request matches, the model loads the full instructions itself — you never invoke it by hand, and it costs no tokens until it is actually used.

The model loads Heuristic on its own as soon as a request matches it.

Works with any AI model

AI skills are plain Markdown instructions rather than provider-specific code, so Heuristic is not tied to the model it was written for. Install it once in TypingMind and use it with GPT-5, Claude, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek, Mistral, Llama, or a local model you run yourself — all on your own API keys.

Loaded only when it is needed
The system prompt carries just the name and description. The instructions are fetched on the first matching request, so an idle skill costs nothing.
Switch models mid-chat
Because the skill is instructions rather than code, changing model does not break it — the next model reads the same SKILL.md.

Skill instructions

This is the SKILL.md content the model loads. Read it before installing — a skill is instructions your model will follow.

Context: this sub-skill is one lens of the broader ui-craft skill. If the ui-craft skill is also installed, read its SKILL.md first for Discovery + Anti-Slop + Craft Test, then apply the specific lens below.

Score the UI at $ARGUMENTS against Nielsen's 10 + 6 design laws. Load the ui-craft skill.

Step 1 — Load the methodology. Read references/heuristics.md for the full rubric, scoring definitions, design law details, and the required output format. Do NOT invent a new format or a new scale.

Step 2 — Walk Nielsen's 10 heuristics. Score each 1-5 per the rubric:

1 blocks users · 2 severe friction · 3 works but confusing · 4 works, minor polish · 5 best-in-class

For every heuristic, write a concrete finding — quote text, count elements, name the broken flow. Vague findings are rejected.

Step 3 — Audit the 6 design laws. PASS / FAIL each with a specific detail:

Fitts's Law — touch target sizing, CTA placement
Hick's Law — choice density, nav + select sizing
Doherty Threshold — perceived latency, optimistic UI
Cleveland-McGill — chart encoding choice
Miller's Law — nav depth, form section counts
Tesler's Law — where complexity lives

Step 4 — Persona walkthrough (if --persona= present). If the args include --persona=<name>, load references/personas.md and run the matching walkthrough checklist. Supported: priya, jordan, adaeze, kwame, margo, all. Output the walkthrough as a | Checklist item | Pass/Fail | Finding | Impact | table. Without the flag, skip this step.

Step 5 — Rank findings by impact tag. Impact order: blocks-conversion > adds-friction > reduces-trust > minor-polish. Include at most 5 findings in the ranked list; cut anything at minor-polish unless there are no higher-impact findings.

Step 6 — Compute the UsabilityScore. Roll the scorecard into a 0-100 number + grade per the UsabilityScore formula in references/heuristics.md: heuristic_base = round(((mean(nielsen_scores) − 1) / 4) × 100), minus 5 × (failed design laws), clamped [0,100]. Same A/B/C/D/F bands as UICraftScore. Always label it (judged) — it is not deterministic and must never gate CI. If the args include --json, also emit the machine-readable block. If the user asks for the full picture, build the Extended quality report by fetching the deterministic UICraftScore (node scripts/eval.mjs <path> --json or the score_ui MCP tool) and placing both side by side — never average them.

Step 7 — Output. Use the exact scorecard format in references/heuristics.md:

## Heuristic Scorecard table
## Design Law Audit table
## Persona Walkthrough table (only if --persona= was passed)
## Top findings (ranked by impact) — numbered list, 3-5 items
## UsabilityScore block — the 0-100 score + grade + component breakdown

Knob awareness: knob-agnostic. Usability is not a knob — a 2 is a 2 whether CRAFT_LEVEL is 3 or 9. Do not soften scores based on CRAFT_LEVEL.

Output contract:

This command produces a critique artifact, not code. No edits unless the user explicitly asks in a follow-up.
The scorecard is machine-parseable markdown. A PM can paste it into any issue tracker and file tickets row-by-row. Frame it that way in any preamble.
No "First Impressions" paragraph, no hedging, no praise padding. Tables + ranked list only.

Do NOT edit code. This is a scored critique.

Next step: Fix the findings, then /finalize — the scorecard is the input to a gated ship (rung 3).

Frequently asked questions

What does the Heuristic AI skill do?

Why use Heuristic on TypingMind?

Because you install it once and use it with any model. Heuristic is plain Markdown rather than provider-specific code, so the same skill runs on GPT-5, Claude, Gemini, Grok, or a local model — and you can switch model mid-chat without it breaking. TypingMind runs on your own API keys, so you pay providers directly instead of a per-seat subscription, and your skills and chats stay in your own storage.

How do I install Heuristic in TypingMind?

Open Plugins → Skills → Install from GitHub in TypingMind and paste https://github.com/educlopez/ui-craft/tree/main/cli/assets/codex/skills/heuristic. TypingMind reads its SKILL.md and installs it as a skill you can enable per chat.

Which AI models can use Heuristic?

Any model you connect in TypingMind. AI skills are plain Markdown instructions rather than provider-specific code, so GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, and local models can all load this skill when a request matches it.

How many AI models can I use with Heuristic?

As many as you like. As long as a model supports skills, you can use Heuristic with it — GPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek, Mistral, Llama and more — all on TypingMind with your own API keys.

Is the Heuristic AI skill free?

Yes. It is published on GitHub by educlopez under the MIT license. You only pay your own AI provider for the tokens you use.

What are AI skills?

An AI skill is a reusable instruction bundle that teaches an AI model how to do one specific task. It follows the open Agent Skills format: a SKILL.md file with a name and description, plus any scripts, templates or reference files the model may need. The model reads the instructions only when your request matches the skill, so an installed skill costs nothing until it is used.

How are AI skills different from plugins or MCP servers?

A plugin or MCP server gives a model new tools to call — code that runs somewhere and returns a result. An AI skill gives the model knowledge and process instead: how to approach a task, which steps to follow, what good output looks like. Skills are plain Markdown, so they need no server, no API key and no runtime, and they work with any model.

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Overview

Installation

Install in TypingMind

Install in another agent

Use it in TypingMind

Works with any AI model

Skill instructions

Frequently asked questions

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