DESIGN.md
Export your design system as an agent-friendly markdown file. Import rules directly into AI coding environments.
What is DESIGN.md?
DESIGN.md is an agent-friendly markdown file that captures your entire design system — colors, typography, spacing, component specifications, and layout rules. It is specifically formatted for AI coding assistants to understand. When you import DESIGN.md into tools like Claude Code, Cursor, or Gemini CLI, the AI can generate code that perfectly matches your Stitch designs.
How to Generate DESIGN.md
In Stitch, navigate to the export options and select "DESIGN.md." Stitch will analyze all screens on your canvas and extract the design system information: color palette with exact hex values, font families and sizes, spacing scale, component patterns, and layout grids. The result is a well-structured markdown file that serves as a single source of truth for your design language.
Using DESIGN.md with AI Coding Tools
Drop the DESIGN.md file into the root of your project repository. AI coding assistants will automatically pick it up as context. When you ask the AI to build a component, it will reference DESIGN.md for colors, fonts, spacing, and component patterns. This ensures that code-generated UIs match your Stitch designs pixel-for-pixel.
Keeping DESIGN.md Updated
As your designs evolve in Stitch, re-export DESIGN.md to keep it current. Treat it like any other configuration file in your project — commit it to version control, review changes in pull requests, and use it as the authoritative reference for design decisions. This creates a robust bridge between design and development.
Tips & Best Practices
- 1Export DESIGN.md after finalizing your design system, not during exploration.
- 2Commit DESIGN.md to your repository root for automatic AI tool detection.
- 3Review the generated markdown and add any custom rules or exceptions.
- 4Re-export when your design system changes to keep code generation accurate.
- 5Use DESIGN.md alongside MCP server for the most seamless design-to-code pipeline.