Color Audit
rome-os/rome
Audit a design system's color palette against measurable color-science disciplines — WCAG/APCA contrast of declared token pairs, perceptual (OKLCH) ramp uniformity, color-blindness safety of…
Use after a build to evaluate usability against Nielsen's 10 heuristics and run cognitive walkthroughs of every key task.
Install Heuristic Evaluation
$ npx skills add Owl-Listener/designpowers --skill heuristic-evaluation -a claude-codeProject install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.
$ gh skill install Owl-Listener/designpowers heuristic-evaluation --agent claude-codeProject scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Owl-Listener/designpowers.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/heuristic-evaluation .claude/skills/heuristic-evaluation && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.
Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/
Install the "heuristic-evaluation" agent skill from https://github.com/Owl-Listener/designpowers/tree/main/skills/heuristic-evaluation into .claude/skills/heuristic-evaluation/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "heuristic-evaluation", then confirm the skill loads.Claude Code copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$skill-installer install https://github.com/Owl-Listener/designpowers/tree/main/skills/heuristic-evaluationType this inside Codex. $skill-installer <name> installs a curated skill from openai/skills. The installer writes to $CODEX_HOME/skills (default ~/.codex/skills). Restart Codex if the skill does not show up.
$ npx skills add Owl-Listener/designpowers --skill heuristic-evaluation -a codexProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.
$ gh skill install Owl-Listener/designpowers heuristic-evaluation --agent codexProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Owl-Listener/designpowers.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/heuristic-evaluation .agents/skills/heuristic-evaluation && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.
Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/
Install the "heuristic-evaluation" agent skill from https://github.com/Owl-Listener/designpowers/tree/main/skills/heuristic-evaluation into .agents/skills/heuristic-evaluation/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "heuristic-evaluation", then confirm the skill loads.Codex copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ npx skills add Owl-Listener/designpowers --skill heuristic-evaluation -a cursorProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.
$ gh skill install Owl-Listener/designpowers heuristic-evaluation --agent cursorProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Owl-Listener/designpowers.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/heuristic-evaluation .cursor/skills/heuristic-evaluation && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.cursor/skills/ instead of .cursor/skills for a personal install.
Cursor skills documentation · loads skills from .cursor/skills/, .agents/skills/, .claude/skills/, .codex/skills/
Install the "heuristic-evaluation" agent skill from https://github.com/Owl-Listener/designpowers/tree/main/skills/heuristic-evaluation into .cursor/skills/heuristic-evaluation/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "heuristic-evaluation", then confirm the skill loads.Cursor copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ gemini skills install https://github.com/Owl-Listener/designpowers.git --path skills/heuristic-evaluation--scope user (default) or --scope workspace; --path is the subfolder of the repo that holds the skill; --consent skips the security confirmation prompt.
$ npx skills add Owl-Listener/designpowers --skill heuristic-evaluation -a gemini-cliProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.
$ gh skill install Owl-Listener/designpowers heuristic-evaluation --agent gemini-cliProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Owl-Listener/designpowers.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/heuristic-evaluation .gemini/skills/heuristic-evaluation && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.gemini/skills/ instead of .gemini/skills for a personal install, then run /skills reload.
Gemini CLI skills documentation · loads skills from .gemini/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "heuristic-evaluation" agent skill from https://github.com/Owl-Listener/designpowers/tree/main/skills/heuristic-evaluation into .gemini/skills/heuristic-evaluation/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "heuristic-evaluation", then confirm the skill loads.Gemini CLI copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ gh skill install Owl-Listener/designpowers heuristic-evaluationInstalls for Copilot at project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Preview a skill first with gh skill preview. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).
$ npx skills add Owl-Listener/designpowers --skill heuristic-evaluation -a github-copilotProject install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Owl-Listener/designpowers.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/heuristic-evaluation .github/skills/heuristic-evaluation && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.copilot/skills/ instead of .github/skills for a personal install. Commit .github/skills so cloud agent and code review can use it.
GitHub Copilot skills documentation · loads skills from .github/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "heuristic-evaluation" agent skill from https://github.com/Owl-Listener/designpowers/tree/main/skills/heuristic-evaluation into .github/skills/heuristic-evaluation/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "heuristic-evaluation", then confirm the skill loads.GitHub Copilot copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
$ npx skills add Owl-Listener/designpowers --skill heuristic-evaluation -a opencodeOpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.
$ gh skill install Owl-Listener/designpowers heuristic-evaluation --agent opencodeProject scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Owl-Listener/designpowers.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/heuristic-evaluation .opencode/skills/heuristic-evaluation && rm -rf skills-srcUse ~/.config/opencode/skills/ instead of .opencode/skills for a personal install.
OpenCode skills documentation · loads skills from .opencode/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/
Install the "heuristic-evaluation" agent skill from https://github.com/Owl-Listener/designpowers/tree/main/skills/heuristic-evaluation into .opencode/skills/heuristic-evaluation/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "heuristic-evaluation", then confirm the skill loads.OpenCode copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.
Facts
- Skill name
heuristic-evaluation- GitHub stars
- 251
- Token cost
- ~1.3k tokens
- SKILL.md length
- 604 words
- Files
- 1
- Skills in repo
- 33
- Repo updated
- First seen
- Licence
- MIT
At a glance
Use after a build to evaluate usability against Nielsen's 10 heuristics and run cognitive walkthroughs of every key task.
- Works in 5 steps: Confirm Inputs Exist → Dispatch the heuristic-evaluator Agent → Run in Parallel and Reconcile → …
- Tasks that involve UX design
- SKILL.md covers When to Use, Process, What You Get and Integration
- Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md
What it does
Heuristic Evaluation is an agent skill from Owl-Listener/designpowers. Use after a build to evaluate usability against Nielsen's 10 heuristics and run cognitive walkthroughs of every key task. Dispatches the heuristic-evaluator agent in parallel with design-critic and accessibility-reviewer, then feeds findings into the reconciliation protocol. This is the usability lens — "will people actually be able to use this?" — distinct from craft critique and accessibility audit
Its SKILL.md is about 1.3k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. It is a single SKILL.md file with no bundled scripts.
It sits in Frontend & Design, covering UX design and Accessibility. The repository describes itself as: An agent design team you control: 10 agents that run an inclusive design process while you direct. The licence is MIT.
When your agent uses it
- Tasks that involve UX design
- Tasks that involve Accessibility
Example prompts
- “will people actually be able to use this?”
- “/heuristic-evaluation”
Workflow steps
5 steps, taken from the step headings in SKILL.md.
What it can do on your machine
Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit cb00757. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.
Tool permissions
Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.
From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.
Runs code
No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md.
From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.
Network
No URLs in SKILL.md.
From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.
Credentials
Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.
From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.
Context cost
Heuristic Evaluation loads about 1.3k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 106 tokens; SKILL.md has 604 words of instructions outside code blocks.
Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.
Safety
Auto-check passed
The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.
Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.
SKILL.md
The full file from Owl-Listener/designpowers at commit cb00757, republished under its MIT licence (© Owl-Listener). 604 words, ~1,292 tokens.
Download SKILL.mdSave it as
.claude/skills/heuristic-evaluation/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).- name
- heuristic-evaluation
- description
- Use after a build to evaluate usability against Nielsen's 10 heuristics and run cognitive walkthroughs of every key task. Dispatches the heuristic-evaluator agent in parallel with design-critic and accessibility-reviewer, then feeds findings into the reconciliation protocol. This is the usability lens — "will people actually be able to use this?" — distinct from craft critique and accessibility audit
Heuristic Evaluation
Heuristic evaluation is the usability lens on a build. Where designpowers-critique asks "does this match the plan?" and the accessibility review asks "can everyone access this?", heuristic evaluation asks "will people actually be able to use this without getting lost, confused, or stuck?" This skill dispatches the heuristic-evaluator agent and integrates its findings with the other reviewers.
When to Use
- After
design-buildercompletes a build — run alongsidedesignpowers-critiqueand the accessibility review, not after them - Before a fix round, so usability findings are reconciled with craft and accessibility findings together
- When a flow feels confusing but you can't articulate why — the heuristics name the problem
- When evaluating an existing design (see
using-designpowers→ Review Mode), not just freshly built work
This skill is not optional after a build. Skipping it is a Red Flag (see using-designpowers). Usability problems that craft critique and accessibility audits both miss are exactly what this catches.
Process
Step 1: Confirm Inputs Exist
Before dispatching, assemble:
- The build to evaluate (running app, prototype, or screenshots — test what was built, not the spec)
- The design brief (from
design-discovery) — for the key tasks to walk through - The personas (from
inclusive-personas) — each persona's primary task gets a cognitive walkthrough design-state.md— the shared state the agent will read and update
If there is no brief or no list of key tasks, the cognitive walkthrough has nothing to walk through. Go back and capture the key tasks first.
Step 2: Dispatch the heuristic-evaluator Agent
Dispatch the heuristic-evaluator agent (see agents/heuristic-evaluator.md). It will:
- Evaluate the interface against Nielsen's 10 heuristics, citing specific violations with evidence (H1–H10)
- Run a cognitive walkthrough of every key task — four questions per step
- Analyse error paths, not just happy paths — recovery, undo, back navigation, dead ends
- Assess learnability (first-time user) and efficiency (repeat user)
- Acknowledge what works well, not only what fails
The agent narrates at three moments (arrival, working, departure) per the Agent Transparency protocol in using-designpowers.
Step 3: Run in Parallel and Reconcile
Per the Reconciliation Protocol in using-designpowers, the heuristic-evaluator runs simultaneously with design-critic and the accessibility-reviewer:
design-builder finishes
|
┌────┼────────┐
v v v
critic reviewer heuristic (run simultaneously)
| | |
└────┼────────┘
v
reconciliationWhen findings overlap or conflict, classify them (Aligned / Complementary / Conflicting) and resolve using the protocol's priority rules. Remember: usability wins over style — a beautiful interface that confuses people has failed.
Show full SKILL.md (225 more words)Show less
Step 4: Honour the Auto-Mode Safeguard
Even in auto mode, the pipeline must pause if the heuristic-evaluator finds a critical H3 violation (no undo on a destructive action) or H1 violation (user is completely lost). These indicate structural problems, not polish issues, and the user should decide how to resolve them.
⚠️ Auto paused: heuristic-evaluator found a critical usability issue (H3 — no undo on delete) that needs your decision. [details]
Step 5: Feed the Fix Round
After reconciliation:
- The agent's findings join the single prioritised fix list (critical first)
- Note which findings the heuristic-evaluator sourced and whether any were reconciled with other reviewers
- Record deferred Minor findings in the Design Debt Register via
design-debt-tracker— promises don't disappear because severity is low - Re-run the heuristic-evaluator only on critical fixes after the build round, not the full evaluation
What You Get
A structured heuristic evaluation report (see the agent definition for the full format): a heuristic findings table (H1–H10 with verdicts), cognitive walkthrough results per task, findings grouped by severity, what works well, and a recommendation (Proceed / Revise / Rethink).
Integration
- Runs after:
design-builder(build complete) — or against an existing design in Review Mode - Runs alongside:
designpowers-critique, accessibility review (parallel, then reconciled) - Feeds: the reconciliation protocol →
design-builderfix round →synthetic-user-testing - Calls:
design-debt-trackerfor deferred Minor findings - Records to:
design-state.md(Decisions Log, Handoff Chain, Open Questions)
© Owl-Listener, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file
Files
Just SKILL.md in skills/heuristic-evaluation of Owl-Listener/designpowers.
Open the folder on GitHubat commit cb00757
Compare with similar skills
Heuristic Evaluation next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.
| Skill | Stars | Used in | Tokens | Auto-check | Licence | Repo updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heuristic Evaluation this skillOwl-Listener/designpowers | 251 | — | ~1.3k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Color Auditrome-os/rome | 737 | — | ~2.7k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Dont Make Me Thinkluongnv89/skills | 131 | — | ~2.5k | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Super UI UX Designsyahiidkamil/Software-Engineer-AI-Agent-Atlas | 401 | — | ~9k | Automated safety check: Pass | None | |
| Design Critiquegetcrew44/crew44 | 356 | — | ~691 | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT | |
| Error Prevention and RecoveryOwl-Listener/inclusive-design-skills | 104 | — | ~739 | Automated safety check: Pass | MIT |
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Review UI usability using Steve Krug's principles and produce a scannable report.
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Complete UI/UX design capability — a wiki-style knowledge map of design theory (UX laws, Nielsen heuristics, usability, visual hierarchy, typography, contrast/WCAG, design systems…
Design Critique
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Walks an agent through five review passes on a screen, flow or mockup, then returns ranked findings with a severity and a suggested fix for each one.
Error Prevention and Recovery
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Designs forgiving forms and flows: prevent input errors, write messages that say what happened and what to do, and add undo, confirmation and recovery paths.
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Related
Categories
Questions about Heuristic Evaluation
What does Heuristic Evaluation do?
Use after a build to evaluate usability against Nielsen's 10 heuristics and run cognitive walkthroughs of every key task. Heuristic Evaluation is an agent skill from Owl-Listener/designpowers. Use after a build to evaluate usability against Nielsen's 10 heuristics and run cognitive walkthroughs of every key task.
When should I use Heuristic Evaluation?
Heuristic Evaluation fits situations like: tasks that involve UX design; tasks that involve Accessibility.
How do I install Heuristic Evaluation in Claude Code?
Run `npx skills add Owl-Listener/designpowers --skill heuristic-evaluation -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/heuristic-evaluation in Owl-Listener/designpowers) into .claude/skills/heuristic-evaluation in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.
How do I install Heuristic Evaluation in Codex?
Run `npx skills add Owl-Listener/designpowers --skill heuristic-evaluation -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/heuristic-evaluation in Owl-Listener/designpowers) into .agents/skills/heuristic-evaluation in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.
Can I use Heuristic Evaluation in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?
Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add Owl-Listener/designpowers --skill heuristic-evaluation -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/heuristic-evaluation, .gemini/skills/heuristic-evaluation, .github/skills/heuristic-evaluation and .opencode/skills/heuristic-evaluation in your project.
What does Heuristic Evaluation need to run?
SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Heuristic Evaluation is instructions for the agent only.
Does Heuristic Evaluation access the network?
SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.
Is Heuristic Evaluation safe to install?
Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.
What licence does Heuristic Evaluation use?
Heuristic Evaluation is published under the MIT licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.
How many tokens does Heuristic Evaluation use?
About 1.3k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 5.2k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.
What are the alternatives to Heuristic Evaluation?
Skills that share tags, products or a category with Heuristic Evaluation: Color Audit (rome-os/rome, 737 stars), Dont Make Me Think (luongnv89/skills, 131 stars), Super UI UX Design (syahiidkamil/Software-Engineer-AI-Agent-Atlas, 401 stars) and Design Critique (getcrew44/crew44, 356 stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.
Who maintains Heuristic Evaluation?
Owl-Listener (a GitHub user) maintains it in Owl-Listener/designpowers, which has 251 GitHub stars. The repository holds 33 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on June 23, 2026.
Source: Owl-Listener/designpowers on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.