Gather
This skill collects inspiration before a design is built or reworked. It searches the user's own saves first, then wider sources, and returns one board where every reference links back and names what to take.
Evidence for a choice, not a style to copy
A reference shows how one part could work. Taking a whole app's look when the user asked for its top bar is a finding. With no number given, gather at least 20 references from at least three sources.
Use it when the user asks for inspiration, references or "inspo", or says a screen looks bad and asks how to improve it. Building variants from the board belongs to
. Rebuilding one reference value for value belongs to
.
1. Name the brief
Write one line naming the surface, its platform and what to look for: layout, navigation, density, type, colour, motion or overall taste. A search with no target is
.
Search on the same platform as the work. A desktop or web app takes web and desktop references. Mobile screens for a desktop app is
.
2. Start with what the user gave
Open the tabs, screenshots, links and design files already in the thread before searching anywhere. Searching a pattern library while the user's screenshots sit open in the browser is
.
3. Search the user's own taste first
Search the user's own library and boards before public sources. Their saves already reflect their taste. Starting from a public library when their own library holds matching saves is
. If none of the user's sources are connected, stop and name each choice: Are.na, Cosmos, Pinterest, Mobbin and Pond. A prompt that drops one of those names is
. How to reach each source is in
sources.md.
4. Go wide
Pull from at least three sources. Pattern libraries show flows and screens. Boards and saves show taste: type, colour, photography and mood. A board drawn from one app is
.
Gather the number asked for. When the user asks for more, return new references and leave out those already shown. Repeats under "50 more" is
.
5. Note the part and the link
Each reference gets one line naming the part to take, such as "the top bar" or "the empty state". A reference with no note is
. Each one keeps its source link, so the user can open the original. An image with no link is
gather-link-every-reference
.
6. Build one board and open it
Copy
board.html to
.gather/<brief>/index.html
, an ignored folder and never the source tree. Write
beside it in the shape its header comment shows, with images in
, then open it. Links pasted in chat instead of a board is
.
The board's look ships with the skill, so write data only. A page with its own markup or styles is
.
Name each group in two or three words of Title Case, such as "Agent Activity", and put the detail in its note. A group named like a sentence is
.
7. Save what the user keeps
The user marks picks with Keep on the board and pastes them back with Copy Picks. When the user asks to save the picks, send them where they say: their library, a channel or a board. Read the destination's naming first and match it. A new channel named "FW 26 🔥" beside
fashion / inspiration / 2026 / fall winter
is
.
Check for each item before adding it. A second copy of a saved item is
. When a source needs a login or a CAPTCHA, stop and say which one. Working around a login is
.
The pair
Every check is a pair. The broken line sits beside the line that replaces it.
| Rule | Broken | Replacement |
|---|
| "Searching settings pages" | "Desktop settings page, looking for grouping and density" |
| iOS screens for a desktop app | and desktop apps |
| A pattern-library search while the user's tabs are open | The open tabs read first |
| A public library searched first | The user's library searched first, then wider |
| "Connect your accounts, or download Pond" | Are.na, Cosmos, Pinterest, Mobbin and Pond, each named |
| Twenty screens from one app | Saves, boards and a pattern library |
| "50 more" returns the first 20 again | 50 new references, earlier ids excluded |
| A screenshot with no note | "Take the grouped list, not the colours" |
gather-link-every-reference
| An image with no source | The image linked to its original |
| Twenty links pasted in chat | .gather/settings/index.html
|
| A board page written from scratch | copied, only written |
| "Activity: thinking, tool calls and steps" | "Agent Activity" |
| A new channel named "FW 26 🔥" | fashion / inspiration / 2026 / fall winter
|
| The same pin added twice | Existing items checked and skipped |
| A login worked around | "Pinterest needs you to sign in" |
Reporting
Severity. is a whole look copied when one part was asked for, or items saved twice or under the wrong name.
is the wrong platform, one source only, a board with no links, a hand-written board or a public search that skipped the ask.
is a reference with no note on what to take, or a long group name.
Format. One finding per root cause, citing the request when no file applies:
file:line - [rule-id] what is wrong
request 2 - [rule-id] what is wrong
Then a
summary.
when any
remains,
otherwise. Mark every source you could not reach as
.