Refero
Refero packages one design skill and one read-only MCP connection for AI design work. The skill makes research mandatory before implementation. With live Refero research, agents can use curated visual styles, 150,000+ real app screens, and 6,000+ user flows from well-designed products.
Install
Codex app and CLI
codex plugin marketplace add referodesign/refero_skill
codex plugin add refero@refero
Restart the app after installation. The first connection opens Refero in the browser for OAuth sign-in.
Claude Code
/plugin marketplace add referodesign/refero_skill
/plugin install refero@refero
Gemini CLI
gemini extensions install https://github.com/referodesign/refero_skill
Cursor
After the marketplace listing is approved, open Cursor's plugin marketplace or run
/add-plugin and search for Refero.
Standalone skill
Use this when the client already has Refero MCP configured or only the design methodology is needed:
npx skills add https://github.com/referodesign/refero_skill --skill refero-design
No account is required for the bundled craft references. Live Refero research uses OAuth
when the MCP client first connects to https://api.refero.design/mcp.
What it does
- Researches visual styles first, then real screens and user flows when the task needs them.
- Extracts concrete patterns and locks references before implementation.
- Applies bundled guidance for typography, color, spacing, motion, icons, and copywriting.
- Keeps design decisions tied to evidence instead of generic AI defaults.
- Checks substantial visual work against the selected direction before handoff.
What is included
skills/refero-design/— the single canonical skill and its references..mcp.json— Refero MCP for Codex and Claude Code plugin installs.mcp.json— Refero MCP for Cursor plugin installs.gemini-extension.json— Gemini CLI extension manifest..codex-plugin/,.claude-plugin/, and.cursor-plugin/— platform metadata.server.json— official MCP Registry metadata.
All connection manifests use the same production endpoint and contain no access tokens.
Existing standalone installations
Older clones placed SKILL.md at the repository root. Remove that old installation and
run the standalone install command again. The current skill lives at
skills/refero-design/SKILL.md; keeping both layouts creates duplicate skills.
For manual installation, copy the entire skills/refero-design/ directory into the
client's skills directory so its references/ files remain beside SKILL.md.
Validate a release
scripts/check-release
The check validates manifests, versions, local links, the canonical MCP URL, package boundaries, and common secret leaks. Platform-native validation and clean-profile install tests are still run before tagging a release.
Security
Report vulnerabilities privately to support@refero.design. See SECURITY.md for details.
License
MIT