Extract

Find the design system, component library, or shared UI directory. Understand its structure: component organization, naming conventions, design token structure, import/export conventions.

CRITICAL: If no design system exists, do not create one yet. Ask the user directly to clarify what you cannot infer. Understand the preferred location and structure first.

Step 2: Identify Patterns

Look for extraction opportunities in the target area:

• Repeated components: Similar UI patterns used 3+ times (buttons, cards, inputs)
• Hard-coded values: Colors, spacing, typography, shadows that should be tokens
• Inconsistent variations: Multiple implementations of the same concept
• Composition patterns: Layout or interaction patterns that repeat (form rows, toolbar groups, empty states)
• Type styles: Repeated font-size + weight + line-height combinations
• Animation patterns: Repeated easing, duration, or keyframe combinations

Assess value: only extract things used 3+ times with the same intent. Premature abstraction is worse than duplication.

Step 3: Plan Extraction

Create a systematic plan:

• Components to extract: Which UI elements become reusable components?
• Tokens to create: Which hard-coded values become design tokens?
• Variants to support: What variations does each component need?
• Naming conventions: Component names, token names, prop names that match existing patterns
• Migration path: How to refactor existing uses to consume the new shared versions

IMPORTANT: Design systems grow incrementally. Extract what is clearly reusable now, not everything that might someday be reusable.

Step 4: Extract & Enrich

Build improved, reusable versions:

• Components: Clear props API with sensible defaults, proper variants for different use cases, accessibility built in (ARIA, keyboard navigation, focus management), documentation and usage examples
• Design tokens: Clear naming (primitive vs semantic), proper hierarchy and organization, documentation of when to use each token
• Patterns: When to use this pattern, code examples, variations and combinations

Step 5: Migrate

Replace existing uses with the new shared versions:

• Find all instances: Search for the patterns you extracted
• Replace systematically: Update each use to consume the shared version
• Test thoroughly: Ensure visual and functional parity
• Delete dead code: Remove the old implementations

Step 6: Document

Update design system documentation:

• Add new components to the component library
• Document token usage and values
• Add examples and guidelines
• Update any Storybook or component catalog

NEVER:

• Extract one-off, context-specific implementations without generalization
• Create components so generic they are useless
• Extract without considering existing design system conventions
• Skip proper TypeScript types or prop documentation
• Create tokens for every single value (tokens should have semantic meaning)
• Extract things that differ in intent (two buttons that look similar but serve different purposes should stay separate)