Question 1

Can OpenCode Actually Handle Design Work?

Accepted Answer

Yes — with an aesthetic skill, a design system, and real reference images in context, OpenCode produces production-quality, responsive UI and can verify it in a browser. Because it is model-agnostic, you run whichever model is currently best at frontend. Without that curated context it tends to default to a generic look, which is the gap OpenDesign fills.

Question 2

Which Model Should I Use With OpenCode for Design?

Accepted Answer

Whichever you like — OpenCode is provider-agnostic via models.dev, so you can run Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, OpenRouter, or local models behind the same workflow and switch at any time. The quality of the design output depends far more on your skill, design system, and references than on the model alone.

Question 3

Is OpenDesign Made by the OpenCode (SST) Team?

Accepted Answer

No. OpenDesign is an independent open-source project that integrates OpenCode as an agent. It complements OpenCode with a local-first, open skill and design-system library.

Question 4

Do I Need a Special Subscription to Design With OpenCode?

Accepted Answer

No — OpenCode is BYOK. You bring your own model-provider API key, and OpenDesign never proxies your credentials. There is no vendor lock-in.

Question 5

OpenCode or Codex or Claude Code for Frontend Design?

Accepted Answer

All are strong, and many teams stack them. OpenCode’s edge is being fully open-source and model-agnostic; Codex excels at delegated, sandboxed builds; Claude Code is known for specific, codebase-aware design decisions. OpenDesign lets you switch agents without changing your design workflow.

Question 6

What OpenCode Is, Precisely

Accepted Answer

OpenCode is an open-source AI coding agent built for the terminal, maintained by the team behind SST (Anomaly Innovations). It reads your repository, runs commands, edits files, and talks to a large language model — but unlike vendor-bound agents, it does not ship its own model. You point it at whatever provider and model you want and bring your own key.

It runs as a terminal UI (TUI), with a desktop app and IDE extensions on top of the same engine. Under the hood it uses a client/server architecture, so the agent that does the work is decoupled from the surface you drive it from. Two built-in agents — build and plan — toggle with the Tab key.

Model-agnostic: Models and providers come from models.dev, an open catalog. You configure them in opencode.json with a provider/model-id string and can disable providers you do not want loaded — so the same design workflow runs on Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, OpenRouter, local models, and more.

Instruction file: OpenCode reads an AGENTS.md file in your project (the cross-tool standard, also compatible with CLAUDE.md) for project rules — the natural place to encode your design conventions. Run /init to generate one.

Extensible: It supports LSP integration, MCP servers, themes, keybinds, and custom commands, plus shareable session links for collaboration.

Maintainer: SST / Anomaly Innovations (open-source project)

Credential: your own model-provider API key(s) — BYOK, no vendor lock-in

License: MIT, open source

Question 7

Why an open, any-model agent fits design work

Accepted Answer

OpenCode does not have a single “design model” the way a vendor agent does — and that is the point. Because it is model-agnostic and open, you can run the same design workflow on whichever model is currently best at frontend, swap it later, or fall back to a local model, all without changing your setup.

But model choice alone does not buy taste. Like every coding agent, OpenCode produces generic UI unless you give it constraints. Good design output comes from three inputs you provide.

A design system: Real tokens, primitives, and conventions the agent reuses, so output matches a brand instead of defaulting to a generic look.

An aesthetic skill: A curated skill that enforces real taste — restrained motion, brand-first hierarchy, at most two typefaces and one accent color — and makes the agent commit to a direction before building.

Concrete references: Actual reference images and multiple states (desktop and mobile, hover, empty, loading), not a single hero shot.

Taste comes from three inputs you provide: a design system, a skill, and real reference images — independent of which model you run.

The lesson: OpenCode gives you model freedom, but taste still comes from a curated design context. OpenDesign packages exactly those inputs, which is why the two fit together — both are open-source and local-first (more below).

Question 8

Setting Up OpenCode for Design From Zero

Accepted Answer

The setup sequence: install → authenticate (your provider key) → configure AGENTS.md → add a skill → verify in a real browser.Encode your design rules: Put your tokens, primitives, and conventions in AGENTS.md (or a DESIGN.md referenced from it) so output matches a brand instead of defaulting to a generic look. The instructions option in opencode.json can point at additional rule files via globs.Choose a capable model: Because OpenCode is model-agnostic, pick whichever provider/model is currently strongest at frontend for the design pass — and keep the rest of your workflow unchanged.Use the current setup section for commands and version-specific details, which may change.# 1. Install OpenCode
curl -fsSL https://opencode.ai/install | bash
# or: npm i -g opencode-ai@latest
# or: brew install sst/tap/opencode

# 2. Start the TUI in your project, then authenticate your provider
opencode          # then run /login and pick your provider + paste your key

# 3. Generate project context
opencode          # inside your project, run /init to create AGENTS.md

# 4. Pick your model (any provider, via models.dev)
#    set "provider/model-id" in opencode.json or switch in the TUI

# 5. Add an MCP server (optional, e.g. for design handoff)
#    configure it under the "mcp" key in opencode.jsonHistorical command example from the previous guide; verify current syntax in the linked vendor documentation.

Question 9

Screenshot-to-UI Workflow in OpenCode

Accepted Answer

The highest-leverage design loop with any agent is turning a reference image into working, responsive UI and iterating until it matches. The same five-step shape applies in OpenCode.Start from the clearest visual references you have — and include multiple states (desktop and mobile, hover, empty, loading), not just one hero shot.Be specific in the prompt; vague prompts produce generic UI.Prepare a design system and tell OpenCode where the tokens and canonical primitives live (in AGENTS.md).Run a dev server and have the agent render in a real browser, resizing to breakpoints to check the result.Iterate by having OpenCode compare its implementation back to the screenshots — not merely confirm it builds.Reference files with @ in the TUI for a fuzzy search of your working directory, run shell commands inline with a leading !, and drive actions with / commands. Then prompt with concrete constraints:Keep prompts small and focused, commit good iterations and revert bad ones (telling OpenCode when you revert), so each pass builds on a clean base.opencode
# in the TUI:
> @reference-desktop.png @reference-mobile.png
  Implement this design in React + Vite + Tailwind + TypeScript.
  Reuse my existing design-system components and tokens from AGENTS.md.
  Match spacing, layout, and hierarchy; make it responsive.
  Run the dev server, open it in a browser, and iterate until the
  UI matches the references across breakpoints.Historical command example from the previous guide; verify current syntax in the linked vendor documentation.

Question 10

AGENTS.md, MCP, and shareable sessions

Accepted Answer

Three extension points make OpenCode practical for sustained design work, and all three map cleanly onto an open design workflow.

AGENTS.md rules: Project rules live in an AGENTS.md at the repo root (or global rules in ~/.config/opencode/AGENTS.md). It is the durable home for your design conventions, read on every run, and it is compatible with the CLAUDE.md files other agents use.

MCP servers: OpenCode supports both local (command) and remote (URL) MCP servers, configured under the mcp key — the portable way to bring in design context and external tools that work across agents, not just OpenCode.

Shareable sessions: The /share command creates a public link to a conversation for collaboration or review, and /unshare revokes it — useful for getting feedback on a design pass.

These are portable, multi-agent capabilities — exactly the kind of thing OpenDesign is built to orchestrate, rather than re-create per project.

Question 11

OpenCode vs Codex vs Claude Code vs Cursor for design

Accepted Answer

There is no single winner for design work — each agent has a different strength, and experienced teams stack them. A fair summary:

OpenCode — Open-source and model-agnostic; run any provider behind one terminal workflow — BYOK freedom, model-switching, fully open and local-first setups

Codex — Strong visual polish with a frontend skill; image understanding — Delegated async, sandboxed builds, portable AGENTS.md rules

Claude Code — Specific design decisions (hex, spacing, type) and codebase-aware UX — Frontend reasoning and large-context refactors

Cursor — Visual build-and-see loop with live preview and inline edits — Tight iterate-and-watch UI work inside an IDE

The recurring community verdict is that taste comes from humans: all of them default to a generic aesthetic without skills, references, and constraints. That is the real problem to solve — and it is design-tool-shaped, not model-shaped, which is precisely why an open agent like OpenCode pairs so well with an open design layer.

Agent — Design strength — Best for

Question 12

Pitfalls and Avoiding the “AI Slop” Look

Accepted Answer

The most common complaint about AI-generated design is that it looks generic — soft gradients, floating panels, oversized rounded corners, dramatic shadows, an Inter-and-purple vibe that “screams an AI made this.” Other reported issues include broken mobile layouts and instructions leaking into UI copy. None of these are unique to OpenCode; they are what happens when any agent runs without a curated design context.

Add an aesthetic skill: A curated design skill forces the agent to commit to a real direction instead of the default look.

Verify in a real browser: Render and self-check across breakpoints so layouts do not silently break on mobile.

Supply tokens and references: Real design tokens and reference screenshots are the single biggest lever on output quality.

Encode rules in AGENTS.md: Put “no hero cards, max two typefaces, brand-first hierarchy” style rules where the agent reads them every run.

Notice that every mitigation is about giving the agent a curated design context — regardless of which model you run. Maintaining that context by hand, per project, is the toil OpenDesign removes.

Question 13

Designing with OpenCode inside OpenDesign

Accepted Answer

OpenDesign is the open-source design layer the workflow above keeps asking for. It treats OpenCode as a first-party adapter and wraps it in a curated skill and design-system library, a structured render pipeline, and a local desktop UI — so the design context that makes any agent good is there from the first run, not assembled by hand each time. Both projects are open-source and local-first, which makes the pairing a natural fit.

Authenticate with your own model-provider API key (BYOK) — credentials stay on your machine and are never proxied through us.

Pick any provider and model, plus a design system and a skill, then generate decks, prototypes, and landing pages with consistent taste.

Every artifact and DESIGN.md file lives in your own repo, not a hosted cloud.

Same OpenCode agent, same model freedom — plus a real, portable, open-source design workflow around it. It is local-first and Apache-2.0, so nothing about your work or your credentials leaves your machine.

Install OpenDesign and select OpenCode as your agent.

Question 14

Which OpenCode is this?

Accepted Answer

The open-source terminal agent at github.com/anomalyco/opencode (formerly sst/opencode), maintained by Anomaly. Not to be confused with similarly named tools.

Question 15

Is OpenDesign the same project as OpenCode?

Accepted Answer

No. Both are open-source, but they are separate projects. OpenDesign integrates OpenCode as a first-party agent adapter.

Design WithOpenCode inOpenDesign.

Where Do You Want to Begin With OpenCode?

Produce a Product Interface Using OpenCode

Set Up OpenCode From Zero

Compare OpenCode With Other Agents

An OpenCode Design Task, From Brief to Interface

1Design Brief and Constraints

2Who Does What: You, OpenCode and OpenDesign

3OpenCode Artifact: Team Inbox at 1440px and 390px

4Review Before Handoff

Grid and Spacing

Visual Hierarchy

Mobile Layout

Interaction Checks

Where OpenCode Fits—and Where It Does Not

OpenCode Fits When

Choose Another Workflow When

OpenCode Requirements Before You Start

Tool ScopeOpenCode, by Anomaly

Accounts and AuthenticationProvider keys through OpenCode config (BYOK)

System and VersionsDesktop app or source

Connection CheckThe success signal

OpenCode Setup in Three Steps

Download the OpenDesign Desktop App

Prepare Your OpenCode Connection

Run One Small OpenCode Task

An OpenCode Design Pass in Five Steps

Design Brief

Design Constraints

Generate the Interface

Preview

Revise and Verify

OpenCode Design Resources

Further Reading for OpenCode

Design Skills

Design Systems

Templates

OpenCode Limits, Manual Checks, and Fallbacks

Common Questions About OpenCode and OpenDesign

Begin a First Design Task in OpenCode

Design With
OpenCode in
OpenDesign.