Commands

One focused chapter from the Thorbis interface research. 7 rules. Read the research index for every chapter and focused study.

Commands

Every meaningful action is commandable. Only frequent, unambiguous actions need a dedicated default keybinding. Keyboard is an accelerator, not an accessibility escape hatch. The palette pattern is Paco Coursey’s cmdk (opens in a new tab) inside the shadcn Command dialog. instant open, no animation, type to filter. This page implements it: copy the constitution, download the markdown, jump a section. Visible path under the lede;⌘K / Ctrl K is the accelerator; ? opens the same surface.

Skills are referenced, not installed from a registry. Thorbis skills are ten SKILL.md files on this site. Each is its own document. They are not on skills.sh (opens in a new tab). npx skills add will not resolve them. Name the skill to an agent, or download the file into .agents/skills/<name>.md. The names: product, ui, linear, native, cinematic, motion, color, type, composition, tracking. The bundle is SKILLS.md.
.agents/skills/thorbis-ui/SKILL.md
Name it to an agent. Or download the file.
Command Center is global. Opens with ⌘ K / Ctrl K. Recent, favorite, contextual, and suggested commands are useful before typing. Groups: Go to, Views, Records, Create, Actions, Recent, Help.
Command
⌘K is the accelerator. The path is also on the page.
One Command Registry. The same definition powers the Command Center, buttons, dropdowns, context menus, shortcut help, mobile action launcher, and tests. An action may appear in several surfaces; it exists once.
A visible path is required. No critical action is shortcut-only, right-click-only, hover-only, or long-press-only. Keyboard, pointer, and touch all complete the job.
Command
⌘K is the accelerator. The path is also on the page.
Global baseline keys. ⌘/Ctrl K Command Center. / search. ⌘/Ctrl F find in view. ? shortcut help. Escape closes the top layer.
Command
⌘K is the accelerator. The path is also on the page.
Dense surface keys. Arrows or J/K move focus. X toggles selection. Enter opens. Space peeks. Nothing fires while the user is typing.
Morning board
Tab in. Arrows move. Enter opens.
Explainable math. A metric popover consumes a canonical calculation: meaning, formula, units, source, as-of timestamp, and confidence. The UI explains authoritative math; it does not recalculate it in a page-local component.

I built this for the dispatcher at 7 a.m., the tech in a crawlspace, and the owner closing the books. Quiet chrome. Precise work. I’m still learning. These are the notes.

Applied bookmark research

Reviewed 2026-09-06. These examples reinforce the existing owners; they do not introduce another visual style or claim the product behavior is implemented. Read the 26-source review and access limits.

Make the task easier, not the screen busier

A feature can look complete while the dispatcher still has to reconstruct context or wait for unrelated content.

Start from one person, interruption, and completed task. Keep the current job and its next action usable while optional evidence arrives. Treat the real constraint as part of the brief, not something polished away afterward.

Thorbis example. For assigning a tech, show the job, relevant availability, and the consequence of the assignment. Do not make the dispatcher traverse a marketing-style sequence or a new shell to finish a routine task.

Verify. Walk through the task with representative long and missing records. Check that the essential action remains understandable when optional content is slow or unavailable. Record the result rather than claiming a performance improvement without measurement.

Do not import. No additional shell, feature hero, framework migration, or new dependency. Keep the approved surface role.

Open the product skill · Evidence: Design Engineer Principles; How we think about design; Component Architecture for React Server Components

Preserve the place as the collection grows

Large customer, property, and inspiration collections become expensive to navigate when every inspection loses the current place.

Treat filters, selected records, scroll, and Back behavior as part of the task. Loading a child or optional panel should not reset the whole collection. A saved reference includes enough context to be useful when revisited.

Thorbis example. Open a property from a filtered customer list and return to the same filter and position. On the inspiration wall, reserve the media footprint and retain source credit even when the preview is unavailable.

Verify. Try refresh, Back and Forward, a direct record link, an empty result, a failed preview, and a long collection. Check that late data does not overwrite a draft or move the action under the pointer.

Do not import. No unbounded eager media, private information in shareable URLs, or a local-only storage promise borrowed from Copper.

Open the ecosystem skill · Evidence: 7 Principles of Rich Web Applications; Component Architecture for React Server Components; Philosophy; Copper