referodesign/refero_skill

Selection

Select when

• You want a packaged Claude Code plugin combining a design skill with read-only MCP research.
• The task needs evidence from real interfaces rather than generic model taste.
• A landing page or redesign needs a distinctive, explicitly locked visual direction.
• A product screen needs concrete component, hierarchy, state, or copy references.
• A multi-step workflow needs examples of journey sequencing and system responses.
• You want major design decisions traced to sources or user constraints.
• You need bundled craft guidance even when live Refero access is unavailable.
• You want a workflow that includes rendered visual comparison before handoff.

Boundaries

Avoid when

• You cannot send research queries to Refero and bundled methodology alone is insufficient.
• You need free live access because the repository states live research requires a paid plan.
• You need an in-app or iOS-specific style system rather than screen-level examples.
• You need direct manipulation of Figma or another design editor.
• You want a minimal coding-only task with no meaningful design decision.
• You require independently audited corpus provenance, MCP security, or privacy behavior.
• You cannot accommodate mandatory research and reference-lock steps.
• You need deterministic design outcomes without human visual review.

Strengths

Capabilities

Risk profile

Risks and limitations

• Uncertainty: only selected first-party files were supplied, so MCP manifests, bundled references, release scripts, platform validation results, and server implementation were not inspected.
• Uncertainty: repository metadata is dated in 2026 relative to this analysis context, so activity, adoption, and recency cannot be independently reconciled.
• Uncertainty: claims of 150,000+ screens, 6,000+ flows, curation quality, and well-designed source products were not independently verified.
• Uncertainty: the README calls the MCP connection read-only, but no server code, tool schema, or independent security assessment was supplied.
• Live research requires a paid Refero plan and OAuth authentication, while pricing and service availability can change independently.
• Refero styles currently cover web marketing and product pages, not in-app dashboards, authentication, settings, or iOS screens as complete style systems.
• Bundled craft references can support offline methodology, but they do not provide the same live corpus evidence as MCP research.
• Mandatory multi-reference research, synthesis, and visual QA may be excessive for trivial or time-sensitive edits.
• Generated assets and raw screenshot inspection depend on host capabilities and tools not established by the supplied files.
• No minimum Claude Code version, compatibility matrix, automated host test results, telemetry disclosure, or independent audit was supplied.
• Design evidence can still be misapplied, and accessibility, originality, conversion claims, and visual quality require qualified human review.
• The plugin depends on a hosted production endpoint, so outages, API changes, account state, or corpus changes can affect live functionality.

First-party files describe the MCP connection as read-only, state that manifests contain no access tokens, and use OAuth for live access. SECURITY.md directs private reports to support@refero.design and states a 48-hour response target. The documented release check covers manifest consistency and common secret leaks. Uncertainty: the MCP configuration, server implementation, release script, platform validation, and any audit evidence were not supplied, so read-only enforcement, OAuth storage, transport handling, and server-side controls could not be verified.