Tokens Starter

A minimal set of design tokens for new projects. Copy this file as your foundation and customize the values to match your brand.

Overview

Design tokens are CSS custom properties that define your visual design language. This starter includes everything you need for a consistent design system:

Size Scale - Consistent spacing from 2px to 64px
Colors - Gray palette, brand colors, and semantic colors with automatic light/dark support
Typography - Font stacks, sizes, and line heights
Borders - Widths and border-radius values
Shadows - Three elevation levels
Motion - Durations and easing functions

Live Preview

See the tokens in action with color swatches, spacing samples, and typography examples.

Source Code

Copy this CSS to your project's tokens.css file.

/**
 * Vanilla Breeze Starter Tokens
 *
 * A minimal set of custom properties for new pages.
 * Import this or copy the relevant tokens to your project.
 */

:root {
  /* Enable automatic light/dark switching */
  color-scheme: light dark;

/* ==================== SIZE SCALE ==================== */
  --size-unit: 0.25rem;
  --size-3xs: calc(var(--size-unit) * 0.5);  /* 2px */
  --size-2xs: calc(var(--size-unit) * 1);    /* 4px */
  --size-xs: calc(var(--size-unit) * 2);     /* 8px */
  --size-s: calc(var(--size-unit) * 3);      /* 12px */
  --size-m: calc(var(--size-unit) * 4);      /* 16px */
  --size-l: calc(var(--size-unit) * 6);      /* 24px */
  --size-xl: calc(var(--size-unit) * 8);     /* 32px */
  --size-2xl: calc(var(--size-unit) * 12);   /* 48px */
  --size-3xl: calc(var(--size-unit) * 16);   /* 64px */

/* ==================== COLORS ==================== */
  /* Grays (achromatic) */
  --color-gray-50: oklch(98% 0 0);
  --color-gray-100: oklch(96% 0 0);
  --color-gray-200: oklch(90% 0 0);
  --color-gray-300: oklch(80% 0 0);
  --color-gray-400: oklch(70% 0 0);
  --color-gray-500: oklch(55% 0 0);
  --color-gray-600: oklch(45% 0 0);
  --color-gray-700: oklch(35% 0 0);
  --color-gray-800: oklch(25% 0 0);
  --color-gray-900: oklch(15% 0 0);
  --color-gray-950: oklch(10% 0 0);
  --color-white: oklch(100% 0 0);
  --color-black: oklch(0% 0 0);

/* Brand hues - override these for custom themes */
  --hue-primary: 260;
  --hue-secondary: 200;
  --hue-accent: 30;

/* Primary color */
  --color-primary: oklch(50% 0.2 var(--hue-primary));
  --color-primary-hover: oklch(from var(--color-primary) calc(l - 0.08) calc(c + 0.02) h);

/* Semantic colors (auto light/dark) */
  --color-background: light-dark(var(--color-white), var(--color-gray-950));
  --color-surface: light-dark(var(--color-white), var(--color-gray-900));
  --color-surface-raised: light-dark(var(--color-gray-50), var(--color-gray-800));
  --color-text: light-dark(var(--color-gray-900), var(--color-gray-100));
  --color-text-muted: light-dark(var(--color-gray-600), var(--color-gray-400));
  --color-border: light-dark(var(--color-gray-200), var(--color-gray-700));

/* Status colors */
  --color-success: oklch(55% 0.2 145);
  --color-warning: oklch(70% 0.18 70);
  --color-error: oklch(55% 0.22 25);
  --color-info: oklch(55% 0.15 240);

/* ==================== TYPOGRAPHY ==================== */
  --font-sans: system-ui, -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, sans-serif;
  --font-serif: Charter, "Bitstream Charter", Cambria, serif;
  --font-mono: ui-monospace, "Cascadia Code", "Source Code Pro", Menlo, monospace;

--font-size-xs: 0.75rem;
  --font-size-sm: 0.875rem;
  --font-size-md: 1rem;
  --font-size-lg: 1.125rem;
  --font-size-xl: 1.25rem;
  --font-size-2xl: 1.5rem;
  --font-size-3xl: 1.875rem;

--line-height-tight: 1.25;
  --line-height-normal: 1.5;
  --line-height-relaxed: 1.625;

/* Reading measure */
  --measure-narrow: 45ch;
  --measure-normal: 65ch;
  --measure-wide: 80ch;

/* ==================== BORDERS ==================== */
  --border-width-thin: 1px;
  --border-width-medium: 2px;
  --radius-s: 0.25rem;
  --radius-m: 0.5rem;
  --radius-l: 0.75rem;
  --radius-full: 9999px;

/* ==================== SHADOWS ==================== */
  --shadow-sm: 0 1px 2px oklch(0% 0 0 / 0.05);
  --shadow-md: 0 4px 6px oklch(0% 0 0 / 0.1);
  --shadow-lg: 0 10px 15px oklch(0% 0 0 / 0.15);

/* ==================== MOTION ==================== */
  --duration-fast: 150ms;
  --duration-normal: 250ms;
  --duration-slow: 400ms;
  --ease-out: cubic-bezier(0, 0, 0.2, 1);
  --ease-in-out: cubic-bezier(0.4, 0, 0.2, 1);
}

Token Categories

Size Scale

The size scale uses a base unit of 0.25rem (4px at default font size) with named stops from 3xs to 3xl. Use these for all spacing, gaps, and sizing:

Colors

Colors use the OKLCH color space for perceptually uniform values. The light-dark() function automatically switches between light and dark mode values based on color-scheme:

Typography

Three font stacks are provided: sans-serif for UI, serif for content, and monospace for code. Combine with size and line-height tokens:

Borders and Shadows

Use border-radius tokens for consistent rounding and shadow tokens for elevation:

Motion

Duration and easing tokens ensure consistent animation timing:

Customization

To customize for your brand, override the hue variables:

For more extensive customization, override the specific color tokens directly.

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