Kit Anatomy
The files, formats, and structure delivered in every brand kit.
Documentation for BrandBuilder 3.0.1. Official release and exact skill asset.
Find the authoritative files and generated delivery layers in a BrandBuilder kit. A kit is a versioned package: its own brand.json, enforcement/bundle.json, and manifest.json tell a consumer which identity and compiler produced it. Use the delivered inventory rather than assuming a sibling kit has identical optional assets.
Use the Asset Language glossary for the meanings of brand mark, wide and stacked lockup, social share image, ink treatment, and intended background. logos/asset-aliases.json maps each approved original logo path to a descriptive byte-identical filename under logos/named/; existing paths remain available.
The delivery layers
| Layer | Purpose | Where to start |
|---|---|---|
| Brand system | Shared constraints and version domains | enforcement/consumer-contract.json, enforcement/interface-canon.json |
| Identity | Approved brand source and use rules | brand.json, README.md, logos/ |
| Bindings | Platform-ready tokens, assets, and adapters | tokens/, nextjs/, web/, native/, wordpress/, icons/ |
| Enforcement | Exact paths, checks, and recovery | enforcement/, VERIFY.md, manifest.json |
| Proof | Inspectable measurements and examples | qc/, specimens/, guidelines/, conformance/ |
Do not replace a declared token with an arbitrary platform default. Read the exact generated binding for the target platform and run its named verifier.
Approved messaging and guide sources
brand.json.messaging records each message role independently: slogan, short description, long description, and optional introduction or strategy statements. Every role is approved, absent, or unresolved. Only approved exact text may appear on a named surface in uses; an approved social composition in social_copy does not automatically authorize a general guide slogan. brand.json.guidance holds source visual instructions and the reading-surface setting. The PDF, portable guide, and hosted portal project these fields rather than maintaining guide-only slogans or descriptions. When no approved text exists for a role, the guides omit it. Strategy statements such as mission and vision belong in a separate strategy reference unless their approved uses deliberately include the visual guide. Product claims need an owned, current source before they are presented as approved brand copy.
Primary files and directories
| Path | What it supplies |
|---|---|
SKILL.md | Consume-mode instructions and portable skill metadata. |
README.md | Brand-specific orientation and integration entry points. |
brand.json | Affiliation, approved inputs, logo source mode, palette choices, typography, roles, and constrained decisions. |
manifest.json | Exact packaged file inventory, byte lengths, and SHA-256 digests. |
VERIFY.md | Generated measurements, checks, and explicit capability skips. |
NOTES.md | Build and migration notes relevant to this delivery. |
styles.css, tokens/, components/ | Generated vanilla styles, token JSON/CSS, and component examples. |
nextjs/ | Next.js and Tailwind entry points, local font wiring, app icons, and shadcn registry items. |
web/, native/ | Renderer-neutral and platform-specific adapter contracts and support matrices. |
wordpress/ | Native theme settings, support matrix, installable block-theme ZIP, exact inventory, and client handoff. |
enforcement/ | Bundle identity, consumer contract, implementation guidance, migration impact, schemas, local recovery distribution, and generated checks. |
logos/, icons/, favicons/ | Approved mark outputs, categorized application icons, and compatibility favicon aliases. |
fonts/, specimens/ | Bundled faces and licenses, plus typographic specimen output. |
guidelines/, brand-guide.pdf | Portable HTML and printable guidance projected from the generated kit. |
ui_kits/, conformance/ | Interface examples and inspectable browser/reference evidence. |
qc/, build/ | Measured proof, capability records, and build-only sources or render intermediates. |
The file list is a navigation guide. manifest.json is the authority for exact delivered bytes. A conditional capability or approved custom asset can add files; its absence is explained by the corresponding support or capability record.
Source, generated output, and recovery
Authoritative brand decisions live in source brand.json, approved assets, and, for a newly constructed mark, its approved build/mk_paths.py. An authoritative supplied mark binds exact Full and Reduced source inputs and forbids mk_paths.py. Imported or legacy constructed geometry remains byte-identical. See 06-logo-protocol.md and 08-glyph-construction.md before changing any mark.
tokens/, components/, nextjs/, the platform adapters, and the guides are generated projections. Change the owning source or skill/templates/, rebuild, and verify instead of patching one projection. enforcement/consumer-contract.json states exact paths, version relationships, checks, and an offline recovery distribution; enforcement/IMPLEMENTATION.md explains how to consume them.
Portable skill entry
SKILL.md frontmatter uses the portable keys name, description, license, compatibility, metadata, and allowed-tools. A user-invocable key is outside this contract. The repository-vendored portable archive starts at AGENTS.md instead of SKILL.md.
Platform bindings
nextjs/globals.css and tokens/ project the same source colors and spacing into different consumption contexts. Use the generated nextjs/registry/registry.json catalog and direct item endpoints for installable shadcn resources. Local bundled fonts remain a separate setup step; they are not a registry font item. web/support-matrix.json, native/egui/support-matrix.json, and wordpress/support-matrix.json identify which adapter behavior is delivered and which host validation remains local. WordPress clients install the pinned theme ZIP and retain their posts and saved Site Editor state during updates.
Assets and accessibility
icons/ groups web and native integration suites with manifests and local instructions. favicons/ contains byte-identical compatibility aliases for web icons. Approved optional custom assets are published only when their source declaration permits publication; use the generated asset inventory rather than assuming every source asset is public.
VERIFY.md and the kit verifiers report measured contrast, geometry, and other declared gates. A recorded capability skip names the missing optional tool. It never waives the WCAG 2.1 AA floor or a failed mandatory check. PDF and PNG byte identity is not a correctness gate; check measured behavior and declared conformance instead.