CSS Primer for the AI Era

— a gentle guide for the human part of
the collaboration

CSS is more than a language.
It is also 'a way of thinking'
— about structure,
relationships, boundaries, and intent.

This wiki is a quiet space for reflection.
It explores how to think and communicate about CSS with AI

• through mental models, not trial and error
• through clarity, not guesswork
• through collaboration, not delegation.

• Foundations — how CSS thinks
• Layout — how elements arrange themselves
• Selectors — how we point to what we mean
• Structure — how components hold together
• Visual Style — how we shape expression
• CSS Communication Toolkit — how to talk about CSS clearly
• Working With Existing Code — how to collaborate with AI inside real systems
• Vocabulary — the shared language of CSS collaboration

Move through it slowly.
Let each idea settle.
Return whenever you need clarity
in the collaboration.

_{the Zen of keeping agency while AIing}

Written, curated, and maintained by
Tony de Araujo
_{@iContemp.com}

_{—New York | Lisbon}

• Top
• The age of writing code is ending