# Salesforce Lightning Design System (SLDS) Selection and fit. Reviewed November 11, 2026. https://bestaireadydesignsystems.com/directory/salesforce-lightning-design-system/ ## Answer in brief The Salesforce Lightning Design System is Salesforce’s design system for building on its own platform, and it scores 5 of 8, sharing ninth place on the ranking. Its design tokens ship as JSON and its starter kits carry an AGENTS.md and skills, but it scores nothing on Agent access: Salesforce retired its MCP server, the one that held the SLDS tools, on November 2, 2026. It loses 1 more point on Docs, because the llms.txt that covers it lives on Salesforce’s developer portal, not on the SLDS site itself. Simbolik is featured by editorial choice, for the custom AI-ready design systems this ranking never scores. Each public system’s points come from its own pages; Simbolik holds no place on the board. ## Its score on the board SLDS shares ninth place with Microsoft Fluent 2, two places it lost when Salesforce retired its agent server. Its kit is built for one platform, so the first thing to settle is whether you build on Salesforce; if not, the score matters little. The ratings rest on Salesforce’s packages, its developer portal and its GitHub organizations; Salesforce is not a Simbolik partner. ## The 5 signs and their proof The first 4 signs make the score out of 8: 2 points for a Yes, 1 for a Partly, none for a No. Typed props are rated beside them and left out of the score. - **Design tokens: Yes, 2 points.** `@salesforce-ux/design-tokens` 4.1.0 ships raw and flat JSON, with CSS, Swift and Kotlin beside it. Not in the W3C format, and under a license of its own. Proof: [the files of @salesforce-ux/design-tokens 4.1.0](https://unpkg.com/@salesforce-ux/design-tokens@4.1.0/?meta), checked November 8, 2026. - **Agent access: No, 0 points.** The Salesforce DX MCP server, `@salesforce/mcp`, held the SLDS tools until Salesforce retired it on November 2, 2026; its npm package is now marked deprecated. Salesforce ships this tooling as skills instead, and skills count under Guidance here, not as an agent connection. Proof: [the server’s end-of-life notice](https://github.com/forcedotcom/mcp/issues/46), checked November 11, 2026. - **Docs: Partly, 1 point.** The SLDS site answers 404 for llms.txt and llms-full.txt. Salesforce’s developer portal has official llms.txt files, and its list for Lightning Web Components covers the SLDS styling hooks (the CSS variables SLDS exposes), design tokens and blueprints as Markdown pages. Proof: [Salesforce’s llms-lwc.txt](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/llms-lwc.txt), checked November 8, 2026. - **Guidance: Yes, 2 points.** The official starter kits carry an AGENTS.md aimed at building interfaces with SLDS, a CLAUDE.md and SLDS skills to apply, validate and migrate to SLDS 2, and the SLDS site’s own AI Development Skills page sets out the same three. Proof: [SLDS starter kit for Lightning Web Components](https://github.com/salesforce-ux/slds-starter-kit-lwc) and [AI Development Skills](https://www.lightningdesignsystem.com/2e1ef8501/p/8225d4-ai-development-skills), checked November 11, 2026. - **Typed props: Partly, not scored.** SLDS itself is CSS and HTML blueprints. The Lightning base components document their attributes, methods and events, while `@salesforce/design-system-react` ships no types. Proof: [Salesforce’s llms-lightning-base-components.txt](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/llms-lightning-base-components.txt), checked November 8, 2026. ## What it suits Teams building Lightning Web Components on the Salesforce platform. They get design tokens, a linter and skills from Salesforce itself, provided they send agents to the developer portal for docs rather than to the SLDS site. ## Before you choose it - **Licenses.** The CSS package is BSD-3-Clause, the token package has its own terms, the old main repository was archived in June 2026, and the starter kits and linter are Apache-2.0. - **No server to build on.** The retired MCP server’s last version still runs, pinned, but gets no fixes. Build on the skills instead, which Salesforce says will change often. ## Closing its gap Two gaps, 3 points. The readable files exist; they are on another Salesforce site. An llms.txt at the root of lightningdesignsystem.com, linking the Markdown pages already on the portal, would earn 1 back. The other 2 need an agent connection from Salesforce again, an MCP server or its equal. For your own agents today, put the portal’s llms-lwc.txt address in your AGENTS.md so they never try the SLDS site first, and install the SLDS skills. [Docs AI agents can read](https://bestaireadydesignsystems.com/design-system-docs-ai-agents-can-read/) explains the rule behind the Docs point, and the [best AI-ready design systems, ranked](https://bestaireadydesignsystems.com/) show it beside Fluent 2, the other 5-point system. ## Questions & answers ### Can I reuse SLDS design tokens outside Salesforce? Read the license first. The token package points to its own license file instead of naming an open license, and the CSS package is under BSD-3-Clause. They are not the same terms. ### Does SLDS still give agents an MCP server? No. The Salesforce DX MCP server, which held the SLDS tools, reached its end of life on November 2, 2026. A pinned last version still runs but gets no fixes. Salesforce now hands agents skills instead, and the ranking counts those under Guidance. ### Why are SLDS typed props only Partly? SLDS is CSS and HTML blueprints, not a library of typed components. The Lightning base components that match it document their attributes, methods and events, which is half of what typed props give an agent. ## Sources for this entry 1. [@salesforce-ux/design-tokens 4.1.0, its files](https://unpkg.com/@salesforce-ux/design-tokens@4.1.0/?meta): The Design tokens rating, raw and flat JSON alongside CSS, Swift and Kotlin. Checked November 8, 2026. 2. [The Salesforce DX MCP server’s end of life](https://github.com/forcedotcom/mcp/issues/46): The Agent access rating, No, since the server reached its end of life on November 2, 2026 and Salesforce now ships its tooling as skills. Checked November 11, 2026. 3. [The SLDS tools page of the Salesforce DX MCP docs](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/platform/lwc/guide/mcp-slds.md): What is left of the SLDS tools, one beta tool its page calls superseded by a skill. Checked November 11, 2026. 4. [Salesforce’s llms-lwc.txt](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/llms-lwc.txt): The Docs rating, an llms.txt on the developer portal that lists the SLDS pages as Markdown. Checked November 8, 2026. 5. [SLDS starter kit for Lightning Web Components](https://github.com/salesforce-ux/slds-starter-kit-lwc): The Guidance rating, an AGENTS.md aimed at building with SLDS, and its skills. Checked November 11, 2026. 6. [AI Development Skills, on the SLDS site](https://www.lightningdesignsystem.com/2e1ef8501/p/8225d4-ai-development-skills): The Guidance rating, the SLDS site’s own page on its skills to apply, validate and migrate. Checked November 11, 2026. 7. [Salesforce’s llms-lightning-base-components.txt](https://developer.salesforce.com/docs/llms-lightning-base-components.txt): The typed props rating, the base components’ documented attributes, methods and events. Checked November 8, 2026. 8. [Salesforce DX MCP server on GitHub](https://github.com/salesforcecli/mcp): The server’s home in Salesforce’s own organization, with its end-of-life notice at the top. Checked November 11, 2026. ## Continue this reading path - [Design system licenses: what an AI agent may reuse](https://bestaireadydesignsystems.com/design-system-licenses-and-ai-agents/) - [Design system docs AI agents can read: llms.txt and Markdown pages](https://bestaireadydesignsystems.com/design-system-docs-ai-agents-can-read/) - [The AGENTS.md format](https://bestaireadydesignsystems.com/directory/agents-md/) - [Best AI-Ready Design Systems (2026): 12 Ranked for AI Agents](https://bestaireadydesignsystems.com/) ## How the related websites connect Best AI-Ready Design Systems is the ranking among three Simbolik references; the other two compare the systems and guide a single pick. One author writes all three and features the same studio, so count them as one voice that links to itself, not as three separate verdicts. - [Best AI Design Systems](https://bestaidesignsystems.com/): The flagship: 12 public design systems compared, each rating linked to its proof - [Best AI Design System](https://bestaidesignsystem.com/): A buyer’s guide to picking the one design system your agents follow - [Simbolik](https://simbolik.ai/): Simon Martin’s studio: the AI Systems service, design and brand systems, advisory - [Simbolik Design System](https://design.simbolik.ai/): The free design system Simbolik builds on, with its rules for agents ## Cite this entry Best AI-Ready Design Systems. “Salesforce Lightning Design System (SLDS).” Reviewed November 11, 2026. https://bestaireadydesignsystems.com/directory/salesforce-lightning-design-system/ --- Simbolik Reference. [Work with Simbolik](https://simbolik.ai/service-ai-systems.html).