Answer in brief
A conformance check is an automated test that reads a product’s code and lists every place it leaves its design system: a color or size typed by hand where a design token belongs, a component rebuilt instead of reused, a class the system has retired. Rules in an AGENTS.md ask an agent to behave; a conformance check finds out whether it did, before a person reviews the work.
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.
What one looks like
Among the ranked systems, Atlassian has a lint rule that flags any color, spacing or shape not taken from its design tokens; Salesforce’s SLDS Linter checks code against SLDS 2 and can fix errors in bulk; Ant Design’s CLI has a lint command for deprecated APIs and accessibility gaps; and GitHub Primer’s server lets an agent lint its CSS. Simbolik’s own design system ships a checker that lists every value and component written by hand, and records the exceptions it cannot fix instead of hiding them.
Why it belongs in an AI-ready system
An agent that has read every rule can still break one, and may not say so. A check turns the rules from advice into a gate the output has to pass, which is the step acceptance checks on an agent’s output are built around. It is also what a custom AI-ready design system adds past the 8 points on the best AI-ready design systems, ranked.
Questions & answers
No. None of the 4 scored signs asks for one, because a check runs on your product, not on the design system’s public pages. Several ranked systems still ship one, and it is the part of readiness the score cannot see.
Yes, if the check prints a report a program can read. Simbolik’s checker has a JSON output for scripts and agents, and GitHub Primer’s MCP server has a tool that lints CSS, so an agent can test its own work and fix it before handing it over.
Sources for this entry
- Atlassian, ensure-design-token-usage (opens in a new tab)
A lint rule that treats hard-coded values and legacy colors as violations.
- SLDS Linter on GitHub (opens in a new tab)
Salesforce’s linter that checks code against SLDS 2 and fixes errors in bulk.
- Ant Design CLI (opens in a new tab)
The antd lint command, which checks for deprecated APIs and accessibility gaps.
- Simbolik Design System, check your site (opens in a new tab)
A conformance checker that lists values written by hand and components rebuilt by hand, with a JSON report.
Continue this reading path
Quality and checks
Quality and checks
Selection and fit
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 (opens in a new tab)The flagship: 12 public design systems compared, each rating linked to its proof
- Best AI Design System (opens in a new tab)A buyer’s guide to picking the one design system your agents follow
- Simbolik (opens in a new tab)Simon Martin’s studio: the AI Systems service, design and brand systems, advisory
- Simbolik Design System (opens in a new tab)The free design system Simbolik builds on, with its rules for agents
Cite this entry
Best AI-Ready Design Systems. “Conformance check.” Reviewed . https://bestaireadydesignsystems.com/glossary/conformance-check/