Working with agents

Sync to a repository

Bind a codebase to a Shippp file once and keep generated code up to date.

Repository sync keeps generated code in a codebase up to date with your design. You bind a repository to a Shippp file once; after that, a coding client (Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code…) can pull the latest design into the repository on request. You don't need a repository to read or edit designs — only to keep code in sync.

Note

This is usually set up together with a developer. As a designer, it helps to know what happens when someone says "sync the design".

How it works

Generated code lives in its own folder — src/shippp by default — separate from hand-written code.

A small shippp.target.json file in the repository records which Shippp file (and what to generate) the repo is bound to.

A receipt records exactly which design version the code came from.

Sync never overwrites generated files a developer has edited by hand — it stops and asks.

Bind a repository

Open the repository in a coding client
Start Claude Code, Cursor or VS Code in the project folder with Shippp connected.

Ask for the binding

Prompt

Bind this repository to my open Shippp file. Generate the design-system package into src/shippp.

Approve the plan
Binding is a high-impact action: the client shows you the plan and asks for your approval in the chat.
Commit the binding
The client writes shippp.target.json. Commit it so the whole team shares the binding.

Sync after design changes

Prompt

Sync the Shippp design into this repository and run the type check.

The client prepares a sync plan, writes the generated files and updates the receipt only if everything succeeded. Developers then review the change like any other pull request.

What you can bind

Unit	Generates
project (default)	The whole file as a runnable Next.js project.
design-system	Tokens, text styles and components as a package.

Good habits

Save a named version before a sync the team will review — code can be generated from that exact version.

Mark screens Select for dev when they are ready; don't sync half-finished work.

If generated code conflicts in Git, regenerate from a version instead of merging generated files by hand.

Prompting guide

Usage units