What getdesign.md does well
getdesign.md is useful when you want examples to study. It collects DESIGN.md analyses of well-known products and includes a LaunchKit starter. Read an example there when you want to understand the format or adapt a reference by hand.
The core difference: reference vs. generate
getdesign.md is a collection. You browse example DESIGN.md files, learn the pattern, and adapt one to your product by hand: deciding the colors, the fonts, the tokens, and keeping light and dark in sync yourself. It gives you inspiration and a template; the design work is still yours.
Identity Forge starts from a product brief or a gallery kit. It produces 28 semantic color roles in light and dark, a font pairing, layout rules, component treatments, motifs, and a DESIGN.md that references the generated tokens. It can then install those files into the project.
Side by side
- Model: getdesign.md: a catalog of DESIGN.md analyses + a starter. Identity Forge: a generator of complete design systems + a browsable kit gallery.
- Colors: getdesign.md: whatever the example describes, adapted by you. Identity Forge: 28 semantic tokens in light and dark, defined and balanced for every kit.
- Fonts: getdesign.md: named in prose. Identity Forge: real, exact pairings with ready Next.js font setup.
- DESIGN.md ↔ tokens: getdesign.md: the brief is the artifact; you supply the values. Identity Forge: the DESIGN.md is generated from the same kit as the tokens, so they always match.
- Install: getdesign.md: copy/paste and adapt. Identity Forge: MCP server,
identityforge apply <slug>, ornpx shadcn add …/r/<slug>.json. - Exports: getdesign.md: the Markdown. Identity Forge: CSS variables, Tailwind v3/v4
@theme, shadcn registry item, and DTCG/W3C JSON. - Agent integration: getdesign.md: paste the reference. Identity Forge: the agent can browse, match a palette, read the DESIGN.md, and apply it through MCP tools.
A generated system, live
This is what "generate a complete system" means in practice: the free ambient-sage kit, rendered from its real tokens and fonts, the same payload the CLI writes into your repo:
After Work Chill
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Plus Jakarta Sans · 28 semantic tokens · light + dark
npx shadcn add https://identityforge.io/r/ambient-sage.jsonWhich should you use?
- Choose getdesign.md if you want to study how others write a DESIGN.md and craft your own reference by hand.
- Choose Identity Forge if you want a complete, coherent design system generated for you and installed into your agent or web builder, with exact tokens and framework exports.
- They're not exclusive: read DESIGN.md examples for inspiration, then generate a real, installable system to build against.
New to the format? Start with how to generate a DESIGN.md and semantic color tokens explained, then pick your tool from the pillar guide.
FAQ
What's the difference between Identity Forge and getdesign.md?
getdesign.md is a catalog of DESIGN.md analyses plus a starter kit: a reference you browse and adapt by hand. Identity Forge generates a complete design system (28 semantic tokens in light and dark, real fonts, layout rules, and a matching DESIGN.md) and installs it via MCP, a CLI, and a shadcn registry.
Is Identity Forge a getdesign.md alternative?
For getting an installable design system, yes. getdesign.md gives you examples to adapt; Identity Forge generates and installs a coherent system with exact tokens and framework exports. Many people use a catalog for inspiration and a generator to actually ship.
Do both follow the DESIGN.md spec?
Yes: both work with the DESIGN.md pattern. The difference is that Identity Forge generates the DESIGN.md from the same kit as the tokens, so the written brief and the values in your stylesheet never disagree.
Is Identity Forge free?
Free kits and the shadcn registry work with no account. An API key (from /account/api-keys) is only needed for owned data, higher API quota, and Pro kits.