Style Syntax & Design Token Standards

Windhawk styler files are YAML documents whose key-value pairs are translated at runtime into Windows XAML property assignments, XAML snippet inflations, and visual-state animations.

1. Top-Level YAML Structure

Every styler file adheres to strict top-level key ordering:

styleConstants:
  - ConstantName=Value

themeResourceVariables:
  - variableKey: ResourceKey
    value: "{ThemeResource ...}"

controlStyles:
  - target: Selector#Name
    styles:
      - Property=Value

Formatting Rules:

• Indentation: Exactly 2 spaces per indentation level. Tabs (\t) are strictly forbidden.
• Line Endings: Windows standard CRLF (\r\n) across all styler files.
• No Duplicate Keys: Keys must never appear twice in the same scope.

2. Style Constants (styleConstants)

Constants are declared as a list of Name=Value strings and referenced using $Name:

styleConstants:
  - MySurfaceFill:=<WindhawkBlur BlurAmount="20" TintColor="{ThemeResource SystemChromeMediumColor}" TintOpacity="0.8"/>
  - MyRimBrush:=<LinearGradientBrush StartPoint="0,0" EndPoint="0,1"><GradientStop Color="#60808080" Offset="0.0"/><GradientStop Color="#40808080" Offset="1.0"/></LinearGradientBrush>
  - MyRadius=8            # illustrative — choose your own scale
  - MyRimThickness=0,1,0,1

Constant Rules:

• No Leading $ in Declarations: Correct: - MyToken=Value. Wrong: - $MyToken=Value.
• References: Always use $ConstantName when consuming a constant in a style value.
• No Unused Tokens: Every declared token should be utilized in controlStyles or explicitly reserved in the header.

3. Style Assignment Operators

4. Target Selector Syntax

Selectors match controls within the live visual tree: