Gemini CLI session demonstrating how to find and use EUI theme variables.

gemini-eui-theme-session.md

Gemini CLI Session: EUI Theme Variable Investigation

This Gist documents a session with the Gemini CLI, demonstrating how it can be used to investigate and understand theme variables within the Elastic UI (EUI) framework.

Prompt 1: "What are the EUI theme varibles for the border color?"

1. Initial Search

To begin, I used a broad semantic search to find files related to EUI's theme and border colors.

Tool Used: semantic_code_search Query: EUI theme variables for border color

2. Response

The search results pointed directly to packages/eui-theme-common/src/global_styling/variables/colors.ts, which contained the _EuiThemeBorderColors TypeScript type definition. This provided a clear list of all available border color variables.

My Response:

Based on the search results, the core EUI theme variables for border colors are defined in packages/eui-theme-common/src/global_styling/variables/colors.ts.

Here are the available variables from the _EuiThemeBorderColors type:

export type _EuiThemeBorderColors = {
  borderBasePrimary: ColorModeSwitch;
  borderBaseAccent: ColorModeSwitch;
  borderBaseAccentSecondary: ColorModeSwitch;
  borderBaseNeutral: ColorModeSwitch;
  borderBaseSuccess: ColorModeSwitch;
  borderBaseWarning: ColorModeSwitch;
  borderBaseRisk: ColorModeSwitch;
  borderBaseDanger: ColorModeSwitch;

  borderBasePlain: ColorModeSwitch;
  borderBaseSubdued: ColorModeSwitch;
  borderBaseDisabled: ColorModeSwitch;
  /**
   * Border used for floating elements on dark mode (e.g. popovers or tooltips)
   * to increase the contrast with the background.
   */
  borderBaseFloating: ColorModeSwitch;

  borderBaseFormsColorSwatch: ColorModeSwitch;
  borderBaseFormsControl: ColorModeSwitch;

  borderInteractiveFormsHoverPlain: ColorModeSwitch;
  borderInteractiveFormsHoverDanger: ColorModeSwitch;

  borderStrongPrimary: ColorModeSwitch;
  borderStrongAccent: ColorModeSwitch;
  borderStrongAccentSecondary: ColorModeSwitch;
  borderStrongNeutral: ColorModeSwitch;
  borderStrongSuccess: ColorModeSwitch;
  borderStrongWarning: ColorModeSwitch;
  borderStrongRisk: ColorModeSwitch;
  borderStrongDanger: ColorModeSwitch;
  borderStrongText: ColorModeSwitch;
};

These variables are then assigned specific color values within different themes, such as the Borealis theme found in packages/eui-theme-borealis/src/variables/colors/_colors_light.ts and _colors_dark.ts.

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Prompt 2: "What's the HEX code for the light borderBasePrimary?"

1. Tracing the Variable

The initial search showed that borderBasePrimary was defined in theme-specific files. I started by looking at the Borealis light theme implementation, which showed borderBasePrimary was set to SEMANTIC_COLORS.primary30.

Tool Used: read_file File Path: /Users/ccowan/Projects/eui/packages/eui-theme-borealis/src/variables/colors/_semantic_colors.ts

2. Drilling Down

The _semantic_colors.ts file revealed that primary30 was an alias for PRIMITIVE_COLORS.blue30. To find the final HEX code, I needed to read one more file.

Tool Used: read_file File Path: /Users/ccowan/Projects/eui/packages/eui-theme-borealis/src/variables/colors/_primitive_colors.ts

3. Final Answer

This file contained the direct mapping of blue30 to its HEX code.

My Response:

The HEX code for the light borderBasePrimary is #BFDBFF.

Here's the breakdown:

1. borderBasePrimary is set to SEMANTIC_COLORS.primary30.
2. SEMANTIC_COLORS.primary30 is set to PRIMITIVE_COLORS.blue30.
3. PRIMITIVE_COLORS.blue30 is #BFDBFF.

---

Prompt 3: "Can you show me an example of using that in a react component?"

1. Generating the Example

Based on my knowledge of EUI and React, I created a functional component that demonstrates how to access theme colors using the useEuiTheme hook.

2. Response

My Response:

Of course. Here is an example of how to use the borderBasePrimary color in a React component using EUI's theming hooks.

import React from 'react';
import { useEuiTheme, EuiPanel } from '@elastic/eui';

export const BorderExample = () => {
  const { euiTheme } = useEuiTheme();

  const panelStyles = {
    // Access the color directly from the theme object
    borderColor: euiTheme.colors.borderBasePrimary,
    borderWidth: '2px',
    borderStyle: 'solid',
  };

  return (
    <EuiPanel style={panelStyles} paddingSize="l">
      This panel uses the 'borderBasePrimary' color for its border.
    </EuiPanel>
  );
};

How it works:

1. import { useEuiTheme } from '@elastic/eui';: We import the necessary hook from EUI.
2. const { euiTheme } = useEuiTheme();: Inside the component, we call the hook to get access to the current theme's variables.
3. borderColor: euiTheme.colors.borderBasePrimary: We create a style object and set the borderColor property by accessing euiTheme.colors.borderBasePrimary. EUI automatically provides the correct HEX code based on whether the light or dark theme is active.