Hairline stat strip
A row of stat tiles joined by hairlines that are grid gap, not borders — the container paints the border color and the tiles paint the surface, so separators never double up or break when the row wraps — in a reporting form and in a second form where each tile is the filter for the list beneath it.
- summary strip at the top of a detail page
- dashboard KPI row
- account usage overview
- report header figures
- profile stats band
Reporting only — the figures are the whole job.
Same strip, working as the filter. Press a tile to narrow the list; press it again to clear.
- Bicycle drivetrain teardownDone
- Kiln firing, part threeDownloading
- Field recording — marsh at dawnQueued
- Lathe restoration, episode 12Done
- Sourdough hydration testsFailed
- Bookbinding: the long stitchQueued
Showing all 6 downloads.
<div class="hss-strip">
<div class="hss-tile">
<span class="hss-label">Documents</span>
<span class="hss-fig">1,482</span>
<span class="hss-sub">this period</span>
</div>
<!-- …three more tiles; a missing value is a dimmed em dash -->
<div class="hss-tile">
<span class="hss-label">Quality score</span>
<span class="hss-fig none" aria-label="not available">—</span>
<span class="hss-sub">not rated yet</span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="hss-strip five">
<button class="hss-tile" type="button" data-hss-filter="Queued" aria-pressed="false">
<span class="hss-label">Queued</span>
<span class="hss-fig">2</span>
<span class="hss-sub">downloads</span>
</button>
<!-- …All, Downloading, Done, Failed -->
</div>
<ul class="hss-list">…</ul>
<p class="hss-status" role="status">Showing all 6 downloads.</p>Colors come from shared theme tokens — --surface, --ink, --border, --accent and friends — so this CSS carries no palette of its own. Use Runnable file to copy the tokens along with it.
.hss-strip {
display: grid;
gap: 1px;
background: var(--border);
border: 1px solid var(--border);
border-radius: var(--radius);
overflow: hidden;
grid-template-columns: 1fr;
}
@media (min-width: 21rem) { .hss-strip { grid-template-columns: repeat(2, 1fr); } }
@media (min-width: 42rem) { .hss-strip { grid-template-columns: repeat(4, 1fr); } }
/* the filter row has five tiles: let it wrap instead of squeezing labels */
.hss-strip.five { grid-template-columns: repeat(auto-fit, minmax(8.5rem, 1fr)); }
.hss-tile { background: var(--surface); padding: .9rem 1rem; min-width: 0; }
.hss-label { font: .8125rem/1.3 ui-monospace, monospace; text-transform: uppercase; color: var(--dim); }
.hss-fig { font-size: 1.6rem; font-weight: 700; font-variant-numeric: tabular-nums; }
.hss-fig.none { color: var(--dim); }
button.hss-tile[aria-pressed="true"] {
background: color-mix(in srgb, var(--accent) 14%, var(--surface));
}:root {
--ground: #eef0f3; --surface: #ffffff; --surface-2: #f5f7f9; --border: #d2d8e0;
--ink: #161b22; --dim: #56606e; --accent: #364f6a; --radius: 10px;
}const tiles = document.querySelectorAll('[data-hss-filter]');
const rows = document.querySelectorAll('.hss-list li');
const status = document.querySelector('.hss-status');
tiles.forEach((tile) => {
tile.addEventListener('click', () => {
const wasOn = tile.getAttribute('aria-pressed') === 'true';
const state = wasOn || tile.dataset.hssFilter === 'All' ? 'All' : tile.dataset.hssFilter;
tiles.forEach((other) => other.setAttribute('aria-pressed',
String(other.dataset.hssFilter === state && state !== 'All')));
let shown = 0;
rows.forEach((row) => {
row.hidden = state !== 'All' && row.dataset.state !== state;
if (!row.hidden) shown += 1;
});
// counts on the tiles come from the unfiltered set, so they never move
status.textContent = state === 'All'
? 'Showing all 6 downloads.'
: `Filtered to ${state}: ${shown} of 6. Press the lit tile again to clear.`;
});
});Build a strip of statistic tiles that reads as one joined instrument panel rather than a row of floating cards.
The separators between tiles must not be borders. Make the container a CSS grid with gap: 1px and give the container itself the border color as its background; each tile then paints the surface color on top. The 1px of container showing through the gap is the hairline. This is the entire pattern: real borders double where two tiles meet and leave a stray edge when auto-fit wraps the row, and a gap physically cannot do either.
The full prompt continues with sections on pinning column counts, tile anatomy, two rules of honesty (render a missing value as a dimmed em dash; keep units with the number), the filter form, computing counts from the unfiltered set, and using aria-pressed rather than tab roles.
Ground-scrimmed artwork
Text printed over unreviewed artwork, scrimmed to an alpha that can be written down rather than guessed.
Annotated transcript
Conversation bubbles with a speaker-colored spine and a fixed metadata gutter.