Article URL: https://namethatui.org/ Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49067076 Points: 3 # Comments: 0

Start with what opens the interface, where it appears, whether the page behind it remains usable, what content it contains, and how it closes. You do not need to know the component name. A concrete behavior such as “a card opens on focus and contains a link” is more useful than a visual label such as “small popup.” The diagnostic keeps two or three plausible candidates instead of pretending the first keyword match is correct. It then asks only questions that can change the result. This matters because Tooltip, Popover, and Hover Card may share a floating shape while requiring different interactivity and persistence rules. The final output turns the selected pattern into an implementation contract. It records trigger, dismissal, modality, focus, keyboard behavior, placement, mobile behavior, excluded alternatives, and observable acceptance checks. Give that brief to a coding agent, then test the result instead of trusting the label alone. The broadest user-facing term for something visible or interactive, such as a field, button, panel, icon, or floating surface. Use it when you can describe the thing but cannot name it yet. A reusable implementation unit in a design system or codebase. A component may expose several states and behaviors, and its library name does not always identify the underlying interaction correctly. A repeatable solution to an interface problem. The pattern connects the visible form to expected behavior, including trigger, focus, keyboard support, dismissal, placement, and mobile adaptation. A small, non-interactive text popup that supplements a control when it receives hover or keyboard focus. A non-modal contextual surface that can contain interactive content and stays associated with a trigger.