Styling Guide

Learn how to customize the appearance of @signkit/core components using CSS custom properties.

CSS Custom Properties (Tokens)

All components use CSS variables that you can override (all tokens can be found here):

css

:root {
  /* Colors */
  --sk-color-action-primary: #0066cc;
  --sk-color-action-primary-hover:  
  --sk-color-action-hover: #0052a3;
  --sk-color-action-active: #004080;
  --sk-color-text-primary: #1a1a1a;
  --sk-color-text-secondary: #666;
  --sk-color-border: #ccc;
  --sk-color-background: #fff;
  --sk-color-background-alt: #f9f9f9;
  --sk-color-error: #d32f2f;
  --sk-color-success: #388e3c;
  --sk-color-warning: #fbc02d;

  /* Field Styling */
  --sk-field-accent: #e3f2fd;
  --sk-field-border: #2196f3;
  --sk-field-border-width: 2px;
  --sk-field-opacity-selected: 0.1;

  /* Spacing */
  --sk-spacing-xs: 4px;
  --sk-spacing-sm: 8px;
  --sk-spacing-md: 16px;
  --sk-spacing-lg: 24px;
  --sk-spacing-xl: 32px;

  /* Typography */
  --sk-font-family-sans: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', 'Roboto', sans-serif;
  --sk-font-family-mono: 'Monaco', 'Courier New', monospace;
  --sk-font-size-sm: 12px;
  --sk-font-size-base: 14px;
  --sk-font-size-lg: 16px;
  --sk-font-size-xl: 18px;
  --sk-font-weight-normal: 400;
  --sk-font-weight-medium: 500;
  --sk-font-weight-bold: 700;

  /* Border Radius */
  --sk-radius-xs: 2px;
  --sk-radius-sm: 4px;
  --sk-radius-md: 8px;
  --sk-radius-lg: 12px;

  /* Shadows */
  --sk-shadow-sm: 0 1px 2px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.05);
  --sk-shadow-md: 0 4px 6px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1);
  --sk-shadow-lg: 0 10px 15px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1);

  /* Z-index */
  --sk-z-dropdown: 1000;
  --sk-z-modal: 2000;
  --sk-z-tooltip: 1100;

  /* Transitions */
  --sk-transition-fast: 150ms ease-out;
  --sk-transition-normal: 250ms ease-out;
  --sk-transition-slow: 350ms ease-out;
}

Basic Customization

Change Primary Brand Color

css

:root {
  --sk-color-action-primary: #ff6b35;      /* Your brand color */
  --sk-color-action-hover: #ff5520;
  --sk-color-action-active: #ff4400;
}

Dark Mode

css

@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  :root {
    --sk-color-background: #1a1a1a;
    --sk-color-background-alt: #2a2a2a;
    --sk-color-text-primary: #fff;
    --sk-color-text-secondary: #aaa;
    --sk-color-border: #444;
  }
}

Compact Layout

css

:root {
  --sk-spacing-sm: 6px;
  --sk-spacing-md: 12px;
  --sk-spacing-lg: 18px;
  --sk-font-size-base: 13px;
  --sk-radius-sm: 3px;
}

Component-Specific Styles

FormBuilder Customization

css

/* Field highlighting */
.sk-field-box.selected {
  border-color: var(--sk-color-action-primary);
  box-shadow: 0 0 8px var(--sk-color-action-primary);
}

/* Toolbar styling */
.sk-builder-toolbar {
  background: linear-gradient(135deg, var(--sk-color-action-primary), var(--sk-color-action-hover));
  color: white;
}

/* Inspector panel */
.sk-inspector {
  border-left: 3px solid var(--sk-color-action-primary);
  background: var(--sk-color-background-alt);
}

Signer Customization

css

/* Field input highlight */
.sk-field-input:focus {
  border-color: var(--sk-color-action-primary);
  box-shadow: 0 0 0 3px var(--sk-color-action-primary);
  opacity: 0.1;
}

/* Signature pad */
.sk-signature-pad {
  background: var(--sk-color-background);
  border: 2px solid var(--sk-color-border);
}

/* Finalize button */
.sk-finalize-button {
  background: var(--sk-color-success);
  color: white;
  padding: var(--sk-spacing-md) var(--sk-spacing-lg);
}

Advanced: Scoped Overrides

Style different instances of the component differently:

vue

<template>
  <div class="builder-compact">
    <FormBuilder :pdf="pdfUrl" v-model="template" />
  </div>

  <div class="builder-full">
    <FormBuilder :pdf="pdfUrl" v-model="template2" />
  </div>
</template>

<style scoped>
.builder-compact {
  --sk-spacing-md: 12px;
  --sk-font-size-base: 13px;
}

.builder-full {
  --sk-spacing-md: 16px;
  --sk-font-size-base: 14px;
}
</style>

CSS Override Examples

Corporate Styling

css

:root {
  --sk-color-action-primary: #003366;      /* Corporate blue */
  --sk-color-action-hover: #004499;
  --sk-color-text-primary: #1a1a1a;
  --sk-font-family-sans: 'Open Sans', sans-serif;
  --sk-font-weight-bold: 600;
  --sk-radius-sm: 8px;
}

Minimal / Clean

css

:root {
  --sk-color-action-primary: #333;
  --sk-color-border: #f0f0f0;
  --sk-field-border-width: 1px;
  --sk-shadow-md: none;                   /* Remove shadows */
  --sk-radius-sm: 0px;                    /* Square corners */
}

Colorful / Modern

css

:root {
  --sk-color-action-primary: #7c3aed;     /* Purple */
  --sk-color-action-hover: #6d28d9;
  --sk-field-accent: #ede9fe;
  --sk-color-success: #10b981;
  --sk-color-warning: #f59e0b;
  --sk-radius-sm: 12px;                   /* Rounded */
}

Responsive Styles

Adjust tokens for different screen sizes:

css

/* Mobile */
@media (max-width: 768px) {
  :root {
    --sk-spacing-md: 12px;
    --sk-font-size-base: 13px;
  }
}

/* Tablet */
@media (768px <= width <= 1024px) {
  :root {
    --sk-spacing-md: 14px;
    --sk-font-size-base: 14px;
  }
}

/* Desktop */
@media (min-width: 1024px) {
  :root {
    --sk-spacing-md: 16px;
    --sk-font-size-base: 14px;
  }
}

Accessibility Considerations

High Contrast

css

@media (prefers-contrast: more) {
  :root {
    --sk-color-border: #000;
    --sk-color-text-primary: #000;
    --sk-color-background: #fff;
  }
}

Reduced Motion

css

@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) {
  :root {
    --sk-transition-fast: 0ms;
    --sk-transition-normal: 0ms;
    --sk-transition-slow: 0ms;
  }
}

Theming with CSS-in-JS

If using CSS-in-JS (styled-components, emotion, etc.):

typescript

import { createGlobalStyle } from 'styled-components'

const GlobalStyle = createGlobalStyle`
  :root {
    --sk-color-action-primary: ${props => props.theme.primary};
    --sk-color-action-hover: ${props => props.theme.primaryHover};
    --sk-field-accent: ${props => props.theme.accentLight};
  }
`

export default GlobalStyle

Combining with Tailwind CSS

If using Tailwind:

css

@layer base {
  :root {
    --sk-color-action-primary: theme('colors.blue.600');
    --sk-color-text-primary: theme('colors.gray.900');
    --sk-font-family-sans: theme('fontFamily.sans');
  }
}

Theming Best Practices

Define tokens at :root level for global application
Use cascade for component overrides (scoped CSS)
Test with browser DevTools to inspect computed styles
Use CSS variables for consistency across components
Document your custom tokens for your team

Web Components: Shadow DOM + Constructable Stylesheets

@signkit/core web components now inject shared styles directly into each component's shadow root at runtime using Constructable Stylesheets (adoptedStyleSheets).

This gives you:

Isolated, component-local default styles
A runtime theme layer you can override without rebuilding
A way to sync your global :root token values into the web components

API

Import from the web components entry:

import {
  registerPdfSignKitElements,
  setPdfSignKitTheme,
  syncPdfSignKitThemeFromRoot,
} from '@signkit/core/webcomponents'

1) Register Elements

registerPdfSignKitElements()

2) Override Theme Tokens at Runtime

Pass either a token map or a CSS string.

setPdfSignKitTheme({
  '--sk-color-action-primary': '#003366',
  '--sk-color-action-primary-hover': '#004499',
  '--sk-font-family-sans': 'Open Sans, sans-serif',
})

setPdfSignKitTheme(`
  :host {
    --sk-color-action-primary: #111827;
    --sk-color-action-primary-hover: #1f2937;
    --sk-radius-sm: 10px;
  }
`)

3) Sync App `:root` Tokens into Web Components

If your app already defines theme variables on :root, mirror them into all mounted <pdf-form-builder> / <pdf-form-signer> instances:

css

:root {
  --sk-color-action-primary: #0f766e;
  --sk-color-action-primary-hover: #115e59;
  --sk-color-text-primary: #0b1324;
}

// Reads current :root values and applies them to web components runtime theme sheet.
syncPdfSignKitThemeFromRoot()

If your app supports live theme switching, call syncPdfSignKitThemeFromRoot() after your theme changes.

Common Issues

Styles Not Applying

Check the specificity:

css

/* Too specific - won't override */
html > body > div.app > #root .sk-component {
  --sk-color-action-primary: red;
}

/* Better - at :root level */
:root {
  --sk-color-action-primary: red;
}

Inheritance Not Working

Ensure you're modifying CSS variables, not component props:

vue

<!-- ❌ Won't work -->
<FormBuilder style="color: red" />

<!-- ✅ Use CSS variables -->
<style>
  :root {
    --sk-color-text-primary: red;
  }
</style>

Testing Styles

Use your browser's DevTools to inspect and test styles:

Open DevTools (F12)
Inspect a component element
In the Styles panel, edit CSS variables in real-time
Copy the values that work to your stylesheet

For detailed component structure and more styles, check FormBuilder Props and Signer Props in the API docs.

Styling Guide ​

CSS Custom Properties (Tokens) ​

Basic Customization ​

Change Primary Brand Color ​

Dark Mode ​

Compact Layout ​

Component-Specific Styles ​

FormBuilder Customization ​

Signer Customization ​

Advanced: Scoped Overrides ​

CSS Override Examples ​

Corporate Styling ​

Minimal / Clean ​

Colorful / Modern ​

Responsive Styles ​

Accessibility Considerations ​

High Contrast ​

Reduced Motion ​

Theming with CSS-in-JS ​

Combining with Tailwind CSS ​

Theming Best Practices ​

Web Components: Shadow DOM + Constructable Stylesheets ​

API ​

1) Register Elements ​

2) Override Theme Tokens at Runtime ​

3) Sync App :root Tokens into Web Components ​

Common Issues ​

Styles Not Applying ​

Inheritance Not Working ​

Testing Styles ​