What is Genjutsu? Motion and design systems in Claude Code: cast, paint, bunshin, installation and cost

You install Genjutsu in your coding agent and call one of three pipelines: cast adds motion to an existing interface, paint builds the look and design system from scratch, and bunshin builds an entire website with an agent team. Before writing code it proposes an "interaction thesis" and writes no code until you approve it. It is an MIT-licensed skill collection; the skill is free, the real cost is tokens, and bunshin is very expensive. The only environment the maintainer tests is Claude Code; on claude.ai it needs code execution, so the Free plan cannot run it.

What it does: Adds motion, micro-interactions and a look to an interface
Type: Skill collection (3 pipelines + 17 internal modules)
Where: Claude Code (tested), claude.ai, Cowork
claude.ai: Does not work on the Free plan
bunshin cost: Millions of tokens, hours
Latest version: 4.1.1 (October 4, 2026)
Price: Free, MIT-licensed

What is Genjutsu for?

Genjutsu first has the assistant write down what it will do as a thesis: what will move, how fast, with which easing, and what it will reject. Once you approve, it implements, then audits its own output (frame budget, reduced motion, focus rings, contrast). A skill is a ready-made set of instructions that tells the assistant how to do a job.

Add motion to an interfaceWhat you get: Code that follows the motion thesis you approvedNeeds a separate setup Build a look and a design systemWhat you get: Design system file and pageNeeds a separate setup

Pipeline	What it does	When
cast	Adds motion and micro-interactions to an existing interface	When you want animation on a section or a button
paint	Builds the look and design system from scratch	When defining a product's entire look
bunshin	Builds the whole site with an agent team (12 stages)	To get a first version built, if you can accept hours and millions of tokens

The repository holds 20 SKILL.md files in total, but that is the sum of 3 pipelines and 17 internal modules. The modules cannot be called on their own; users see 3 commands in the plugin, and a single "genjutsu" skill in the npx and claude.ai installs.

How do you install Genjutsu?

1. Add the marketplace› /plugin marketplace add AThevon/genjutsu

2. Install› /plugin install genjutsu

Commands: /genjutsu:cast, /genjutsu:paint, /genjutsu:bunshin; write your request on the same line. Uninstall: /plugin uninstall genjutsu.

For all users (with the site URL)› npx skills add https://genjutsu.athevon.dev -g

If you install by repository name (AThevon/genjutsu), the 17 modules are not included and genjutsu stops at the first step. If you forget the -g flag, the skill is written into the repository in your current folder.

Update: npx skills update -g. Uninstall: npx skills remove genjutsu -g.

Download the genjutsu.zip file from the GitHub releases.
On claude.ai, upload it via Customize then Skills then Upload skill and turn it on; type /genjutsu in chat.
Updates are not automatic: download and upload the zip again.

How do you use Genjutsu?

Add motion"/genjutsu:cast Add a subtle lift-and-shadow hover effect to the pricing cards on the home page."

Build a look"/genjutsu:paint Build a calm, trustworthy look and design system for an accounting tool."

cast first scans the stack and tells you what it found, then proposes a thesis and waits for your approval. Before starting, bunshin tells you the cost; for small jobs cast or paint is enough.

If you install the same skill both from the plugin and with npx, each loads from its own copy: /genjutsu:cast runs the plugin, /genjutsu runs the npx version.

Which programs does Genjutsu work in?

Claude CodeYes	The only environment the maintainer checks.
claude.ai and CoworkPartly	The zip upload is documented; it requires code execution, so the Free plan cannot run it. The repository marks this route as "unverified".
Codex, Cursor and other agentsPartly	It installs and runs via the npx command, but the maintainer says it is "not tested, not supported".

The documentation has no admin step for Team and Enterprise; bunshin's actual behavior on claude.ai is not documented as tested.

What does Genjutsu read and write, and does it go online?

Reads

The project's code and dependencies; in bunshin, the client material you provide plus competitor and reference pages for research.

Writes

Code in the stack's own language; in paint, MASTER.md and token files; in bunshin, the site, PRODUCT.md, DESIGN.md, AGENTS.md and the .bunshin/ folder.

Internet

The cast and paint skill files can use web search; bunshin can use web search and page-fetch tools. It does not install dependencies without asking.

Published security advisories

The GitHub advisory list is empty; that does not mean it is safe.

Is Genjutsu free? Cost

The skill is free and MIT-licensed. The real cost is tokens. The recorded example runs in the README show roughly $1.5-1.9 for a single cast and roughly $3.6-5.9 for paint (the documentation does not explain how this is calculated). For bunshin, the FAQ lists roughly 6, 8-9 and 12-13 million sub-agent tokens and 3-10 hours for the lean, standard and full tiers.

Allowed

Using, modifying and distributing it, including commercially (MIT)

Not allowed

Removing the copyright and license notice; the bundled UI UX Pro Max dataset is subject to its own license note

Source: Genjutsu FAQ, README and LICENSE. This is not legal advice.

Common problems and fixes

What happens	What to do
I installed by repository name and genjutsu stops at the first step	Run `npx skills remove cast paint bunshin -g`, then reinstall with the site URL.
I ran the command without `-g`	The skill was written into the repository in your current folder; if you don't want that, remove it with `npx skills remove genjutsu`.
I installed both the plugin and the npx version	Each runs from its own copy; keep one.
The skill does not appear or does not kick in on claude.ai	Check that its toggle is on in the Skills list and that your plan includes code execution; the Free plan cannot run it.
In 4.1.0, modules could not be found when the request was written on the same line as the command	Per the CHANGELOG, fixed in 4.1.1; update.

How do you uninstall Genjutsu?

Remove the npx install with npx skills remove genjutsu -g and the plugin with /plugin uninstall genjutsu; on claude.ai, delete it from the Skills list. Only the code it wrote, MASTER.md, and after bunshin the site and the .bunshin/ folder remain; none of them imports anything from genjutsu.

Frequently asked questions

What is Genjutsu?

An MIT-licensed skill collection that adds motion, micro-interactions and a look to an interface. It has three pipelines, cast, paint and bunshin, with 17 internal modules running behind them.

Is Genjutsu free?

The skill is free and MIT-licensed. The cost is tokens: bunshin takes millions of tokens and hours, and on claude.ai it needs code execution, so the Free plan cannot run it.

cast, paint or bunshin?

cast for adding motion to an existing element, paint for a product's entire look, and bunshin for having the whole site built from real material if you can accept hours and millions of tokens.

Does Genjutsu work in Codex or Cursor?

It installs and runs via the npx command, but the maintainer says these environments are not tested or supported. The only tested environment is Claude Code.

Does Genjutsu install packages in my project?

It does not install dependencies without asking; if no one answers, it installs nothing (FAQ).

Related guides

Sources

Not clear in the official sources: The admin step on Team and Enterprise · bunshin's actual behavior on claude.ai · output quality with Turkish-language requests (the README has a French example) · Windows installation. Each is noted in the relevant section together with what you can do.