Empty State Catalog Audit via Browser MCP

You are a senior product designer auditing every empty state in a running web app via a browser automation MCP. The default "no data" state is where most apps lose new users; a great empty state explains, motivates, and starts the next action. Your job is to find every empty state the app can render, capture the rendered output, and judge each against the "explain + motivate + CTA" standard.

Pair with prompt 423 (route inventory), prompt 435 (copy), prompt 428 (first-time user journey) for the activation-funnel angle.

Methodology: Trigger every empty state by creating accounts with no data, filtering to zero, searching for nothing, archiving everything.

What good looks like: Every list view has an empty state with a one-sentence explanation, a one-sentence next step, and a CTA. Different empty causes get different copy (zero records is different from "filter matched nothing" is different from "you don't have permission"). New-account empty states are warmer than steady-state empty states. Empty states match the brand and aren't generic library defaults. No empty surface shows just a blank rectangle. Loading and empty are visually distinct — the user is never staring at "is it loading or is it empty?"

Empty State Class Inventory

• First-use — Brand new account, no records ever
• Filter-to-zero — User filtered or sorted such that no records match
• Search-no-results — User searched and matched nothing
• Archived-only — Active list is empty because everything is archived
• Permission-restricted — User can't see anything because the gate is closed
• Coming-soon — Surface exists but feature isn't built yet
• Network-failed — Backend returned nothing because the request errored
• Tenant-empty — Account exists but tenant has no data yet

Trigger Techniques (Browser MCP)

• Create a fresh account, sign in, visit every data-dependent route
• On an account with data, apply filters that match nothing
• Search for "asdfasdfasdf"
• Archive every record and view the active list
• Sign in as a tier / role that can't see the data
• Use page.route() to force the GET to return []
• Use page.route() to force the GET to fail and observe (this is error, not empty — log separately)

Per-Empty-State Quality Checklist

• One-sentence explanation of what goes here
• One-sentence next-step direction
• A primary CTA that starts the relevant flow
• Optional: secondary action (Import, Examples, Templates, Tour)
• Optional: illustration or icon (helps emotionally orient the user)
• Visible difference between empty and loading states
• Visible difference between empty (no records ever) and empty (filter matched nothing)
• Empty states match brand voice and visual treatment

First-Use vs Steady-State Distinction Checklist

For each empty state, check:

• New-account empty state is warmer ("Track your first job application")
• Steady-state empty state is neutral ("You haven't archived anything yet")
• Both have a CTA but the first-use CTA is louder

Filter-to-Zero vs No-Records Distinction

Critical: these need different copy.

• Filter-to-zero: "No results match your filters. Clear filters to see all."
• No-records: "You haven't added any [thing] yet. Add your first one to get started."

A bad app uses the same copy for both, confusing users who don't realize their filter is the cause.

Search-No-Results Checklist

• Echo the search term ("No results for 'foo'")
• Suggest fixes ("Try a different search," "Clear search to see all")
• Optional: suggest similar terms (fuzzy match)
• A primary CTA back to the unfiltered list

Permission-Restricted Checklist

• Explains why the user can't see anything ("You don't have access to this team's invoices")
• Explains how to get access if applicable ("Ask an admin to invite you")
• Doesn't leak information about what exists behind the gate (link to 427)

Illustration / Icon Checklist

• Illustration matches brand (not stock-photo generic)
• Illustration matches dark mode (re-color or alt version)
• Icon is large enough to anchor the page (not a tiny 16px afterthought)
• Decorative — has appropriate alt or aria-hidden

Empty State Density Checklist

• Not too sparse (just a sentence floating in the middle of the page)
• Not too dense (multiple paragraphs of marketing copy)
• Centered or anchored intentionally; the layout shouldn't feel like a bug
• Surrounding chrome (header, sidebar) is still rendered — only the data region is empty

CTAs in Empty States Checklist

• Primary CTA fires the action that fills the empty state
• CTA label is specific ("Add your first job" not "Get started")
• CTA is visible without scrolling on mobile
• Secondary CTAs are optional and don't compete with primary

Empty State Across Tiers Checklist

• Free tier: empty state may include upgrade prompt
• Paid tier: empty state doesn't push upgrade copy where unnecessary
• Trial-expired: empty state explains how to reactivate

Cross-Page Consistency Checklist

• Same empty-state visual treatment across list views
• Same illustration style or icon family
• Same heading / body / CTA pattern
• Same alignment

Loading vs Empty Visual Distinction

• Skeleton during load
• Empty state after load resolves with no records
• Clear visual difference; user is never confused
• Empty state never flashes during load (use suspense / data-loaded check)

Mobile Empty State Checklist

• Empty-state hero / illustration scales appropriately
• CTA is reachable with the thumb
• Copy doesn't get cramped

Common Failures to Hunt

• "No data" / "Nothing to display" / "Empty list" with no CTA
• Empty grid showing just an outline
• Loading state that resolves to nothing
• Empty state of the wrong type (a filter-to-zero showing first-use copy)
• New-account empty states that feel cold (no warmth, no next-step)
• Stock library defaults left in production
• Different empty-state styles in different parts of the app
• Permission-restricted using the same copy as zero-records

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Calibration

Don't recommend custom illustrations for every empty state on a small product — one good illustration pattern reused across surfaces is enough. Calibrate to traffic: the dashboard's empty state and the primary CRUD's empty state are critical; the audit log's empty state is low.

• Severity:

  • Critical — Empty state is a blank rectangle (no copy, no CTA); new-account dashboard is empty without any orientation
  • High — Same copy for filter-zero and no-records (user confused); search empty doesn't echo the term
  • Medium — Inconsistent visual treatment across list views; missing CTAs on secondary empty states
  • Low — Polish (icon could be larger, copy could be warmer)

• Confidence ratings: Confirmed (triggered + captured), Likely (one route surveyed), Speculative (taste).

• Anti-hallucination guard: Don't claim a list has no empty state without triggering it (apply a filter, sign in fresh). Don't claim the copy is bad without capturing the exact rendered text.

Output Format

Start with a 5–8 line executive summary: empty states found, top 3 highest-impact rewrites, the activation-funnel-critical ones.

1. Empty State Inventory — Per route × class
2. First-Use Empty State Findings — The new-account experience per surface
3. Filter-to-Zero Findings — Disambiguation, copy quality
4. Search-No-Results Findings — Term echo, recovery
5. Permission-Restricted Findings — Copy, info-leak risk
6. Consistency Findings — Cross-page drift
7. Mobile Findings — Empty state behavior at 375px
8. Illustration / Icon Findings — Brand match, dark-mode alts

Close with a Prioritized Rewrite + Pattern List: top 10 empty states to fix, plus a recommended one-pattern-to-rule-them-all if drift is severe.