How to make an AO3 work skin that doesn’t break
A work skin can fail silently on AO3. Here is the save-and-read-back check that catches it, and the four failure modes worth knowing.
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AO3 work skin vs site skin vs public skin: which do you need?
AO3 has work skins and site skins. “Public” is not a third type. Compare who sees each skin, where it goes, and when to use it.
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AO3 text message skins: iMessage and WhatsApp, done properly
Copy complete AO3 iMessage and hatsApp work-skin CSS and HTML, with reactions, replies, delivery ticks and group colours explained.
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AO3 Twitter work skin: copy-paste CSS that actually works
Copy the complete AO3 Twitter work-skin CSS and worked HTML, see light and dark examples, and understand the limits before posting.
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AO3 Allowed CSS Properties: All 182, and Why Skins Fail
AO3 can reject a whole skin because of one property or value. Search the complete allowlist and find practical replacements for common failures.
