Build or update a professional-grade design system in Figma from a codebase. Use when the user wants to create variables/tokens, build component libraries, set up theming (light/dark modes), document foundations, or reconcile gaps between code and Figma. This skill teaches WHAT to build and in WHAT ORDER — it complements the `figma-use` skill which teaches HOW to call the Plugin API. Both skills should be loaded together.
Build professional-grade design systems in Figma that match code. This skill orchestrates multi-phase workflows across 20–100+ use_figma calls, enforcing quality patterns from real-world design systems (Material 3, Polaris, Figma UI3, Simple DS).
Prerequisites: The figma-use skill MUST also be loaded for every use_figma call. It provides Plugin API syntax rules (return pattern, page reset, ID return, font loading, color range). This skill provides design system domain knowledge and workflow orchestration.
Always pass skillNames: "figma-generate-library" when calling use_figma as part of this skill. This is a logging parameter — it does not affect execution.
1. The One Rule That Matters Most
This is NEVER a one-shot task. Building a design system requires 20–100+ use_figma calls across multiple phases, with mandatory user checkpoints between them. Any attempt to create everything in one call WILL produce broken, incomplete, or unrecoverable results. Break every operation to the smallest useful unit, validate, get feedback, proceed.
2. Mandatory Workflow
Every design system build follows this phase order. Skipping or reordering phases causes structural failures that are expensive to undo.
Phase 0: DISCOVERY (always first — no use_figma writes yet)
0a. Analyze codebase → extract tokens, components, naming conventions
0b. Inspect Figma file → pages, variables, components, styles, existing conventions
0c. Search subscribed libraries → use search_design_system for reusable assets
0d. Lock v1 scope → agree on exact token set + component list before any creation
0e. Map code → Figma → resolve conflicts (code and Figma disagree = ask user)
✋ USER CHECKPOINT: present full plan, await explicit approval
Phase 1: FOUNDATIONS (tokens first — always before components)
1a. Create variable collections and modes
1b. Create primitive variables (raw values, 1 mode)
1c. Create semantic variables (aliased to primitives, mode-aware)
1d. Set scopes on ALL variables
1e. Set code syntax on ALL variables
1f. Create effect styles (shadows) and text styles (typography)
→ Exit criteria: every token from the agreed plan exists, all scopes set, all code syntax set
✋ USER CHECKPOINT: show variable summary, await approval
Phase 2: FILE STRUCTURE (before components)
2a. Create page skeleton: Cover → Getting Started → Foundations → --- → Components → --- → Utilities
2b. Create foundations documentation pages (color swatches, type specimens, spacing bars)
→ Exit criteria: all planned pages exist, foundations docs are navigable
✋ USER CHECKPOINT: show page list + screenshot, await approval
Phase 3: COMPONENTS (one at a time — never batch)
For EACH component (in dependency order: atoms before molecules):
3a. Create dedicated page
3b. Build base component with auto-layout + full variable bindings
3c. Create all variant combinations (combineAsVariants + grid layout)
3d. Add component properties (TEXT, BOOLEAN, INSTANCE_SWAP)
3e. Link properties to child nodes
3f. Add page documentation (title, description, usage notes)
3g. Validate: get_metadata (structure) + get_screenshot (visual)
3h. Optional: lightweight Code Connect mapping while context is fresh
→ Exit criteria: variant count correct, all bindings verified, screenshot looks right
✋ USER CHECKPOINT per component: show screenshot, await approval before next component
Phase 4: INTEGRATION + QA (final pass)
4a. Finalize all Code Connect mappings
4b. Accessibility audit (contrast, min touch targets, focus visibility)
4c. Naming audit (no duplicates, no unnamed nodes, consistent casing)
4d. Unresolved bindings audit (no hardcoded fills/strokes remaining)
4e. Final review screenshots of every page
✋ USER CHECKPOINT: complete sign-off
3. Critical Rules
Plugin API basics (from use_figma skill — enforced here too):
Use return to send data back (auto-serialized). Do NOT wrap in IIFE or call closePlugin.
Return ALL created/mutated node IDs in every return value
Page context resets each call — always await figma.setCurrentPageAsync(page) at start
figma.notify() throws — never use it
Colors are 0–1 range, not 0–255
Font MUST be loaded before any text write: await figma.loadFontAsync({family, style})
Design system rules:
Variables BEFORE components — components bind to variables. No token = no component.
Inspect before creating — run read-only use_figma to discover existing conventions. Match them.
One page per component(default) — exception: tightly related families (e.g., Input + helpers) may share a page with clear section separation.
Scopes on every variable — NEVER leave as ALL_SCOPES. Background: FRAME_FILL, SHAPE_FILL. Text: TEXT_FILL. Border: STROKE_COLOR. Spacing: GAP. Radii: CORNER_RADIUS. Primitives: [] (hidden).
Code syntax on every variable — WEB syntax MUST use the var() wrapper: var(--color-bg-primary), not --color-bg-primary. Use the actual CSS variable name from the codebase. ANDROID/iOS do NOT use a wrapper.
Alias semantics to primitives — { type: 'VARIABLE_ALIAS', id: primitiveVar.id }. Never duplicate raw values in semantic layer.
Position variants after combineAsVariants — they stack at (0,0). Manually grid-layout + resize.
INSTANCE_SWAP for icons — never create a variant per icon. Cap variant matrices: if Size × Style × State > 30 combinations, split into sub-component.
Deterministic naming — use consistent, unique node names for idempotent cleanup and resumability. Track created node IDs via return values and the state ledger.
No destructive cleanup — cleanup scripts identify nodes by name convention or returned IDs, not by guessing.
Validate before proceeding — never build on unvalidated work. get_metadata after every create, get_screenshot after each component.
NEVER parallelize use_figma calls — Figma state mutations must be strictly sequential. Even if your tool supports parallel calls, never run two use_figma calls simultaneously.
Never hallucinate Node IDs — always read IDs from the state ledger returned by previous calls. Never reconstruct or guess an ID from memory.
Use the helper scripts — embed scripts from scripts/ into your use_figma calls. Don't write 200-line inline scripts from scratch.
Explicit phase approval — at each checkpoint, name the next phase explicitly. "looks good" is not approval to proceed to Phase 3 if you asked about Phase 1.
4. State Management (Required for Long Workflows)
getPluginData() / setPluginData() are NOT supported in use_figma. Use getSharedPluginData() / setSharedPluginData() instead (these ARE supported), or use name-based lookups and the state ledger (returned IDs).
Entity type
Idempotency key
How to check existence
Scene nodes (pages, frames, components)
setSharedPluginData('dsb', 'key', value) or unique name
node.getSharedPluginData('dsb', 'key') or page.findOne(n => n.name === 'Button')
Variables
Name within collection
(await figma.variables.getLocalVariablesAsync()).find(v => v.name === name && v.variableCollectionId === collId)
Styles
Name
getLocalTextStyles().find(s => s.name === name)
Tag every created scene node immediately after creation:
node.setSharedPluginData('dsb', 'run_id', RUN_ID); // identifies this build run
node.setSharedPluginData('dsb', 'phase', 'phase3'); // which phase created it
node.setSharedPluginData('dsb', 'key', 'component/button');// unique logical key
State persistence: Do NOT rely solely on conversation context for the state ledger. Write it to disk:
/tmp/dsb-state-{RUN_ID}.json
Re-read this file at the start of every turn. In long workflows, conversation context will be truncated — the file is the source of truth.
Idempotency check before every create: query by name + state ledger ID. If exists, skip or update — never duplicate.
Resume protocol: at session start or after context truncation, run a read-only use_figma to scan all pages, components, variables, and styles by name to reconstruct the {key → id} map. Then re-read the state file from disk if available.
Continuation prompt (give this to the user when resuming in a new chat):
"I'm continuing a design system build. Run ID: {RUN_ID}. Load the figma-generate-library skill and resume from the last completed step."
5. search_design_system — Reuse Decision Matrix
Search FIRST in Phase 0, then again immediately before each component creation.