Variables Skipped on Export

PreviousExport Using Token Sets NextStyles with Variable References

Last updated 4 months ago

Was this helpful?

Tokens skipped when exporting as Variables When Exporting to Figma, the plugin sometimes can't create or update your Variables as expected.

Your Export to Figma Options configuration allows you to skip certain types of Variables if needed.

However, there are three main reasons why the plugin will skip creating individual Variables when Exporting to Figma:

The Token Type isn't compatible with any Variable type.
The Token Value isn't supported in Variables.
You have exceeded the number of allowed variables.

Token type isn't compatible

Figma only supports , and Tokens Studio supports 24 unique Token Types in the plugin.

While we have figured out how to support most Tokens to Figma as Variables, these are the Token Types that will be skipped when you Export to Figma as Variables as there is no compatible Variable Type.

Asset Token
Composition Token
Other Token

Composite Token Types will also be skipped as Figma only supports single value Tokens as Variables. However, they can be exported as Styles with Variable references where possible.

Select the Token Type to jump to its guide and read the specific pro-tips on exporting as Styles with Variable references:

Multiple value Tokens

Figma only supports a single value for a variable.

This means if you have a Token with multiple values, like a Color Token with its value defined as a linear gradient, that Token can not be exported to Figma as a variable.

Tokens Studio supports multiple values for:

Value is "AUTO"

The AUTO value is used for Line Height Tokens and Typography Composite Tokens to match Figma's required string value.

The plugin isn't able to resolve the AUTO value but relies on Figma to apply the correct value based on the Font Size.

Figma only accepts numeric values for this property, and therefore, it is skipped when exporting as Variables.

When you export as Text Styles, the AUTO value will be applied in Figma as expected.

Value contains a percentage (%)

Figma's Number Variables must be unitless.

The plugin will skip Tokens with % values that should be exported as Number Variables as it can't resolve the value and pass it over to Figma is a numeric value.

If the Token Type is text or opacity, those will be exported as those Variables support the percentage value.

More than 5000 variables in one collection

If you export more than 5000 tokens as variables, we will create the first 5000 and skip the remaining Tokens.

This size of the Variable library is bound to lead to memory issues, so you might want to split up your Tokens into multiple collections.

Modes skipped

If you are exporting more Themes than you are allowed to have as modes in Figma, we will create as many as possible and then skip the remaining.

In the plugin, under the Themes dropdown, you will see the list of Themes in each Theme group.
- We will create as many as possible, starting at the top.

In the image below on the left, there are 5 Themes within the brands Theme Group, and on the right, the first 4 Themes have been created as modes within a Variable collection in Figma called brands. The 5th Theme in our list at the bottom called black-berry was not exported.