Gitlab sync setup guide

Gitlab is a popular option to store Design Tokens in a code repository.

You can use the Tokens Studio plugin native integration with Gitlab to sync your Design Tokens to a repository of your choice.

We support two-way sync, meaning you can use the plugin to:

• Push JSON files of Design Tokens to Gitlab
• Pull the Tokens stored in Gitlab into any Figma file

This means the Design Tokens living in code are the source of truth for our design decisions that can be shared between design and development teams.

This doc outlines how to set up a Gitlab repository and add it as a Sync provider in the plugin.

→ Once set up, you can use the plugin's Push and Pull features to keep your Tokens in sync.

How it works#

• Set up a repository and personal access token in Gitlab
• Configure Gitlab as a sync provider within the Tokens Studio plugin.
• Use the plugin to sync your Design Tokens between Gitlab and Figma design files.

Gitlab setup steps#

If you haven't already, head over to https://Gitlab.com/ and create a free account.

1. Create new project repository#

Sign into your account and navigate to the Create a new project page.

• Choose a project name
• In the project URL select the owner and choose a project slug
  • In the plugin, the project slug will act as the repository name
  • Names that are easy to remember and type are ideal
• Select your Visibility level
  • Public anyone can see it
  • Private needs permissions to view
    • Your choice doesn't change the plugin's ability to sync with the repository
• Initialize project with a README file needs to be checked
  • This is mandatory because the plugin can not sync to an empty repository
• Confirm by pressing the Create project button

You are now looking at your new repository! Well done!

Save the URL of the repository somewhere safe as it's needed for the plugin configuration.

2. Personal access token#

Not to be confused with anything to do with a Design Token, a Personal access token is a passcode from Gitlab you enter into the plugin that allows the connection to happen.

Log into your Gitlab account:

• Navigate to your Gitlab account settings
  • Select your avatar on the top left
  • Select Edit Profile
• Select Access Tokens from the left sidebar
• Click Add new token
• Add a Name of what the token is for.
  • Example: test-token repo sync to tokens studio
• Select an Expiration time frame
• Add a Description to remind yourself what you made this token for
• Select scopes
  • Ensure the API option is selected if you want the plugin to have read and write permissions
• Select Generate token
• Save the generated access token somewhere safe as it's needed for the plugin configuration.

You're ready to configure the Tokens Studio plugin in Figma!

Plugin settings for Gitlab#

In Figma, open the Tokens Studio plugin and navigate to the Settings page using the navigation tab.

• Under the Sync providers section, select the Add new button to see a list of all Token storage providers
• Select Gitlab

Add credentials for Gitlab#

Some of the inputs on the form come from the Gitlab steps above, others aren't so obvious as to where the info comes from.

1. Name#

This is a nickname that shows up in the plugin settings page later on to identify this specific sync provider configuration.

• Choose something memorable to you and your project.
• Example: UdayGitlab

2. Personal access token#

The Personal access token you saved from the steps above.

3. Repository (owner/repo)#

The URL from the repository from the steps above has the owner/repository in it after the gitlab.com/

For example, if your URL says https://gitlab.com/amazingdesigner/radixtokens, you will enter amazingdesigner/radixtokens into the form in the plugin.

As a note, be sure to use the URL of your repository and not the tree for the Group/Subgroup for your Project listed in Gitlabs UI as it won't work in the plugin.

4. Branch#

Your engineers might tell you what to add as the default repository branch where you will be pushing your Tokens, so if you aren't sure, ask them.

• If you created a new repo following the steps above, you will enter main.

5. Token storage location (file/folder path)#

This tells the plugin:

• How to organize your Token JSON files in Gitlab.
  • In a folder of multiple files, or a single file.
• The location of where your Token data is stored.
  • The file or folder's pathway (or name) to sync with.

This setting impacts

• How engineers can work with our Token files during the Token transformation stage of the design-to-development process.
• May limit edit access of Tokens for other team members using the Tokens Studio plugin.

Folder#

The folder option syncs Token data from the plugin into a folder that contains multiple JSON files or subfolders of JSON files.

This multi-file sync option requires a Pro Tokens Studio licence.

We suggest setting your Token storage as the folder option when possible. If you use the Theme feature in Tokens Studio and your engineers are consuming your Tokens from Gitlab, they require Tokens stored in a folder for the transformation process to work properly.

→ Learn about the Themes (pro) feature in Tokens Studio here.

In the plugin, we enter the pathway of the folder where we want our Token data to be stored, which is the folder name without any extensions.

For example:

tokens

Our Gitlab repository will have a folder called tokens synced to the Tokens Studio plugin in Figma.

• Each Token Set created in the plugin is added to the folder as an individual JSON file.
• Additional data files generated by the plugin are also added to the folder.
  • For example, themes configuration.

Recall that storing your Token data in a folder (multi-file sync) is a pro feature.

• If other team members are working with your Tokens and do not have a Pro Licence for Tokens Studio, your Tokens will be read-only for them.

File Path#

Setting our Token storage as the file option syncs our Token data from the plugin into a single JSON file in code.

Combining Token data into a single file limits engineers' ability to work with Theme information when transforming Design Tokens.

→ Learn about the Themes (pro) feature in Tokens Studio here.

File storage might work for you if:

• You are using the free version of Tokens Studio.
• Engineers are not using your Design Tokens in code.

In the plugin, we enter the pathway of the JSON file where we want our Token sets to be stored, which is the file name with the .json extension.

For example:

tokens.json

Our Gitlab repository will have a single code file called tokens.json synced to the Tokens Studio plugin in Figma.

• Each Token Set created in the plugin is combined into this single file in our repository.

6. Base URL (Optional)#

Base URL must be added to the Gitlab credentials if your organization is running an enterprise server.

Looking at the URL of your repository, if you see a name between gitlab and .com, your organization is running an enterprise server. For example: https://gitlab.hyma.com/amazingdesigner/radixtokens

In this example, the Base URL you would enter into the plugin form is:

gitlab.hyma.com

This tells the plugin to point to the API on this specific URL for our organization.

Save and do the initial sync#

Once you Save your credentials, the plugin will compare your tokens with what's in your repository.

You'll see a modal asking you to push or pull to Gitlab to 'sync' the plugin data with your repository.

→ Read the Add New Sync Provider guide for more details.

Shared source of truth#

As you work in the plugin, push and pull indicators remind you to stay in sync with your Gitlab repository.

→ Read the Push and Pull to Sync Provider guide for more details.

Once your Token JSON files are synced to your Gitlab repo, you have a shared source of truth between Designers and Engineers!

Engineers typically transform Tokens used in code with Style Dictionary, which is tool-agnostic. Tokens coming from Tokens Studio require an additional step: @Tokens-studio/sd-transforms, an npm package that prepares Tokens for Style Dictionary.

The various Token Types supported by Tokens Studio have unique transforms to be aware of.

→ Jump to the Token Type overview.

Resources#

Mentioned in this doc:

• Gitlab - https://gitlab.com/
• SD-Transforms - Read Me
• Style Dictionary - https://styledictionary.com/

Community resources:

• None yet!

💡 Something to share? Submit it here!

Known issues and bugs#

Tokens Studio Plugin GitHub - Open issues for Sync Gitlab

🐞 If you are experiencing an issue not listed here, please reach out to us on the Troubleshooting channel of our community Slack, or submit it on our feedback tool.

Requests, roadmap and changelog#

• 🧑‍💻 Sync to external token storage enhancements - Feature Request
  • How might we improve the experience of working with sync providers in general?
• ↕️ Git sync enhancements - push, pull, merge, branching - Feature Request
• 🔐 Data security info request - Feature Request

💌 Visit https://feedback.tokens.studio/ to contribute or subscribe to updates.