When a plan meets reality

I planned for QDS tokens to sync both ways with Figma. Tokens would live in Git, Tokens Studio would read them, and a color tweaked in Figma would come back to the repo as a commit. I checked that the file structure worked and that the format was right. I never checked the price.

Syncing multiple files needs a Tokens Studio Pro license. The free export didn't save me either. It turned light and dark into two unrelated collections, so nothing in Figma could switch themes.

So I wrote my own script that builds the Figma variables straight from the token file, with light and dark as real modes. The catch is that it only goes one way. Code goes to Figma, and a change made in Figma stays in Figma.

I thought I'd miss the two-way sync. I don't. The build checks every naming rule QDS has, and a change made in Figma skips all of them until it reaches the repo. With one direction there's one place to change a token, and it's the place with the tests.

I skipped the price because it didn't feel like a design question. But a paid feature your plan depends on is still a dependency. It just never shows up in package.json.