CI/CD Figma Tokens, Auro, Content Pipeline

[chrisfalaska]

🚧 Work in Progress

Meeting Notes

Oct, 28 2025

Present:

• @forrest-for-real
• @DukeFerdinand
• @jason-capsule42
• @chrisfalaska

We met to evaluate Tokens Studio as a solution for exporting structured JSON to support the initial phase of our CI/CD workflow.

While the platform appears feature-rich, pricing concerns for organizations ($500+ per month) redirected our discussion toward alternative options.

We then took a larger interest in Figma’s native solution announced at Schema 2025, though it currently has only a vague release window of “November 2025.”

If this feature can meet our structured JSON export requirements, it could be an ideal option since it would remain native to Figma, which we are already paying for.

• Other areas of exploration included the Figma REST API using this template, as well as a Figma plugin linked from Figma’s website, although the plugin has not been updated in two years as of this meeting.
• There was also a note about n8n’s Figma integration, which can trigger based on events such as File Update, File Version Update, and Library Publish.

The team began brainstorming how we might structure semantic design tokens in Figma—potentially using separate collections for iOS, Android, and Mobile—and how Style Dictionary could parse those tokens using globbing, metadata, and other mechanisms.
Forrest and the Design team do not want to maintain separate files for different token sets and would prefer a unified, integrated solution.

We also discussed potentially eliminating the separate Auro primitives repository, choosing instead to manage primitives directly in Figma, since these tokens should never be referenced in code by consumers.

Next Steps

• Reach out to Figma rep for beta access to new features

Oct, 29 2025

Present:

• @forrest-for-real
• @DukeFerdinand
• @jason-capsule42
• @chrisfalaska

Established a set of desired goals and broke them into two parallel work streams: one dependent on a Figma plug-in and the other, anticipating the Figma solution, focused on DevOps.

Parallel Work Streams

Figma (Near Future)

1. Define primitive and semantic tokens in Figma.
2. Export JSON from Figma (preferably using the same schema currently used in AuroDesignTokens).
3. Ensure the exported JSON can support custom metadata per key.
4. Pipe the Figma export directly into a GitHub repository.
5. Ideally, automatically create a new PR and run validation tests against changes in the primitive/semantic token repositories.
6. Design maintains control to “release” token definition changes.

Experience & Timing

• Want to avoid manually creating tokens — not a great experience last time
• When is Figma targeting their export release?
• Coincidentally, the Design Tokens specification reached its first stable version yesterday.
  • Native Figma export incoming?

Error Management

Spoke about how to manage mistakes in commits from Figma:

• Schema validation
• Visual diff
• Never delete tokens as a form of policy

Technical Optimization

Perhaps we don't need to StyleDictionary to do the filtering if we can get the flat tokens directly from Figma — potentially don't need the nesting that SD currently spits out, Figma handles everything for us.

Backup Plan

We need to figure out what the LOE is to manually create tokens for iOS & Android if a plug-in solution doesn't present itself in a timely manner

Parallel Work Stream

In the meantime, Dev can begin work on the Github / Dependabot DevOps workflow:

• Chromatic visual regression as part of the PR process (not unlike Borealis)

DevOps (Immediate)

1. GitHub Dependabot detects the token version bump and automatically generates a PR to build and release compiled token versions for each relevant platform.
2. This requires Dependabot (or another tool) to identify which platforms actually contain token changes (e.g., web, iOS, Android) so version bumps occur only where needed.
3. Require simple engineering sign-off before release (e.g., through our standard GitFlow for RC releases).

Two-Repo Approach

Repo 1: Token Definition (Token Source Repo)

• Figma can manage it
• One repo that we store token definitions in, from Figma
• Contains both primitives and semantics

Repo 2: Style Dictionary Build Tool

• Formerly "AuroDesignTokens"
• Spin this up as a new repo since it fundamentally changes how it is used (aka token build tool)
• We never touch this, it just builds

Configuration

In one of the repos, have configurations such as:

alaska-config.js 

{ 
  dir: themes/alaska, 
  platforms: css, sass, json
}

Next Steps

• Move semantics to live with the primitives we moved (one token-def repo)
• Make sure existing AuroDesignTokens repo builds with all token defs moved
• TRD/POC making AuroDesignTokens just be a build tool that is consumed by token-def and uses GitHub actions to autobuild when a PR is created like our current component GitFlow
• Set up GitHub ticket and refine what Next Actions are (@jason-capsule42 , @DukeFerdinand , @chrisfalaska )