figma-token-extraction

name	figma-token-extraction
description	Design token extraction pipeline — frequency counting, semantic naming, token replacement, and varRef stripping.

What I do

I know the full design token extraction pipeline in src/figma/tokenizer/.

Pipeline (in extractTokens() at src/figma/tokenizer/index.ts)

Step 1: Collect Figma variable refs

collectFigmaVarRefs() walks root + componentSets gathering _varRefs sidecars from Style and Layout objects. First-encountered name wins.

Step 2: Count frequencies

countFrequencies() (in frequencies.ts) tallies colors, spacings, radii, shadows, typographies, padding combos, heights. Var-bound values are skipped.

Step 3: Build semantic registries

buildSemanticTokenRegistry() (in registry.ts) assigns semantic names from frequency-ordered data. Categories:

• Colors → COLOR_SEMANTIC_NAMES (primary, secondary, background, text, border, ...)
• Shadows → SHADOW_SEMANTIC_NAMES (card, dropdown, modal, ...)
• Spacings → auto-generated (spacingXs, spacingSm, ...)
• Radii → auto-generated (radiusSm, radiusMd, ...)
• Typographies → auto-generated (headingXl, body, caption, ...)
• Padding combos → PADDING_COMBO_SEMANTIC_NAMES
• Heights → auto-generated (heightSm, heightMd, ...)

Step 4: Build tokens registry

Merges invented tokens with Figma variable entries. Multiple Figma variables → same raw value → kept distinct.

Step 5: Replace raw values with token refs

replaceNodeTokens() and replaceComponentSetTokens() (in replace/) swap raw rgba/dimensions for { token: "category.name" } references.

Step 6: Strip _varRefs

stripVarRefsFromResponse() removes all _varRefs sidecars — must not appear in final output.

When to use me

Use this when:

• Adding a new token category
• Debugging token assignment
• Understanding why a value got a particular semantic name
• Modifying the tokenizer pipeline