What is DAES Token Manager?
DAES Token Manager is a Figma plugin that keeps your design tokens in the Figma file, in a format that developers can consume directly: the DTCG 2025.10 specification.
It does four things:
- Authoring — create and edit typed tokens (color, dimension, typography, shadow, …) through forms that validate what you type against the DTCG spec.
- Organising — group tokens into token sets and switch between them with themes, so one file can carry several brands, light/dark modes, and densities.
- Applying — push a token’s value onto selected Figma layers, and remember which layer is bound to which token so you can re-apply after a change.
- Moving — import and export DTCG JSON, or sync a repository over GitHub.
Why it exists
Design tokens usually live in one of two bad places. Either they are a JSON file in a repo that designers cannot see, or they are Figma variables and styles that developers cannot consume without a paid export pipeline. Both mean the values drift.
DAES stores the token document on the Figma document itself, so the tokens travel with the file, and writes plain DTCG JSON, so a developer can point Style Dictionary at it unchanged.
Who it is for
| You are | You get |
|---|---|
| A design system designer | Typed token authoring with validation, plus theme switching to preview brand/mode combinations |
| A solo designer or small team | A token layer without setting up a repo, a build step, or a second tool |
| A frontend developer | A DTCG 2025.10 JSON document you can consume directly, exported as one file or a nested folder |
How it is different from Figma Variables
Figma Variables and DAES tokens overlap but are not the same thing.
| Figma Variables | DAES tokens | |
|---|---|---|
| Value types | Color, Float, String, Boolean | 16 DTCG types incl. shadow, typography, border, transition |
| Composite values | Not supported | Supported (a shadow is one token, not five) |
| Export format | Requires the Variables REST API (paid plan) | Plain DTCG JSON, exported from the plugin |
| Where it lives | Figma’s variable system | Plugin data on the Figma document |
| References | Variable aliases | {token.path.name} DTCG references |
DAES can write tokens into Figma Variables, but the mapping is currently narrow. See Figma Variables before you rely on it.
What it does not do
Being clear about this up front saves you a wasted afternoon:
- It does not read your existing Figma styles or variables and turn them into tokens. Import is via JSON, not from the file.
- It does not generate a token system for you. You bring the values (a scaffolding wizard is planned).
- It does not merge on sync. A pull replaces your local tokens; a push overwrites the remote.
The complete list is on Known limitations.
Next steps
- Getting started — install and create your first token
- Core concepts — tokens, sets, themes, references, bindings
- Token types — the full type matrix