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Question

"Missing variant" feature not working

  • June 18, 2026
  • 1 reply
  • 5 views
Lindhen_Olle_Consultant

Hey! 

I manage a design system in a large organization, but i have recently encountered a major problem.

Previously, when removing a variant from a component in our component library, consumers of the library would see a “Missing variant” message in the properties panel after accepting the update, along with a “Reset to default” button. This feature was very valuable for our organization as it clearly communicated that a variant was removed, and it provided an easy way to reconnect to the main component.

This messages is no longer displayed. The component instance does not receive the update and looks unbroken to the consumer. There is no way for them to know that the variant is removed and there is no easy way for them to reconnect it. If they select “Go to main component” they go to the correct page, but get a message that “Component was removed from library” which isn’t the case. It just that specific variant that was removed. 

This is unfortunately a huge problem for our organization as we relied on the old behaviour for consumers staying connected to the design system. 

Note: The missing variant feature still works as expected when working in a single file, but does not work between files when publishing a library. 

I really hope this is just a bug that the Figma team can solve. I have faith in you guys :) 

Thank you!

1 reply

Jaycee Lewis
Figmate

Hello ​@Lindhen_Olle_Consultant 🙌 Thanks for breaking this down so clearly — I’m sure it’s when component updates silently fail across a large organization's design system.

I want to get this in front of our support team so they can figure out why this behavior is breaking between published files.

To help us pinpoint the cause, could you share a few more details?

  • Does this happen with all components? Is it happening across your entire library, or only affecting complex components (like those with auto layout or nested instances)?

  • Can other team members reproduce this? Are other editors in your organization seeing the same broken behavior when they publish variant updates?

  • Can you share a quick screen recording? One capturing a quick video of the variant deletion in the main library and the resulting error in the consumer file would be incredibly helpful. (You can share as an attachment via a support ticket and not publicly if needed)

I really appreciate you partnering with us to get this sorted out. Talk soon! — Jaycee

 

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