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Equinusocio
June 22, 2023

Add way to change opacity for color variables alias, fills, strokes, etc

  • June 22, 2023
  • 158 replies
  • 17892 views

When aliasing a color variable to another (img 1), or using it directly on an element (img 2), we should be able to override the opacity without the need to create a variable for each transparency variation:

Cant override opacity in the alias:

CleanShot 2023-06-22 at 10.09.00

Example 2

Cant override the fill opacity:

158 replies

dnlvspr
New Member
April 9, 2026

So how many years has it been now that we’ve been requesting this the most basic feature that should’ve been there in variables from the start? 🤨

@djv Figma, come on, guys. You were the chosen ones! It was said you would destroy the Sith, not join them! Please stop wasting time and money on the AI rush and get back to your roots – creating a product that solves users’ problems.

dnlvspr
New Member
April 9, 2026

So how many years has it been now that we’ve been requesting this the most basic feature that should’ve been there in variables from the start? 🤨

Figma, come on, guys. You were the chosen ones! It was said you would destroy the Sith, not join them! Please stop wasting time and money on the AI rush and get back to your roots – creating a product that solves users’ problems.

Naomi_Adkins
New Participant
May 7, 2026

+1

 

c’mon, this seems pretty basic?

Craig_Garner
New Participant
May 8, 2026

It’s become a bi-yearly pilgrimage to the Figma forums to wine about the lack of alpha control in color variables. Come on Figma! It can’t be that hard.

andrea-hg
Active Member
May 16, 2026

years later, still driving me crazy ☹️

erin.io
New Participant
May 20, 2026

Few better signs that the enshittification of Figma is real is this request going on two years...

Ebuka.I
New Participant
May 22, 2026

Hello everyone, like most of you here, I got tired of losing my token aliases or manually creating 100+ duplicate variables just to handle hover states, alert tints, or Material Design elevations.

I built a Figma plugin called Sheer to completely bridge this gap. It adds an automated, non-destructive opacity modifier layer to your system:

Here is a demo video of how it works: 

  • Token Mode: Type your target steps (e.g., 8, 12, 20, 50) and batch-generate perfectly linked opacity scales instantly. Demo video

  • Quick Apply: Drop transparency onto specific component fills or strokes directly on the canvas without breaking the root token link.

  • Smart Sync: If a master brand primitive changes, Sheer audits your file and updates all dependent opacity steps in one click.

  • Dev Mode: Automatically outputs production-ready CSS variables using native color-mix() syntax.

Please let me know how you get on with using it

Here is a link to the plugin : https://www.figma.com/community/plugin/1638120622670765737

cc: ​@Equinusocio ​@Henrik_Andersen ​@Vincent_Schlothauer ​@Alex_Ryan ​@Jakob_Schleenvoigt ​@Pascale D'Offay ​@Jared_r  

 



Here’s a demo of how it works

recepkutuk
New Participant
June 25, 2026

To be honest, I had some little hope this would be implemented with this year’s Config updates 😔

Kerry_Johnson
Active Member
June 29, 2026

To be honest, I had some little hope this would be implemented with this year’s Config updates 😔

Me, too.  Design tokens are basically the source of truth that helps keep the AI in check, and pretty much all the talks dealing with AI being able to recreate more faithfully relied on design systems underpinned by tokens, so here’s to hoping Figma does the right thing and finish out the half baked parts.

simendustavsson
New Member
July 8, 2026

I need this now, also yesterday three years ago! Come on, Figma!