Feature request: Linked Component States

Hi, and apologies for posting a new question – it may well have been asked before. To be honest, I can’t be bothered to look it up. Besides, the more questions on a single topic, the better the chances of success.

I’m not really sure how or what to write here, so I’ll just set out my ideas and suggestions – things I keep coming back to whilst working in Figma.

Feature request: Linked Component States

It would be useful to have a simple way to link the states of different component instances.

Currently, if several components need to react to the same interaction, this can require variables, multiple actions, conditions, or additional prototype logic.

I would like to be able to connect one component instance to another and define how the second component should react when the state of the first one changes.

For example:

Dropdown
Default → Open

could automatically trigger:

Backdrop
Hidden → Visible

and:

Header
Default → Dropdown Active

The relationship could work as a simple dependency:

When Component A changes to State X → Component B changes to State Y

Ideally, this could be configured directly from the component/instance properties without having to create additional variables or complex prototype logic.

This would be especially useful for complex interfaces where multiple independent components react to the same state: navigation, filters, modals, sidebars, dashboards, selected items, tabs, etc.

Variables already allow some similar behaviors, but a direct component-to-component relationship would make these interactions much faster to create, easier to understand, and easier to maintain.