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Feature Suggestion: Lock / Protected Access for Design System Files

  • April 1, 2026
  • 1 reply
  • 28 views

Nandhini Selvaraj

 

Hi Figma Team,

I’d like to suggest a feature improvement around managing shared design system files.

Problem:
In our team, multiple designers have edit access to the design system file. This sometimes leads to accidental or unintended changes, and it becomes difficult to track or control who modified key components. Even with version history, identifying and managing these changes is time-consuming.

Suggestion:
It would be helpful to have an option to “lock” a file (or specific pages/components) to prevent editing by default.

Some possible approaches:

  • Ability to lock a file so only selected users can edit

  • Restrict editing of specific components/pages within a file

  • Optional approval flow when someone tries to make changes

  • Temporary unlock option for maintainers

Why this helps:
This will ensure better control over design systems, prevent accidental edits, and improve consistency across teams while still allowing collaboration.

Thanks for considering this!

1 reply

Silvio_Wolf
  • New Member
  • May 6, 2026

I experienced the same problems in our distributed design system team. After publishing our library, even a small unintended movement can cause a change in the component and makes it necessary to republish the library without a visual change.
After publishing the library, I would like to lock the document or single pages to prevent unintended changes. The file or page would appear in viewer mode. Designers must intentionally unlock the file or the page first before they can start editing. Lock and unlock activities should be tracked in history.