Changing variables from library in user file

Hello, I am creating a design system as a Figma library and my users should be able to change color variables, just like I can in the master file. Meaning, I change a color variable and all components with that color variable change as well, which I don’t know how to do with the user files, because I can only make single component changes.

Is there any solution for this? To be able to change the color variables in user files without affecting the master file? Would publishing it on Figma community be the solution?

Hi @Annie7, Thank you for reaching out about this.

As you may already know, you can override an instance and push those overrides to the main component.
However, if you wish to apply that override to all instances except the main component, there is currently no instant way for that other than applying overrides for the each instances.

Additionally, the “Local variables” > “Variable modal” will only display variables created and published within that specific file. Currently, there’s no native way to modify published variables from the subscribed file.

Please inform us if I missed any details. Also, you may want to consider posting your feature request in the “Share an Idea” category here: Share an idea - Figma Community Forum

Thank you once again for reaching out. Let’s wait for input from other community members; they might have workarounds or insights for this situation.

Referencing back to this thread: Override variables. That feature would be really helpful to better manage theming at scale! @Junko3 When you say “there’s no native way to modify published variables from the subscribed file.”, do you mean it won’t even be possible through a plugin using the Figma API?

Hi there, Thank you for responding! It appears to be a question related to APIs.

If you are looking for answers from an expert (since it seems our engineers also occasionally check the forum), there are a few categories for API-related questions. Please feel free to post in one of the following categories:

Thank you!

Hey, thank you for your quick answer! I’ll dig deeper the topic and consider posting in the suggested categories, thank you.

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