Variable Governance Overview

Governance is what keeps variable changes boring: reviewed, versioned, and safe to roll out.

What a governed variable system provides

  • A shared variable contract between design and code.
  • Variable names and structures that support CI validation and code generation.
  • A semantic layer that prevents direct palette usage in components.
  • Change control and versioning so upgrades are explicit.

Operating model

  • Base variables: palettes and scales (raw values live here).
  • Alias variables: semantic variables that reference base variables.
  • Component variables: component-scoped aliases that reference semantic variables.

Where changes happen

  • Variables are stored as Design Tokens JSON in version control.
  • Design tools can be used for authoring, but the repo is the contract.

How changes ship

  • Variable changes are reviewed.
  • Breaking changes are versioned and documented.
  • Releases include notes and migration guidance when needed.

Next docs to read

Roles

Reference

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