Editor tools for working with [DTCG formatted design tokens][dtcg] in CSS, and for token definitions in JSON or YAML files.
Note
This pre-release software. If you encounter bugs or unexpected behavior, please file a detailed issue.
Display markdown-formatted token descriptions and value when hovering over token names.
Auto complete for design tokens - get code snippets for token values with optional fallbacks.
DTLS complains when your stylesheet contains a var() call for a design token,
but the fallback value doesn't match the token's pre-defined $value.
Toggle the presence of a token var() call's fallback value. Offers to fix
wrong token definitions in Diagnostics.
Display token color values in your source, e.g. as swatches.
Highlight token references inside token definition files.
Jump to the position in the tokens file where the token is defined. Can also jump from a token reference in a JSON file to the token's definition.
Go to definition in a split window using Neovim's
<C-w C-]> binding,
which defers to LSP methods when they're available
Locate all references to a token in open files, whether in CSS or in the token definition JSON or YAML files
Download the latest release for your platform and place the binary in your
$PATH, renaming it to design-tokens-language-server.
Using native Neovim LSP (see :help lsp for more
info):
Create a file like ~/.config/nvim/lsp/design_tokens_ls.lua:
---@type vim.lsp.ClientConfig
return {
cmd = { 'design-tokens-language-server' },
root_markers = { 'package.json', '.git' },
filetypes = { 'css', 'json', 'yaml' },
settings = {
dtls = {
-- Optional: configure global token files
tokensFiles = {
{
path = "~/path/to/tokens.json",
prefix = "my-ds",
},
},
-- Optional: configure group markers
groupMarkers = { '_', '@', 'DEFAULT' },
}
},
-- Optional: enable document color support
on_attach = function(client, bufnr)
if vim.lsp.document_color then
vim.lsp.document_color.enable(true, bufnr, {
style = 'virtual'
})
end
end,
}Then configure your LSP setup to load configs from ~/.config/nvim/lsp/. This allows
you to manage each language server in its own file. See the
neovim lsp docs for details on setting up native
LSP clients.
Install from the VS Code Marketplace.
The extension includes the language server binary, so no additional installation is required.
Install from the Zed Extensions page, or search for "Design Tokens" in Zed's extension panel.
In order to use DTLS, you need to first configure it to know where to find your design tokens, and you can also provide it with options for how to deal with them.
Design Tokens Language Server uses the DTCG format for design tokens. If you have a design token file in a different format, you can use style-dictionary to convert it to DTCG.
You can configure the language server globally on on a per-project basis.
Per-project configuration is done via a designTokensLanguageServer block in
your project's package.json.
Note
If you have better ideas on how to source token files in a given project, Please open an issue with your suggestions.
Add a designTokensLanguageServer block to your project's package.json, with
references to tokens files. Entries under tokensFiles can be either a string
or an object with path and prefix properties. The path property can be a
relative path or a deno-style npm specifier.
{
"name": "@my-design-system/elements",
"designTokensLanguageServer": {
"prefix": "my-ds",
"tokensFiles": [
"npm:@my-design-system/tokens/tokens.json",
{
"path": "npm:@his-design-system/tokens/tokens.json",
"prefix": "his-ds",
"groupMarkers": ["GROUP"]
},
{
"path": "./docs/docs-site-tokens.json",
"prefix": "docs-site"
},
{
"path": "~/secret-projects/fanciest-tokens.json",
"prefix": "shh"
}
]
}
}You can set up global configuration in your editor's LSP settings for DTLS. This
configuration will be used as fallbacks for all projects. There's no need to set
them if your project already has a designTokensLanguageServer block in its
package.json.
For example, in your lsp config for neovim:
return {
cmd = { 'design-tokens-language-server' },
root_markers = { 'package.json', '.git' },
filetypes = { 'css' },
settings = {
dtls = {
tokensFiles = {
{
path = "~/path/to/tokens.json",
prefix = "my-ds",
},
}
}
}
}The DTCG format does not require a prefix for tokens, but it is recommended to
use a prefix to avoid conflicts with other design systems. if your token files
do not nest all of their tokens under a common prefix, you can pass one yourself
in the prefix property of the token file object.
Because the DTCG format is nested, a conflict can emerge when the token file
author wants to define a group of tokens, but have the group name also be a
token. For example, --token-color-red and --token-color-red-darker are both
valid tokens, but unless the author manually prefixes each token in the red
group with red-, it would not be possible to define a token called
--token-color-red.
Design Tokens Language Server therefore has a concept of "group markers" to contain the token data for a group. The group marker is a well-known token name that is used to represent the group's top-most token.
The default group markers are _, @, and DEFAULT, because those are
examples mentioned in the various issues on DTCG and style-dictionary which
address the problem of tokens which are also groups.
If you include the groupMarkers property (either project-wide or for a
specific token file), then tokens with the same name as any of the group markers
will be treated as a group, and that tokens's data will be used for the group
name, minus the group marker.
For example, if you have a token file with the following tokens:
{
"color": {
"red": {
"GROUP": {
"$value": "#FF0000",
"$description": "Red color",
"darker": {
"$value": "#AA0000",
"$description": "Darker red color"
}
}
}
}
}Then, set the groupMarkers property to ["GROUP"] in your package.json for
that particular token file, or globally for all token files in your editor
settings.
"designTokensLanguageServer": {
"prefix": "my-ds",
"groupMarkers": ["GROUP"],
},See CONTRIBUTING.md








