Figma Branching: How to Experiment Without Breaking Your Design System

Branching in Figma is like version control for your design system. It lets you test ideas, make big changes, and collaborate without affecting the live file—until you’re ready. In this guide, we’ll walk through what branching is, how to use it, and when it’s the right tool for your design workflow.

🔍 What Is Branching in Figma?

Think of branching like creating a “copy” of your main design file where you can try things out. Once you’re done experimenting, you can merge your changes back into the original.

It’s especially powerful for:

Large design systems with multiple contributors
Safely iterating on components or tokens
Trying new layouts, flows, or themes

🔒 Available on: Figma Professional plans and up

🧪 Why Use Branching?

Branching gives you design confidence and version control without needing Git. Here’s why it’s useful:

Benefit	Description
Safety Net	Explore changes without affecting live files
Parallel Workflows	Multiple team members can work on different branches
Clear Reviews	Compare branches side by side before merging
Design QA	Review changes in isolation, test variants, animations, or token updates

🛠 How to Create a Branch

Open your Figma file
Go to the Main menu > File > Create Branch
Give your branch a name (e.g. “New header layout” or “Dark mode tokens”)
Start making changes in the branch like you would in any file

Your original file remains untouched.

🔁 How to Merge a Branch

When you’re done:

Go to the branch menu
Click Review and Merge
Figma will show a diff view of what changed
You can accept all, reject some, or cancel
Once confirmed, your changes are merged into the main file

You can also resolve conflicts if multiple branches change the same component.

👀 Branching Best Practices

✅ Name branches clearly: Use descriptive titles like Mobile Nav Update or Footer Redesign
✅ Limit changes per branch: Avoid merging unrelated edits together
✅ Review before merging: Use the diff tool to check changes
✅ Archive merged branches: Keep your workspace tidy
❌ Don’t branch for every small change: Use branching for meaningful or risky edits

📊 Branching in Design Systems

Branching is ideal when:

Updating shared components (e.g. buttons, forms)
Refactoring token structures (e.g. spacing scale)
Redesigning major layouts (e.g. new product card)

It allows teams to stage, test, and approve design updates before they go live.

🔄 Branching vs. Duplicating

Feature	Branching	Duplicating File
Linked to original?	✅ Yes	❌ No
Supports merge?	✅ Yes	❌ No
Great for team collab?	✅ Yes	✅ Maybe (less control)
Ideal use case	System experiments	Archive or breakaway work

🧠 Final Thoughts

Figma Branching adds real power to your design process. It brings structure, safety, and flexibility—especially when working in teams or scaling systems. Use it to test boldly and merge confidently.

Next article: Design Tokens in Figma: What They Are and How to Use Them