Syntope Engine implements the open DTCG 2025.10 standard: resolving, aliasing, theming, import and export in every token type. Use it in Figma with Syntope Tokens, or let agents work through Syntope MCP. Your tokens stay in your own Git repository, and the engine can run on your own infrastructure.
The open standard is the storage format, not an export target.
The engine calls no Figma API. Agents and people share it.
Tokens in your own repository, the engine on your own servers.
The core is free in every surface. Built by Syntope in Cologne.
Syntope Engine implements DTCG 2025.10 as an engine rather than an export format. The same engine runs behind every surface, so a token means the same in Figma, in your pipeline and in your agent's context.
On macOS, Syntope MCP connects your AI app to your tokens through Syntope Bridge, a local connection to Syntope Tokens open in Figma Desktop. The app reads your saved tokens and, if you allow it, changes them, and every change shows in Figma with Undo. No Figma access token, and the connection stays on your machine. A mode that works directly on token files is planned.
Tokens are stored in the shape the DTCG 2025.10 specification describes: $type and $value, references in dot notation, no wrapper around them. There is no legacy format underneath and no conversion on the way out, so the JSON in your repo is the JSON the engine works on.
Your tokens live in your own Git repository, in an open format any tool can read, so switching tools never means losing them. The engine is Fair Source and can run entirely on your own infrastructure, and the plugin talks to Figma and your Git provider directly, with no server of ours in that path.
Every token type the specification defines, stored in the shape DTCG 2025.10 describes, not converted into it on the way out.
Follows the DTCG Resolver module. References resolve against the merged token tree as you work, and cycles and dangling references are rejected before they are saved.
Base sets that always apply, theme options for brand, mode and density on top. Linked sets sit side by side and update together.
Bring in the token files you already have and get plain DTCG JSON out, the shape Style Dictionary reads.
Tokens live in your repository on GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket Cloud or a remote URL. Every surface is a view on those files.
Your tokens never reach our infrastructure. The engine runs where you run it, and the plugin talks to Figma and your Git provider directly.
All of it is Fair Source and free of charge, in every surface.
Pick the surface that fits the job, or several at once. Each one is a way into Syntope Engine, and all of them work on the same DTCG tokens.
Brings the engine into Figma. Author tokens of every DTCG type where you design, map them onto Figma variables, apply them to layers, and push the files to your repository.
Connects Codex, Claude Code, Cursor and Claude Desktop to your tokens. Available on macOS, through Syntope Bridge, while Syntope Tokens is open in Figma Desktop. A mode that works directly on token files, without Figma open, is planned.
The local connection behind Syntope MCP. It links your AI app to Syntope Tokens open in Figma Desktop, over localhost. The app reads your saved tokens and writes changes back, with the read and write permissions you set.
Will bring the same engine to the terminal and your pipeline, working on the token files in your repository, with no design tool involved.
Pick the surface you start with. They all work on the same DTCG tokens, so a team can mix them freely.
In Figma with Syntope Tokens. You need a Figma file and somewhere to put the JSON. Tap a step to see the panel it happens in.
In short: Syntope is DTCG-native from format to resolver, headless, built for agents and people alike, and free and Fair Source at the core.
| Criterion | Syntope | Other token tools |
|---|---|---|
| DTCG 2025.10 as the native format | Native, with no legacy format underneath | Partly: a legacy or proprietary format underneath, with DTCG as an export or an opt-in |
| Reference and theme resolution | Follows the DTCG Resolver module | Partly: their own resolver, built for their legacy format |
| Token types beyond colour and number | Ten types including shadow, transition, cubicBezier and strokeStyle. | Partly: a broad type set, often without every type the DTCG specification defines |
| Figma and code in sync | Both ways: pull and push token files with your repository, write them into Figma variables, and edit them in a visual editor built for designers | Not all of them: some only export variables to code, with no editor for designers |
| Apply tokens to Figma nodes | Typed applicators write the matching Figma property | Partly: only tools with a dedicated interface in Figma |
| Themes in the interface | Linked token sets shown side by side, updated automatically when a token changes | Themes are possible, but hard to keep track of in the interface |
| Themes built on base sets | Base sets that always apply, with theme options layered on top, as the DTCG Resolver module specifies | Theme definitions in a format of their own |
| Git sync with a branching strategy | GitHub, GitLab and Bitbucket Cloud, pulling and pushing on the branch you choose, so token changes follow your branching strategy | Partly: Git sync, sometimes without a dedicated branching strategy |
| Built for agents and people | One engine behind the Figma plugin and Syntope MCP. On macOS, AI apps reach your tokens through Syntope Bridge while the plugin is open in Figma Desktop | People in a design tool come first; agent access is added on top, if at all |
| Vendor infrastructure in the token path | None. The engine runs where you run it, the plugin talks to Figma and to your provider directly, and no token data is stored on our side. | Plugin-only sync keeps it out; hosted platform tiers put your tokens on the vendor's servers |
| Price | The core is free in every surface. Enterprise for self-hosting, AVV and support. | Even core features often sit behind a paid plan |
The core costs nothing, the format is an open standard, and the engine runs wherever you run it. That holds on both plans.
Resolving, aliasing, theming, import and export cost nothing, whether you use them in Figma or through Syntope MCP.
Tokens live in your own Git repository, in the open DTCG format, never on our infrastructure. Any tool that reads DTCG can take over from us.
Syntope Engine is Fair Source and its licence permits internal use, so it can run entirely on your own infrastructure. Enterprise is there when you want help doing that.
DTCG-native, headless and made in Europe. Your tokens stay in your own repository, and every surface works on the same files.
The spec is still moving and every design system carries an edge case Syntope hasn't met yet. Those edge cases are the roadmap, which only works if the people hitting them can reach the people building it.
Support questions, spec arguments, and half-formed ideas. The quickest way to get unstuck, and where most work is discussed before anyone opens an issue.
Bugs, feature requests, and the roadmap. A report with a token value and a repro gets picked up fastest. External code contributions are not accepted yet, because the contribution terms are still being defined.
Syntope Engine and Syntope Tokens are Fair Source and free of charge. The licence is FSL-1.1-ALv2, and each version becomes available under Apache 2.0 two years after it is released. A tool that decides what your design system may express should not be a black box.
Support questions, feedback on the token model, and early looks at what's next. No ticket queue: the people building it are in the same channel.
dimension, duration, number, cubicBezier, fontFamily, fontWeight, strokeStyle, border, shadow and transition are implemented against the 2025.10 spec. color is supported with 14 color spaces.Tell us how your team handles design tokens today and get early access. Syntope Engine grows with the people who use it.