Migrate older Sketch documents to Color Variables

Want to take advantage of Sketch’s new Color Variables feature? But, worried about the heavy lift of migrating your large design document? Sketch made it easy on us with their new Color Variables Migrator plugin.

This time-saving plugin matches the color in any Layer or Style with a Color Variable, making it quick and easy to update any style to use Color Variables. Using the plugin could save you lots of time if you’re working with a large document or design system with lots of Layer and Text Styles.

But first, what are Color Variables?

In version 69, Sketch introduced Color Variables. Color Variables is a new component type that makes it easy to sync and manage colors across your designs.

When you change a Color Variable, those changes will appear across all Layer and Text Styles using that Color Variable. Create Color Variables specific to a local document, or you can share them in a Library to use in other design files.

Color Variables can speed up your workflow by only editing a single Color Variable rather than each Layer or Style. This is what makes Color Variables so great.

Using Sketch’s Color Variables Migrator plugin

To note, before you begin, if you were using document color presets, the plugin will automatically convert those color presets into Color Variables so you can start using the plugin right away. If you were not using document color presets, you’ll need to create the Color Variables you need first and then run the plugin.

1. Download and install the Color Variables Migrator plugin
2. Note: It’s up to you to choose to migrate Layers, Styles, or both to Color Variables. Deciding what to migrate requires some planning before migrating to verify which elements you wish to sync.
3. Once installed and your planning is complete, navigate to Plugins > Color Variable Migrator
4. You should get a popup with two migration options: Option 1 — Use Color Variables in Layers (this will update every layer with matching Color Variables) Option 2 — Use Color Variables in Styles (this will update every Layer and Text Style)
5. Select your option(s) and click Migrate

Note: The plugin will only work in your currently opened document. If you wish to migrate shared Libraries, you’ll need to open them first.

It’s as easy as that! Based on your selected migration option(s), your Sketch document should now be migrated to using Color Variables.

One more thing 👇

If you’re starting a new project or would like to organize your UI library, do not waste your time. Feel free to use Hatch Design System — a UI Kit for Sketch. Speed up your design process using industry standards with well organized, customizable styles and UI components. Hatch also helps you design UI with Sketch’s smartest techniques — Smart Layout, Symbol Overrides, Color Variables, and more.

Thanks for reading, and happy designing!