Notes on upgrading the Obra shadcn/ui kit

As we release new versions of the kit, one of the logical questions is: how can I upgrade?

The general advice in this blog post also applies to other design libraries, not just ours.

We want to be upfront about this: Figma files are not upgradeable. There’s no way to do it automatically.

We wish there were more possibilities around this — features from Figma that support centralized libraries — but there are not.

Why automatic upgrades aren’t possible

Whenever you choose to publish a library, you are creating a snapshot that is local to your account, containing your own customizations. For us as library authors, there is no way to know what you customized.

We went back and forth on this problem. We created a page about upgrading on this website. We tried to find ways to update automatically. These are dead ends.

We thought about creating a plugin that upgrades your file for you. Any automated upgrades like that present a lot of testing and development work, and then create a downstream problem in your design files — any upgrades might break existing files tied to the system.

We also haven’t received any inquiries about manual upgrades. As authors of the library, we could theoretically upgrade things manually in your library, by tracking the changelog and executing similar logic. But we also don’t want to solve a non-problem.

As a user of the kit, you could theoretically do this yourself, but it would be difficult to know the exact nuances. We also use a bunch of productivity plugins you’d have to be familiar with to reach the same quality level.

The realistic upgrade path

We think the most realistic upgrade path for most teams is examining:

1. How much has your design file drifted from the original? In other words, how many customizations did it receive?
2. How many downstream design files depend on the library? Are there 0 or 15 design files that are receiving updates from this library?
3. How many changes in the new version are relevant to your team? For example, Figma slots. Read the changelog to find out.

Your options

Depending on the answers above, the right path might be:

• Stay on your current version. Choose not to upgrade and keep going with the library as-is. There’s nothing wrong with this.
• Manually upgrade specific aspects. Cherry-pick certain changes that tie into new Figma features — for example, adding slots yourself.
• Start fresh with the new version. Decide to run with a new version of the library and re-customize it to your brand, essentially creating a “Library V2” and then working from there.

1.8.0 is coming

The new 1.8.0 version is coming out on Friday April 10th.

If you’re a customer on our Organization or Enterprise plan and have an upgrade question — even though it’s a difficult topic — we can help examine your situation. Get in touch!