Install the library

Appetite is built on Figma’s Auto Layout, components, variants, interactive components, and Variables. Understanding these fundamentals helps you get the most out of the system. If you’re comfortable with Figma, you’re ready to go. If you’re still getting familiar with it, these two resources will get you up to speed fast:

• Figma tutorials on YouTube→Figma for beginners tutorials
• More about Figma’s Best Practices→Figma’s Best Practice Guides

Option 1: Duplicate per project. Right-click the Appetite file and hit Duplicate. You get a standalone copy. Strip out the components you don’t need, customize the tokens, and start designing. Best for solo designers or one-off projects where you want full control.

Option 2: Use it as a shared library. Keep Appetite as a single source file and publish it as a Figma library. Every project pulls components from the same place, and updates flow automatically. Best for teams or anyone running multiple projects off the same system.

The right choice depends on your setup. If you’re working alone on a single app, duplicating is faster. If you’re managing consistency across projects or collaborating with other designers, the library approach pays off quickly.

For option 2, consider splitting Appetite into smaller, focused libraries: one for components, one for tokens, one for icons. It takes upfront effort, but it gives your team granular control over what gets published and updated.

Publishing turns your Appetite file into a shared library that any Figma project can pull from. Components, styles, and variables all become available through the Assets panel in every file that enables the library.

To publish, go to the file menu and select “Publish library.” Once published, open any other file, switch to the Assets tab in the left sidebar, and enable Appetite from the library list.

The key benefit: when you update a component or token in the source file and re-publish, every file using that library gets a notification. Your team decides when to accept updates. Nothing changes without explicit action. The library becomes your single source of truth across all design work.

Appetite ships with a lot of components. You won’t need all of them for every project. Go through the file at the start of each project and delete the pages and components you know you won’t use. Right-click any page in the left sidebar and hit “Delete page.”

This reduces file size, speeds up publishing, and cuts down the noise when browsing the Assets panel. Don’t worry about being too aggressive. You can always re-duplicate from the original if you need something back. A lean file is a fast file.