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Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.kombai.com/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

Design Mode is currently in beta. For feedback, please contact us at support@kombai.com.
Design Mode stores all its artifacts—canvases, Blocks, Themes, and Style Guides—as files inside the .kombai/ folder at the root of your project. This means you can collaborate on designs using the same tools and workflows you already use for code.

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Git as a collaboration system

Because every Design Mode artifact is a file on disk, your existing Git workflow doubles as a design collaboration system. When you commit and push your .kombai/ folder, your entire team gets access to the same Themes, Blocks, Style Guides, and Canvas files.

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What to commit

Make sure your essential design files are tracked in version control:
  • Canvases — for any in-progress or finalized page designs you want the team to review or build upon. Canvas files are stored as .canvas files in .kombai/.canvas/.
  • Themes — so every team member generates designs with the same design tokens (colors, typography, spacing, shadows). Themes are stored as part of your canvas files.
  • Blocks — from small primitives (buttons, inputs) to compound components (navbars, pricing tables), so the whole team can reuse them. Blocks live inside your canvas.
  • Style Guides — so anyone on the team can generate new designs that follow the same visual direction. Style guides are stored separately as .canvas.styleguide files in the .kombai/ folder.
  1. Create a branch for your design work, just like you would for a feature.
  2. Design on the Canvas and save your Blocks, Themes, and Style Guides as you go.
  3. Commit and push the .kombai/ folder changes (including .canvas files in .kombai/.canvas/ and .canvas.styleguide files in .kombai/).
  4. Open a pull request so your team can review the design files alongside any code changes.
  5. Merge to main once approved, so the designs become available to everyone.
This keeps your design artifacts in sync with your codebase and gives you the full benefits of Git—branching, history, diffs, and code review—for your design work.

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Sharing individual artifacts

Since all Design Mode artifacts live as files inside .kombai/, you can share specific files directly with a teammate without going through a full Git workflow. This is especially useful for quick, informal collaboration.

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Sharing an entire canvas

Via Git: Commit your .canvas file from .kombai/.canvas/ to your repository. Anyone on your team who pulls the repo will have access to the canvas, including all designs, blocks, and themes stored within it. Manually:
  1. Locate your canvas file inside .kombai/.canvas/.
  2. Send the .canvas file to your teammate through any channel—Slack, email, or a shared drive.
  3. Your teammate saves the file under .kombai/.canvas/ in their project.
  4. They can now open and use the shared canvas in their Design Mode session.
Important: Sharing a canvas does not include style guides. Style guides are stored separately and must be shared using the steps in the Style Guides section below.

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Sharing individual designs or blocks

What to know: Designs and blocks live inside your canvas. To share them, you need to share the canvas they belong to. Options:
  1. Share the entire canvas — Follow the steps in the “Sharing an entire canvas” section above.
  2. Share only select designs or blocks — Copy the specific designs or blocks to a new canvas first. Then share that canvas using the steps in the “Sharing an entire canvas” section.

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Sharing themes

What to know: Themes are stored as part of your canvas. When you share a canvas, anyone who receives it will have access to all themes associated with it. To share themes: Follow the steps in the “Sharing an entire canvas” section above. All themes in that canvas will be included.

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Sharing style guides

Via Git: Commit your .canvas.styleguide file from .kombai/ to your repository. Anyone on your team who pulls the repo will have access to all style guides. Manually:
  1. Locate the .canvas.styleguide file inside .kombai/.
  2. Send the file to your teammate through any channel—Slack, email, or a shared drive.
  3. Your teammate saves the file under .kombai/ in their project.
  4. They can now use the shared style guide in their Design Mode session.

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Sharing examples

  • Two designers collaborating on a page — One person designs the hero section and commits the .canvas file to a branch. The other person pulls the branch, opens the canvas, adds the features section, and commits the updated file back.
  • Sharing a Theme across projects — If you’ve built a polished Theme in one project, share the canvas containing that theme (or manually copy the .canvas file from .kombai/.canvas/ in one project to .kombai/.canvas/ in another project) to reuse the same design tokens.
  • Handing off a Block — A teammate built a reusable card component as a Block inside their canvas. They share the canvas file with you, and you can immediately use the block on your canvas without rebuilding it.
  • Sharing design direction — Your design system team creates a Style Guide and commits the .canvas.styleguide file. Everyone on the team pulls it and uses it as a template for generating new designs.
This file-based approach means there’s no lock-in to a specific design tool or platform—your design assets are portable, versioned, and always accessible.