Learn how to manage component definitions, mappings, and previews within the Handoff engine. This section will guide you through building and maintaining the building blocks that power your UI across multiple platforms.
Components in Handoff are structured system entities. They define reusable UI building blocks with explicit properties, states, and relationships to tokens. Unlike visual-only components, Handoff components are defined as structured architectural units. Managing components effectively ensures scalability, consistency, and safe system evolution.
Each component in Handoff includes defined properties (props), explicit states and variations, references to system tokens, and metadata describing behavior and intent. This structured definition allows components to be consumed across multiple platforms, referenced in documentation, validated programmatically, and extended without breaking the system. Components are not isolated artifacts — they are part of a structured ecosystem.
Component properties define how a component can change while remaining consistent with system rules. Examples include size variants, visual themes, interaction states, and layout configurations. By defining these variations explicitly, Handoff prevents uncontrolled forks and ad hoc modifications. Flexibility is defined within the system — not improvised at the point of implementation.
Components depend on tokens for their visual and behavioral properties. Colors, spacing, typography, and motion — these values are referenced rather than hard-coded. This creates clear dependency chains and enables safer updates when foundational tokens change. When tokens evolve, component behavior remains traceable and predictable throughout your entire project.
Components may be composed of smaller system elements to build more complex interfaces. By structuring relationships explicitly, Handoff enables nested component definitions, clear ownership boundaries, and reusable system patterns. This reduces duplication across projects and ensures that composition always follows architectural intent rather than mere convenience.
As systems grow, component sprawl becomes a risk. To maintain integrity, you should avoid local project-specific forks and introduce new components intentionally. Deprecate outdated variations when they are no longer needed and keep component responsibilities focused. Well-managed components support long-term scalability and predictable delivery for every team in your organization.