Alias

To assign a token as a value for another token. This occurs when connecting tiers of tokens together.

Example

input.critical.bdColor = color.red.500

In the above example, the semantic token input.critical.bdColor is made as an alias of the primitive token color.red.500.

Note

In the DTCG specification, you can alias with a special syntax using {} characters at the $value to reference another token.

{
  "input-critical-borderColor": {
    "$type": "color",
    "$value": "{color-red-500}"
  }
}

This is helpful because we can change that assignment to serve another value without needing to update each place using that token.

Warning

Aliasing too many times makes it difficult for teams to follow the path of a value through tiers of tokens.