Import design system… brings an existing system into 1DesignTool as a
saved design system. It takes two kinds of folder: a complete
design-system package — one saved or created in 1DesignTool, identified by
its design-system.json — or a Claude Design export. Either way the system
lands in your list, ready to start projects from, the same as one built here.
The button was called Import Claude Design… before 1.9.0. Claude Design exports still import exactly as before; the rename reflects that the same button now takes full packages too.
Importing one
Open Systems from the top bar and click Import design system… at the
foot of the list. The folder picker asks you to Choose a design-system package
or Claude Design export folder — pick the folder itself, not a file inside
it. When the import finishes, a note reports the new system's id, how many
cards and tokens came across, and the ds-<id> direction it published, if
any.
The system lands in the Design systems list with its name. If you already
have a system with that name, the import gets a numbered id (-2, -3)
instead of replacing yours.
Importing a design-system package
A folder with a design-system.json imports whole. Everything the package
carries comes across:
- Tokens —
tokens.cssandtokens.json - Rules —
DESIGN.md, the brief the agent reads when it builds with the system - Components and documentation —
components.htmland the component inventory - Fonts and assets — logos, font files and their licenses
- Exports and reports — generated code files and verification reports
This is how a system travels between machines or people: save it on one machine, copy the package folder, import it on the other. A reconstructed system keeps its sources record, provenance and verification status, so the Source reconstruction card in Systems reads the same after the import.
The import checks the package before accepting it. It needs at least
tokens.css and DESIGN.md; symbolic links are refused. A reconstructed
package also needs a current verification report — one whose checks failed,
or that no longer matches the package's files, is rejected until it's rebuilt
and checked again. A package whose checks were only partial imports, and stays
marked partial.
Importing a Claude Design export
A Claude Design export is identified by its _ds_manifest.json. A folder
without one, and without a design-system.json, is refused with a message
saying so. From the export, the import reads:
- Cards — every
.dc.htmlcard, foundations first, then components and screens, including cards the manifest didn't list - Tokens — the CSS variables declared across the cards, merged into the
system's
tokens.css - Rules — the export's bundle and adherence files, kept with the system
The imported cards show in Systems under Claude Design cards. They're specimens the agent reads when it needs them, not files loaded into every turn.
The direction it publishes
If the imported tokens use the kit's token names (--color-*, --font-*),
the import also publishes a ds-<id> direction so the system's palette and
fonts show in the pickers. Tokens that point at aliases such as
var(--ds-brand) are resolved to their real values first, so the picker shows
actual colors and font names instead of alias text. Tokens that don't use the
kit's names stay package-only: the system still applies, it just has no
matching direction. Reconstructed packages never publish a direction — they
apply as complete packages, with their generated CSS left exactly as built.
Using an imported system
An imported system behaves like one built here: pick it at project creation under Your systems, or select it in Systems and click Apply to project name for the open project. Applying installs the complete package into the project and records its version. Steer it after, and save the project as a new system if it evolves.
Why it's useful
Design work already happened elsewhere — a system you built in Claude Design, or one a teammate saved in 1DesignTool, shouldn't restart here. Bring it in and the next project starts from your real tokens, not a generic direction.
Tip: After importing, run one throwaway project on the system to see what actually landed — one build is the fastest way to read what your system looks like here.