Engineering Workflow
Design-to-Code
Canonical Definition
Any workflow that turns a visual design into working product UI with less manual recoding, whether by generating code or by shipping the design file itself.
Detailed Explanation & Context
Design-to-code represents the paradigm shift where design software does not merely output visual mockups or redline measurement specs, but produces something engineers can ship. Some tools generate code; others, like ExodeUI for interactive motion and state machines, ship the design file itself and play it with a runtime, so nothing is rebuilt by hand.
Mathematical Model / Governing Formula
Design → generated code or shipped file → review → productionKey Takeaways
- Eliminates weeks of back-and-forth design QA meetings.
- Reduces the gap between what was designed and what ships.
- Produces clean, linter-approved TypeScript and Swift code.
Implementation Syntax (TSX)
// Playing an ExodeUI file in React (exodeui package)
import { useEffect } from 'react';
import { ExodeUICanvas, useExodeUI } from 'exodeui';
import button from './button.exode'; // read by exodePlugin() from 'exodeui/vite-plugin'
export function SubmitButton({ loading }) {
const { setEngine, setInputBool } = useExodeUI();
useEffect(() => { setInputBool('Loading', loading); }, [loading, setInputBool]);
return <ExodeUICanvas artboard={button} onReady={setEngine} />;
}Related Glossary Terms
Pillar Guides & Tools
Apply Design-to-Code in Your Application
ExodeUI makes modern motion engineering effortless. Design visually and compile clean, accessible components directly to production.