Tool · shared contracts
Extend the standards you author in, then generate dependable manifests for documentation and tools.
Your DTCG token documents and Custom Elements Manifest remain authoritative. Design Lasagna adds optional source-side metadata where those standards need more context, then analyses that source data into derived manifests for consumers.
The big picture
Extensions and manifests have different jobs. Keeping that boundary clear means your team can retain its existing source files while tools get the data they need.
Layer one · authored additions
Add optional Design Lasagna context to the standards your team already authors.
Layer two · generated views
Publish resolved, tool-oriented views of that source data for consumers.
Layer one · extensions
Extensions are optional, human-authored additions. They do not replace DTCG or CEM; they carry the design-system context those formats do not model.
DTCG source files
Use $extensions["recipes.designlasagna"] for documentation, usage, lifecycle, search, accessibility, and governance metadata that cannot be inferred by a resolver.
Custom Elements Manifest
Add lifecycle status, deprecation details, and migration targets to CEM declarations and members. A normal CEM remains valid without them.
Layer two · manifests
Manifests are generated outputs, not another source file to maintain. They make resolved design-system data dependable for consumers.
Generated manifest
Resolved values, identifiers, paths, modes, and the source-side metadata that tools and documentation need.
Generated manifest
A structured inventory of available utility classes and categories for consumers and editor integrations.
Generated manifest
A stable, machine-readable view of an icon library for the tools that need to discover and describe it.
How the layers connect
DTCG token files, CEM, and other published design-system data.
Human-authored Design Lasagna metadata where the source standard needs more context.
Resolve source data into manifest files for consumers.
Published output
Versioned JSON views that make the system’s published data consistent and consumable.
Check authored extensions and generated shapes before consumers rely on them.
Turn structured data into an accurate, readable reference.
Give tools dependable data for help, diagnostics, and migration guidance.
Start with the contract
Every version has stable raw URLs, package exports, and human-readable references. Use the references to understand a field; use the raw schema wherever a tool needs the exact contract.