Atlas Branch Manager

Managing a cross-platform design system means managing many concurrent changes. A single update to an Atlas component can require one Figma branch, separate development work for web, iOS, and Android, and multiple Jira tickets across more than one project space.

The work itself was manageable. Keeping its status and context connected was not. With many active branches, I had to repeatedly open individual branches, locate the associated Jira tickets, check their statuses, and determine whether the work was ready to merge and publish. That created unnecessary cognitive overhead and made it easy for completed changes to sit unnoticed.

I built Atlas Branch Manager to bring that fragmented workflow into one Figma-native workspace.

Connecting branches to delivery work

The plugin links Figma branches to their related Jira tickets and automatically surfaces the latest status in a Kanban-style view. Instead of checking each branch and ticket individually, I can see work organized by its current stage, identify what is ready to merge, and follow up on work that is still in progress. Each surfaced Jira ticket links directly back to Jira, so I can open the underlying work whenever I need more detail without manually searching for it.

Each branch card also opens its corresponding Figma branch. Once inside, Atlas Branch Manager recognizes the branch name and navigates directly to the relevant component page. That means I can move from an overview of all active work to the exact component being changed without manually locating it in the library.

The tool also supports standups and shared visibility. My design-systems teammate and I can see one another’s branches and the work attached to them, which makes it easier to coordinate library updates and release completed work to designers as soon as it is ready.

Preserving the product context

Jira shows the delivery status of a branch, but Confluence briefs explain the product need behind it. By connecting each branch to its related project brief, Atlas Branch Manager keeps the rationale for a component change available alongside the work required to deliver it.

Atlas Branch Manager connects those briefs to the relevant branches as well. When I need to understand the rationale behind a change, I can move from the Figma branch to its Jira delivery work and back to the project context without reconstructing the story from separate tools.

This gives each branch both an execution state and a reason for existing.

A tool built from the workflow

I personally designed and built Atlas Branch Manager for my own design-systems workflow. It connects locally to Jira and Confluence, where it can match tickets to branch names, track ownership, and surface delivery status alongside Figma branch work.

The core workflow is working, though making the Jira connection simple and secure enough for broad distribution remains an unresolved technical constraint. I treat that limitation as part of the product’s next phase, rather than overstate its current reach.

Bringing status to the canvas

The next capability in progress is a branch summary that can be placed directly onto the Figma canvas. When a designer opens a branch or inspects a component being updated, they will be able to see the related tickets, development status, and project context where the work is happening.

The goal is to make delivery context visible at the point of design work—so teams can understand what is changing, why it is changing, and when it is ready to move forward.