set_instance_overrides

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Overview

Applies previously extracted override properties to one or more target component instances. Target instances will be swapped to match the source component and all override properties will be applied.

This is part of the Instance Override Propagation workflow contributed by @dusskapark. See the demo video.

You must first call get_instance_overrides to capture overrides before using this tool.

Parameters

string

required

ID of the source component instance that overrides were extracted from using get_instance_overrides

array

required

Array of target instance IDs to apply the overrides to. Each instance will be updated with the captured overrides.

Response

boolean

Whether the overall operation succeeded

string

Success or error message describing the result

number

Total number of override properties that were applied

array

Detailed results for each target instance

Show result properties

boolean

Whether overrides were successfully applied to this instance

string

ID of the target instance

string

Name of the target instance

number

Number of overrides applied to this instance

string

Success or error message for this specific instance

Usage Example

// Step 1: Extract overrides from source instance
const sourceOverrides = await get_instance_overrides({
  nodeId: "source-instance-id"
});

if (!sourceOverrides.success) {
  throw new Error(sourceOverrides.message);
}

// Step 2: Apply to multiple target instances
const result = await set_instance_overrides({
  sourceInstanceId: sourceOverrides.sourceInstanceId,
  targetNodeIds: [
    "target-instance-1",
    "target-instance-2",
    "target-instance-3"
  ]
});

console.log(result);
// {
//   "success": true,
//   "message": "Successfully applied overrides",
//   "totalCount": 5,
//   "results": [
//     {
//       "success": true,
//       "instanceId": "target-instance-1",
//       "instanceName": "Button",
//       "appliedCount": 5,
//       "message": "Successfully applied 5 overrides"
//     },
//     {
//       "success": true,
//       "instanceId": "target-instance-2",
//       "instanceName": "Button",
//       "appliedCount": 5,
//       "message": "Successfully applied 5 overrides"
//     },
//     {
//       "success": true,
//       "instanceId": "target-instance-3",
//       "instanceName": "Button",
//       "appliedCount": 5,
//       "message": "Successfully applied 5 overrides"
//     }
//   ]
// }

Complete Workflow Example

// Complete instance override propagation workflow

// 1. Get all button instances that need updating
const buttons = await scan_nodes_by_types({
  nodeId: "page-id",
  types: ["INSTANCE"]
});

const targetButtons = buttons.matchingNodes
  .filter(node => node.name.includes("Button"))
  .map(node => node.id);

// 2. Extract overrides from the source button
const overrides = await get_instance_overrides({
  nodeId: "customized-button-id"
});

if (overrides.success) {
  console.log(`Captured ${overrides.overridesCount} overrides`);
  
  // 3. Apply to all target buttons
  const result = await set_instance_overrides({
    sourceInstanceId: overrides.sourceInstanceId,
    targetNodeIds: targetButtons
  });
  
  // 4. Report results
  const successCount = result.results.filter(r => r.success).length;
  console.log(`Successfully updated ${successCount}/${targetButtons.length} buttons`);
  
  // 5. Check for any failures
  const failures = result.results.filter(r => !r.success);
  if (failures.length > 0) {
    console.warn("Failed instances:", failures);
  }
}

What Happens During Application

Component swap

Each target instance is swapped to match the source component (if different)

Override application

All captured override properties are applied to each target instance:

Text content
Visibility states
Component swaps
Color overrides
And more

Validation

Each instance is validated and results are returned individually

Common Use Cases

Bulk State Changes

Update multiple button instances to the same state (hover, disabled, etc.)

Theme Application

Apply a theme or color scheme across multiple component instances

Content Updates

Propagate text or content changes to similar instances

Design Consistency

Ensure consistent customizations across repeated components

Error Handling

const result = await set_instance_overrides({
  sourceInstanceId: "source-id",
  targetNodeIds: ["target-1", "target-2"]
});

if (!result.success) {
  console.error("Overall failure:", result.message);
} else {
  // Check individual instance results
  result.results.forEach(instanceResult => {
    if (!instanceResult.success) {
      console.error(
        `Failed to update ${instanceResult.instanceName}:`,
        instanceResult.message
      );
    }
  });
}

Possible Errors

“No overrides found for source instance”: Must call get_instance_overrides first
“Target node is not a component instance”: Target must be an instance, not a main component
“Component mismatch”: Target instances may need to be swapped to a compatible component first
“Invalid node ID”: One or more target node IDs don’t exist

Performance Considerations

When applying overrides to many instances (50+), consider processing them in batches to avoid Figma performance issues:

const batchSize = 20;
for (let i = 0; i < targetIds.length; i += batchSize) {
  const batch = targetIds.slice(i, i + batchSize);
  await set_instance_overrides({
    sourceInstanceId,
    targetNodeIds: batch
  });
}

Notes

The source instance ID must match an instance from a previous get_instance_overrides call
Target instances are automatically swapped to the source component if needed
All override properties from the source are applied (cannot apply selectively)
Results include per-instance success/failure information

get_instance_overrides - Extract overrides from a source instance (required first step)
create_component_instance - Create new instances
scan_nodes_by_types - Find instances to target
get_nodes_info - Get information about multiple nodes

⌘I

Document & Selection

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Connection Management

AI Prompts

Overview

Parameters

Response

Usage Example

Complete Workflow Example

What Happens During Application

Common Use Cases

Bulk State Changes

Theme Application

Content Updates

Design Consistency

Error Handling

Possible Errors

Performance Considerations

Notes

​Overview

​Parameters

​Response

​Usage Example

​Complete Workflow Example

​What Happens During Application

​Common Use Cases

Bulk State Changes

Theme Application

Content Updates

Design Consistency

​Error Handling

​Possible Errors

​Performance Considerations

​Notes

​Related Tools

Overview

Parameters

Response

Usage Example

Complete Workflow Example

What Happens During Application

Common Use Cases

Error Handling

Possible Errors

Performance Considerations

Notes

Related Tools