How to Publish Hidden Components in Figma

To publish a component in your Figma library that is currently hidden, you need to explicitly tell Figma to include it during the publishing process.

Here's how you can publish components that aren't visible in the Assets panel by default:

Making Hidden Components Publishable

Figma provides a specific option to control whether a component is included when you publish your library updates. Components can be hidden for various reasons, most commonly by using a naming convention.

1. Address the Naming Convention (If Applicable):

   • One common way to hide components from the Assets panel in Figma is by starting their layer or component name with a dot (.) or an underscore (_).
   • If your component is hidden using this method, you must remove the leading . or _ from the component's name before it can be published. This makes the component visible in the Assets panel within the original file, which is a prerequisite for the next step.

2. Mark the Component for Publishing:

   • Once the component is visible in the Assets panel (either because it wasn't hidden by name or you removed the prefix), locate it in your design file.
   • Right-click on the component itself (either on the canvas or in the Layers panel).
   • From the context menu that appears, select the option "Show when publishing". This action explicitly tells Figma to include this component in your library when you publish updates, even if your library settings have general rules that might otherwise exclude it.

Publishing Your Library Updates

After completing the steps above for the component(s) you want to publish, you need to publish your library updates as you normally would:

1. Go to the Assets panel.
2. Click on the "Library" icon (the open book).
3. Find your current file in the list of libraries.
4. Click the "Publish" button next to your file name.
5. Review the changes and click "Publish" again in the confirmation dialog.

Figma will notify you that your updates are successfully published, and the components you marked using "Show when publishing" will now be available to subscribers of your library.

Summary of Steps

Here’s a quick overview:

• Check Naming: If component name starts with . or _, remove the prefix.
• Right-Click: Locate the component and right-click on it.
• Select Option: Choose "Show when publishing" from the menu.
• Publish Library: Go to Assets > Library > Publish your file.

By following these steps, you can ensure that specific components, even those initially hidden from the Assets panel, are included in your shared design library for your team to use.