The words you’ll meet

How things are organised

Organization

Your company. It pays for the plan and can hold several workspaces.

Workspace

A space with its own Brands, people and Activity. Agencies often keep one per client. The switcher at the top of the sidebar moves between them.

Brand

One design system: its tokens, themes and releases. A product, a sub-brand or a client’s brand.

Extending a Brand

A Brand can build on another Brand’s tokens and change only what differs. A child Brand inherits its parent’s token sets; its own sets win.

Tokens and how they’re grouped

Token

A named value, such as color.brand.primary = a green, or spacing.md = 16px. Code and design tools use the name; Stoaken keeps the value.

Alias

A token whose value points at another token, such as button.background → color.brand.primary. Change the original and everything pointing at it follows.

Token set

A group of tokens kept together, such as “core colours” or “typography”. A theme stacks several sets.

Deprecated

A token that still works but is on its way out, usually with a suggested replacement. Exports and agents warn about it.

Themes and modes

Theme

A version of a Brand: a partner, a season, a product line. It stacks token sets in order; a later set overrides an earlier one. Every Brand starts with a Default theme.

Mode

A variation inside a theme, such as light and dark, or compact and comfortable. Each mode turns certain token sets on or off.

Axis

A group of modes that switch together, such as “colour scheme” (light, dark) or “density”.

Releases and review

Release

An approved, numbered snapshot of a theme (v1.4.0). It moves from draft, to waiting for review, to published, or rejected.

Patch, minor, major

How big a change is. Patch: a value nudged. Minor: something added; everything still works. Major: something renamed, removed or changed in meaning.

Breaking change

A release that removes or renames a token that something may rely on. Only an Admin or Owner can approve it.

Exception

A release an Admin published without the normal review, for an emergency. It shows everywhere, has an expiry date, and should be replaced by a reviewed release.

Visual check

Stoaken draws your components with the new tokens, in every mode, and points out what looks different, so a reviewer sees the change, not only the numbers.

People and roles

Viewer

Sees tokens, releases and comments. Free.

Reviewer

Approves routine releases and comments. Free.

Editor

Changes tokens and proposes releases. Uses a seat.

Admin

Everything an Editor can, plus breaking changes, exceptions, members and settings. Uses a seat.

Owner

Created the workspace. Can do everything, including billing and deleting it.

Someone can have a role on the whole workspace, or only on certain Brands. People outside your company can see a Brand through a share link.