Penpot 2.9 adds typography design tokens, smarter text resizing, and other improvements

The latest Penpot update, version 2.9, places a strong emphasis on streamlining design system workflows. Most notably, the release debuts support for typography design tokens, allowing users to specify font size as a reusable design variable, with font weight and other options to follow. Teams handling extensive token libraries will benefit from new bulk import capabilities, making it possible to upload entire collections using a single .zip file. Alongside these advances, Penpot now applies design tokens only when relevant, such as limiting font size assignment to text layers or border radius tokens to shapes and layouts.

Following the workflow improvements, designers working with text gain double-click shortcuts for toggling auto-width and auto-height on text boxes. Dragging edges horizontally or vertically adjusts text resizing behavior intuitively, matching typical expectations for layout adjustments.

Complementing these core changes are a variety of user experience enhancements. The dashboard sidebar now displays grouped views, making it easier to differentiate projects from sources. A new comment indicator provides timely alerts for feedback in the design workspace. “Save color” for assets now appears as a primary button, and bounding boxes temporarily disappear when users edit visual effects for a less cluttered workspace.