geometry-layout-and-alignment.md

Geometry, Layout, And Alignment

This file covers spatial editing, auto-layout, grids, grouping, booleans, sizing, constraints, and alignment behavior.

Size Commands

Direct resize

• w: set width
• h: set height
• hw, wh: set width and height together

Behavior:

• works on RESIZABLE node types
• uses resolveDelta(), so values like +10 and /2 are relative
• clamps width and height to at least 0.01

Aspect ratio lock

• lar, lockar: toggle aspect ratio lock

Behavior:

• works on selected nodes that expose Figma aspect ratio lock support
• aspect ratio lock toggles all selected lockable nodes; mixed selections lock all, fully locked selections unlock all

Move And Position Commands

Relative move

• mt, -my: move up
• mb, my: move down
• ml, -mx: move left
• mr, mx: move right

Behavior:

• supported on POSITIONABLE nodes
• guarded by IsNotInAutoLayout or IsAbsoluteInAutoLayout
• uses absolute numeric movement, not delta-aware movement

Absolute position in parent

• pol, x: distance from left
• por, -x: distance from right
• pot, y: distance from top
• pob, -y: distance from bottom

Behavior:

• uses parent width or height for right/bottom placement
• requires a dimensioned parent container
• guarded by IsNotInAutoLayout or IsAbsoluteInAutoLayout

Auto-Layout Creation And Removal

• alh: wrap selection into a horizontal auto-layout frame
• alv: wrap selection into a vertical auto-layout frame
• ra: remove auto-layout by setting layout mode to NONE

alh and alv have special conversion logic:

• if exactly one group is selected, the plugin converts the group directly into a frame
• the new frame inherits the group's size and position
• default white frame fill is removed
• padding starts at 0
• if exactly one frame is selected, the plugin enables auto-layout on that frame instead of wrapping it in a new parent
• group children and selected frame children are sorted by x or y before insertion
• spacing is inferred from the first two children

For multiple selected nodes:

• nodes are wrapped in a new frame at the first node's position
• selection order is normalized by x or y before insertion
• spacing is inferred from the first two selected nodes

Auto-Layout Direction And Sizing

Container direction

• lh: set auto-layout direction to horizontal
• lv: set auto-layout direction to vertical
• lw: set auto-layout wrap

Notes:

• lh and lv only appear when the selection is already frame-like and in auto-layout
• lw can be applied to frame-like nodes directly

Child/container sizing shortcuts

• vf: vertical fill
• vh: vertical hug
• hf: horizontal fill
• hh: horizontal hug

Important runtime behavior:

• if fill is requested on a child inside a plain non-auto-layout frame, the plugin resizes the node to match the parent dimension instead of setting a layout property
• if fill is requested on an absolute-positioned child, the plugin resizes the node to match the parent dimension and moves that axis to 0 because the child does not participate in auto-layout fill sizing
• if the selected node itself is frame-like and has no auto-layout, the plugin can enable auto-layout before setting its layout sizing property
• vh and hh require auto-layout contexts
• vf and hf are available in more than one context because of the special-condition guard setup

Gaps And Padding

Primary gap

• g: set primary gap, or AUTO when no value is given
• sb: force space-between

Behavior:

• only for row/column auto-layout containers
• numeric values are delta-aware
• numeric values also force primaryAxisAlignItems = MIN
• no value switches to SPACE_BETWEEN

Counter gap for wrap layouts

• vg: set vertical/counter gap, or AUTO with no value
• vsb: force counter-axis space-between

Behavior:

• only for wrapped auto-layout containers
• numeric values update counterAxisSpacing on wrap layouts
• no value switches counterAxisAlignContent to SPACE_BETWEEN on wrap layouts

Grid gaps

• cg: set grid column gap
• rg: set grid row gap

Behavior:

• only for grid layouts
• numeric values are delta-aware
• values update gridColumnGap and gridRowGap

Tidy / inferred layout gaps

• tg: set tidy / smart selection gap on the current selection, or use the dominant existing gap with no value
• trg: set tidy / smart selection row gap on the current selection

Behavior:

• works on multi-selected sibling layers that form a row, column, or grid-like tidy selection
• also works on a single plain frame when Figma exposes inferredAutoLayout
• numeric values reposition layers to emulate tidy-up spacing
• on multi-row or multi-column tidy selections, tg normalizes shared columns or rows instead of spacing each row or column independently
• tg with no value uses the dominant existing gap on the active tidy axis
• tidy row gap requires at least 2 inferred rows or columns

Padding commands

• p: all sides, with 1/2/3/4-value shorthand
• ph: horizontal padding
• pv: vertical padding
• pl: left padding
• pt: top padding
• pr: right padding
• pb: bottom padding
• -pl: all sides except left
• -pt: all sides except top
• -pr: all sides except right
• -pb: all sides except bottom

Shorthand behavior:

• p20 -> all four sides 20
• p20,30 -> top/bottom 20, left/right 30
• p20,30,40 -> top 20, left/right 30, bottom 40
• p20,30,40,50 -> top/right/bottom/left
• -pb24 -> top/right/left 24, bottom unchanged

Important notes:

• padding values are delta-aware
• negative results are clamped to 0
• no-value side commands reset their scope to 0
• except-side commands require a value
• only frame-like nodes are supported

Clip content

• c: toggle clip content

Supported on:

• frames
• components
• component sets
• instances

Layout Grids

• lg: set uniform grid size, or toggle grid visibility with no value
• lgc: set stretch column count
• lgr: set stretch row count
• lgg: set row/column gutter size
• lgm: set row/column margin/offset
• lgrm: remove all layout grids

Important behavior:

• lg only manages the GRID pattern and leaves row/column grids intact
• lgc and lgr replace only their respective pattern
• lgg and lgm update existing row/column grids only
• if no row/column grids exist, lgg and lgm notify instead of creating one
• lg with no value toggles visibility on existing grids only

Defaults:

• row/column gutter default: 20
• row/column offset default: 0

Transform And Scale

Rotation

• ro: set rotation
• ro with no value resets rotation to 0

Behavior:

• delta-aware
• rotates around the current visual center
• clears legacy plugin data keys originalX and originalY if present

Flip

• fh: horizontal flip
• fv: vertical flip

Behavior:

• mirrors the relative transform
• then compensates x or y so the node stays visually in place

Scale

• s: scale by percent, where s100 means 100%
• sw: scale to a target width
• sh: scale to a target height

Behavior:

• uses Figma rescale()
• minimum scale factor is 1%

Min/Max And Absolute Positioning

• maxh: set or clear max height
• maxw: set or clear max width
• minh: set or clear min height
• minw: set or clear min width
• ap: toggle absolute positioning inside auto-layout

Notes:

• max* and min* are optional-value commands
• no value clears the stored min/max property by setting it to null
• numeric values are delta-aware against the current min/max if present, otherwise against the node's current size
• ap toggles layoutPositioning between ABSOLUTE and AUTO

Constraints

Horizontal:

• cl: left
• cch: center
• cr: right
• clr: left and right / stretch
• csh: scale

Vertical:

• ct: top
• ccv: center
• cb: bottom
• ctb: top and bottom / stretch
• csv: scale

Behavior:

• only exposed outside auto-layout
• preserves the untouched axis while changing the requested axis

Smart Auto-Layout Alignment

These nine commands use smartAlign() and are intended for auto-layout frames, with optional parent-forcing behavior.

• atl, alt: top left
• atc, act: top center
• atr, art: top right
• acl, alc: center left
• acc: center
• acr, arc: center right
• abl, alb: bottom left
• abc, acb: bottom center
• abr, arb: bottom right

Behavior:

• with no value, scope is AUTO
• with any value starting with p, scope is forced to PARENT
• in AUTO scope, auto-layout alignment is attempted first
• when the auto-layout primary axis is already SPACE_BETWEEN, the primary distribution is preserved and only the counter axis is updated
• if auto-layout handling does not apply, the plugin falls back to aligning the node inside its parent by x/y coordinates

Free-Layout Alignment

Align relative to selection bounds or parent

• at: top
• ab: bottom
• al: left
• ar: right
• avc: vertical center
• ahc: horizontal center

Behavior:

• with one selected node, alignment is relative to the parent container
• with multiple selected nodes, alignment is relative to the shared selection bounds
• at, ab, al, and ar are intentionally guarded to non-auto-layout contexts
• avc and ahc do not carry that registry guard

Parent-Only Alignment Commands

• atlp, altp: parent top left
• atcp, actp: parent top center
• atrp, artp: parent top right
• aclp, alcp: parent center left
• accp: parent center
• acrp, arcp: parent center right
• ablp, albp: parent bottom left
• abcp, acbp: parent bottom center
• abrp, arbp: parent bottom right

Behavior:

• always align directly inside the parent
• can operate on multiple selected nodes independently
• skips normal flow children inside auto-layout parents; use absolute positioning first when coordinate-based parent alignment is intended there

Grouping And Boolean Operations

Grouping

• gr: group selection
• ugr: ungroup groups or frames

Important notes:

• grouping requires at least two selected items
• all selected nodes must share the same parent
• ungrouping collects the resulting children and selects them
• ungrouping accepts both groups and frames

Boolean operations

• un, u: union
• su, sub: subtract
• in, int: intersect
• ex: exclude

Behavior:

• requires at least two selected layers
• runs against the current page

Corner Smoothing

• csm: set corner smoothing explicitly
• csi: shortcut to 60, matching the plugin's "iOS" preset

Behavior:

• csm is delta-aware
• the runtime clamps values between 0 and 100
• stored Figma value is normalized to the 0..1 range internally