Figma Prototypes Now Export As Interactive dotLottie

Figma now exports prototypes directly as interactive dotLottie files, eliminating the manual handoff gap between motion design and production. Learn what's new, how to use it, and why your dev team will thank you.

Published Apr 15, 2026 • 5 min

The Figma prototype export to dotLottie format is the animation workflow upgrade that design and development teams have needed for years. Figma now exports interactive prototypes directly as dotLottie files, no plugins, no third-party tools, no manual conversion steps required. This changes everything about the handoff process. Previously, designers finished a prototype in Figma and handed it to developers through a messy chain of exports, plugins, and format conversions. That chain broke constantly. It slowed teams down. It created version mismatches between what designers built and what developers shipped. Figma cuts that chain entirely. Designers now use the Figma prototype export feature to output directly into dotLottie, a compact, high-performance animation format that Android, iOS, and web platforms already support natively. No additional libraries needed. No workarounds required. The dotLottie format delivers three concrete advantages. First, it produces smaller file sizes than traditional Lottie JSON. Second, it holds multiple animations inside a single file. Third, it carries full interactivity from the original Figma prototype, triggers, transitions, and states all survive the export intact. Development teams benefit immediately. Instead of back-and-forth format conversations, they receive a production-ready file straight from Figma. As a result, the dotLottie file drops into their project and works first time, no debugging, no reformatting. Similarly, design teams win too. They build once inside Figma and export once. Moreover, the output reaches production without quality loss or manual rework. That feedback loop shrinks from days to minutes. Figma built this capability into the core product, not as a beta or a plugin. Additionally, it sits inside the standard export menu, meaning every Figma user with a prototype can access it today. This looks like a small workflow improvement. In practice, however, it saves hours every sprint.

What's new?

With this update, designers can select any prototyped frame or interaction flow in Figma and choose Export → dotLottie from the export panel. The resulting file preserves:

• Transition animations (dissolve, smart animate, push/pull)
• Hover and click interaction states
• Looping sequences and animated overlays
• Variable-driven motion tied to component properties

The exported .lottie file can be dropped directly into the dotLottie web player, the official dotLottie React/Vue/Android/iOS libraries, or any LottieFiles-compatible renderer.

Why it matters for development teams

Previously, the handoff between a motion designer’s Figma prototype and a developer’s production codebase was painfully manual. Developers would receive a prototype link and a spec sheet, then spend hours rebuilding transitions in CSS or re-authoring them in After Effects. dotLottie export collapses that gap entirely.

Teams using LottieFiles’ dotLottie player can now ship pixel-perfect, designer-authored animations with zero re-implementation cost. The file size is dramatically smaller than equivalent GIF or video exports, typically 60–80% smaller than Lottie JSON, making it ideal for mobile apps and performance-sensitive web interfaces.

How to use it

1. Build your prototype interactions in Figma using Smart Animate or standard transitions.
2. Select the starting frame or component set you want to export.
3. Open the Design panel → Export section → click the “+” icon → choose dotLottie from the format dropdown.
4. Adjust settings such as loop behaviour, background transparency, and frame rate.
5. Click Export and hand the .lottie file off to your development team.

Compatibility and limitations

The export currently supports Figma’s built-in animation easing curves (ease in, ease out, ease in-out, linear, spring). Complex interactions relying on Figma’s conditional logic or variable expressions are partially supported, simple variable transitions export cleanly, while multi-branch conditional flows are flattened to their default path. The Figma team has confirmed expanded conditional support is on the roadmap.

This feature is part of a broader industry movement toward closing the design-to-code gap. Combined with Figma’s Dev Mode variable sync and its forthcoming AI-assisted component generation, dotLottie export positions Figma as an end-to-end motion design and delivery platform, not just a static UI tool.

For product teams already invested in the LottieFiles ecosystem, this is a significant quality-of-life improvement. For teams new to Lottie-based animation, it’s an accessible on-ramp that requires no additional tooling to get started.