Design System Search Replace

Design system search and replace enables finding and updating design system patterns across codebases. While simpler than full AST-based codemods, effective search and replace techniques handle many common update needs efficiently. Understanding when and how to use search and replace complements more sophisticated tooling.

What Is Design System Search Replace

Search and replace finds text patterns and substitutes alternatives. For design systems, this might mean replacing old import paths with new ones, updating prop names, or changing deprecated patterns. Search and replace operates on text patterns rather than syntax structure.

Search and replace suits straightforward transformations. Renaming a consistently-used string, updating URLs, or changing simple patterns work well. Complex transformations requiring context awareness may need more sophisticated approaches.

How Design System Search Replace Works

Pattern definition specifies what to find. Simple literal patterns match exact text. Regular expressions match flexible patterns with wildcards, alternatives, and captures. Pattern definition determines what gets found.

Replacement specification defines what replaces matches. Literal replacements substitute fixed text. Backreferences in regex replacements insert captured content. Replacement specification determines transformation output.

Scope definition limits where search operates. File type filters restrict to relevant files. Directory scope limits to affected areas. Exclude patterns skip false positive locations. Scope control improves precision.

Preview and validation shows changes before applying. Preview reveals what will change and where. Review catches unintended matches. Validation through tests confirms correctness. Preview before apply reduces mistakes.

Execution applies changes across scope. IDE tools, command-line utilities like sed or ripgrep, or custom scripts perform replacements. Batch execution handles many files efficiently.

Key Considerations

• Regex complexity affects maintainability and correctness
• Overly broad patterns cause unintended replacements
• Preview is essential before applying changes
• Version control enables rollback from mistakes
• Some replacements need syntax-aware tools beyond search and replace

Common Questions

When should teams use search and replace versus codemods?

Search and replace suits simple, consistent patterns where text matching suffices. Import path updates with consistent syntax, simple string renames, and URL changes work well. Codemods suit transformations requiring syntax understanding: prop changes where values vary, conditional modifications based on surrounding code, or structural transformations. If text patterns reliably match intended targets without false positives, search and replace is simpler. If context matters or patterns vary significantly, codemods provide needed precision.

How can teams avoid mistakes in large-scale search and replace?

Several practices reduce mistake risk. Narrow patterns minimize false positive matches. Preview all changes before applying. Test on sample files before full execution. Use version control to enable rollback. Verify through test suite execution. Review changes in code review. Incremental application allows validation between batches. Explicit file type filtering avoids matching in unexpected locations. These practices make large-scale search and replace safer.

Summary

Design system search and replace finds and updates patterns through pattern definition, replacement specification, scope limitation, preview validation, and batch execution. Search and replace suits simple consistent patterns where text matching suffices; complex transformations requiring syntax awareness benefit from codemods. Mistake prevention involves narrow patterns, preview review, version control, test verification, and incremental application.