Reference tokens

Reference tokens — sometimes called alias tokens or primitive tokens — are the lowest tier of a design tokens architecture: raw, context-free values like blue-500: #2563EB or space-4: 16px. They describe what a value is, not what it means.

Reference tokens are rarely used directly in components. Instead, semantic tokens reference them (color-action-primary → blue-500), so when the brand changes you update the alias mapping rather than every component. This indirection is what makes theming and multi-brand design systems tractable. Material 3 calls them "ref tokens"; Polaris calls them "primitives"; the architecture is the same.

Related: Design tokens · Semantic tokens · Component tokens · Foundations