Introducing Libraries

With Libraries, you can publish your components with dynamic data once, and reuse them everywhere in your project.

Until now in Rive, you’ve relied on nested artboards and copy-paste workflows to share elements across files. That was fine for solo creators, but broke down at scale: exports bloated with unused assets, versions drifted across files, and teams lost track of what was current. You wasted time fixing inconsistencies rather than building.

Libraries fix this. 

Here’s how they work: 

Publish and reuse: Components can be shared across project files, complete with view models and their properties.

Update with control: Each republish creates a new version. Library consumers can preview changes and choose when to adopt or stay pinned.

Detach anytime: If something no longer fits, detach it. Your copy stays local and stops listening for updates.

Together, these features let you create a consistent, scalable design language that grows with your projects. 

What makes Rive’s approach different

Most tools stop at reusability. They guarantee that a symbol or component looks consistent across screens. But those are often prototypes, not production assets. 

Libraries are built for production from the start. Everything exports into a single .riv file, so there are no external dependencies. Assets like images, fonts, and audio follow the same export rules, with support for nested libraries. Explicit contracts through View Models let authors decide which properties can vary, while consumers use them safely without breaking rigs. 

This means teams can ship real, interactive assets straight to runtime.

Ideal use cases 

Libraries are powerful for teams managing shared patterns or creative kits.

Today, Libraries are best used for: UI packs (buttons, sliders, toggles), template files for shared assets, creative kits like broadcast bumpers or stings, and character rigs that animators can pull into multiple files. 

These workflows already exist in Rive. Libraries make them safer and scalable. 

Built for collaboration

Libraries are about keeping teams in sync. Designers know updates won’t break downstream files. Developers can trust exported assets are consistent and production-ready. 

Everyone works faster with fewer surprises, thus reducing the dreadful design/development handoff even more. 

What’s next for Libraries

This is just the first version. Libraries will expand into full design system tooling with styles, interpolation presets, and typography, plus support for multi-project and global libraries, and deeper connections with Data Binding and upcoming Scripting. 

Start building today

Libraries are available now on Voyager and Enterprise plans. Publish once, reuse everywhere, and lay the groundwork for your future design system. 

Want the full walkthrough? Check out our documentation for step-by-step instructions on creating, updating, and managing Libraries.