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A Beaver Builder AI design system defines shared styling for pages assigned to it. A design kit is a portable folder that can package a design system with pages and optional global elements, so it can be downloaded, edited locally, and imported. In short: the system governs styling; the kit carries design work between environments.

What is a Beaver Builder AI design system?

A design system is the shared styling foundation for the pages that use it. Beaver Builder AI describes it as a named collection that can include design tokens, base CSS, optional base JavaScript, font selections, and creative guidance. Tokens capture reusable values such as colors, typography, and spacing. Beaver Builder AI’s design systems documentation explains the feature.

Each page is assigned exactly one design system. A site can have multiple systems, however, so different pages on the same site can use different design foundations.

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What is a design kit?

A design kit is a local folder used to package work for transfer. It can contain a design system, pages built with that system, and optional global elements such as a header, footer, or both. The folder can be zipped, downloaded, and imported. See Beaver Builder AI’s design kits documentation.

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The kit format documentation names files and folders such as kit.json, design-system/styles.css, and pages/. Optional global files include globals/header.html and globals/footer.html; a kit can also include assets. The kit documentation describes the format and import workflow.

Design system vs. design kit

Comparison Design system Design kit
Primary purpose Sets shared styling for pages assigned to it Packages work for transfer and import
What it contains or defines Tokens, base CSS, optional base JavaScript, font selections, and creative guidance A design system, pages, and optional global elements; may also include assets
Scope Applies to pages assigned that system Can carry the system and multiple pages together
Portability Provides the styling foundation Can be zipped, downloaded, edited locally, and imported

These are related but not interchangeable concepts: a kit may include a design system, while a design system is the styling foundation rather than the transfer package.

How they work together

You can start by generating a page with Beaver Builder AI, which can create and assign a design system, or by choosing a bundled starter kit, which adds its design system to the site and assigns it to a new page. Another documented workflow is to download a kit, work on its files locally with an AI coding agent, and then import it.

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  1. Choose or create a design system to establish the shared styling.
  2. Build pages assigned to that system, or begin with a bundled starter kit.
  3. When you need to transfer the work, download the design kit and edit its files locally if appropriate.
  4. Import the kit into Beaver Builder AI. The import flow reviews the kit before import and offers page selection and choices for eligible global elements.

How design systems differ from Global Styles

Global Styles have broader scope: they affect every Beaver Builder layout on a site. A design system applies only to pages assigned to it, and one site can have multiple systems. The features can be active at the same time, but Beaver Builder’s documentation advises setting typography in one place or the other to avoid overlapping styling rules. See the Global Styles documentation and the design systems documentation.

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How Global Templates fit in

Global Templates are reusable, synchronized content: edits to the original are reflected in linked instances. They address reuse of content, not shared styling. A design system supplies styling to assigned pages, while a design kit packages files for transfer. Beaver Builder documents Global Templates here.

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Which one should you use?

  • Use a design system when you want consistent styling across the pages assigned to it.
  • Use a design kit when you want to package a system and its pages, optionally with a header or footer, for downloading, local editing, or importing.
  • Use Global Styles when the styling change should apply across every Beaver Builder layout on the site.
  • Use Global Templates when you need synchronized reusable content rather than a styling foundation.

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