Template API: executeTemplate() fails on instances found via findLayers and findConnectedInstances

[HasanGocmen]

Description

When using the Figma Template API for nested component rendering (Code Connect), there is a significant inconsistency between discovery methods. While findInstance successfully allows for snippet generation of a child component, methods that support multiple results (findLayers, findConnectedInstances) fail to render the underlying templates.

Environment

• @figma/code-connect CLI: v1.4.4

• Parser: React

• Template Format: Template API (.figma.ts with id, imports, example)

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Test Case & Findings

Goal: Dynamically find and render all child components (Buttons, Selects, Inputs) within a parent component (Modal) using the Template API.

1. findInstance(layerName) — Working (Limited)

• Result: Success, but limited to a single instance.

• Behavior: Correctly finds the layer and executeTemplate().example returns the full, expected code snippet.

• Limitation: It only returns the first match. If a Modal has two Buttons, the second one is inaccessible.

2. findLayers(selectorFn) — Broken Rendering

• Result: Finds layers, but cannot render.

• Behavior: It correctly identifies the number of children (e.g., layers.length = 6). However, calling executeTemplate().example on these handles returns empty/null.

• Suspected Bug: The handles returned by findLayers seem to be "unresolved" compared to those from findInstance.

3. findConnectedInstances() — Fails to Locate

• Result: Failed (0 results found).

• Behavior: Despite documentation suggesting this for nested compositions, it returns an empty array even when traverseInstances: true is set and children have valid Code Connect files.

4. getInstanceSwap(propName) — Partial Failure

• Result: Returns reference only.

• Behavior: It finds the swap instance but fails to render the internal structure of the swapped component, returning only a placeholder name or layer name instead of the code snippet.

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Comparison Table

Method: findInstance | Discovery: ✅ | executeTemplate Works?: ✅ | Multi-instance Support?: ❌ (Single only)

Method: findLayers | Discovery: ✅ | executeTemplate Works?: ❌ (Empty result) | Multi-instance Support?: ✅

Method: findConnectedInstances | Discovery: ❌ | executeTemplate Works?: — | Multi-instance Support?: ✅

Method: getInstanceSwap | Discovery: ✅ | executeTemplate Works?:⚠️ (Name only) | Multi-instance Support?:❌

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Impact

This issue makes dynamic nested composition impossible. Currently, we cannot dynamically loop through and render a variable number of children (e.g., form elements in a Modal body or multiple buttons in a footer) because the methods that find multiple children do not support rendering.

The only "workaround" is manually calling findInstance for every known layer name, which is not scalable and fails when multiple instances share the same name.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Create a parent component using the Template API format.

2. Create multiple child components also using the Template API format (including id and metadata: { nestable: true }).

3. Attempt to use findLayers to map through children and call executeTemplate().example on each.

4. Observe that the returned value is empty.

Expected Behavior

Any component handle returned by findLayers or findConnectedInstances should behave identically to the handle returned by findInstance, allowing executeTemplate() to produce the correct code snippet.

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Proposed Fix/Action

• Investigate why handles from findLayers lose their template context.

• Ensure findConnectedInstances correctly identifies children using the Template API format.