How Figma Uses Real-Time Sync Without Breaking Git
The CTO Podcast with Fexingo · 2026-05-28 · 13 min
Episode notes
Episode 17 of The CTO Podcast with Fexingo: Technical Leadership, Architecture, and Engineering Org. Lucas and Luna dive into how Figma's engineering team builds a real-time collaborative design tool that coexists with a Git-based versioning backend. They explore the architectural decisions behind the CRDT-based sync engine, the trade-offs of using a custom WebSocket layer over HTTP, and how Figma avoided the pitfalls of operational transform (OT) that plagued Google Docs. Specific focus on the 2022 incident where a conflict resolution bug caused a three-hour outage for 10% of users, and the subsequent redesign of the merge logic. The hosts also discuss how Figma's engineering culture prioritizes 'design-driven development' and why they chose to write their own Rust-based wasm module for performance-critical rendering. Tune in for a masterclass in reconciling real-time with deterministic history.
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