Introducing Propel, Plane's new design system

Menus, date fields, and dialogs now look and work the same on every screen.

Bhavesh Raja and Vihar Kurama

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19 Oct, 2026

Cover image illustration for the blog post titled "Introducing Propel, Plane's new design system"

Plane now runs on Propel, our new design system. Every screen in the web app is built from the same set of components, so menus, date fields, and dialogs look and behave the same across the app. The layout of each screen hasn't changed, and everything we build from here uses Propel.

Work item rows in the List layout, built with Propel in Plane. — *Work item rows in the List layout, built with Propel*

What's new with Propel

Date labels in the List layout

Empty date fields in the List layout now show Start date and Due date instead of an icon, the same labels the create dialog uses.

*Before and after of work item rows in the List layout. After, empty date fields read Start date and Due date*

Archive and Delete grouped separately

In a work item's right-click menu, Archive and Delete are now below a divider, separate from Edit, Make a copy, Open in new tab, and Copy link. Delete is shown in red.

A work item's right-click menu in the List layout. After, a divider sets Archive and Delete apart, and Delete is red. — *Before and after of a work item's right-click menu. After, a divider sets Archive and Delete apart, and Delete is red*

Clear dates from the calendar

To remove a date, open its calendar and select Clear in the footer.

*The calendar of a start date in the List layout, with Clear in the footer*

Consistent date fields across views

The work item list, peek view, create dialog, and command menu use the same Propel components. A date field in a list row looks the same as one in the Create new work item dialog.

*The Create new work item dialog has its date fields matching the list behind it.*

Instance admin app

The instance admin app for self-hosted Plane now uses the same buttons, fields, and switches as the main app, in both light and dark themes.

Light, dark, and high contrast

Choose Light, Dark, Light high contrast, or Dark high contrast, and every Propel component supports all four. You can also pick System Preference to follow your device, or set a Custom theme. Change it in Preferences under account settings and it applies right away, without reloading the page.

*The same right-click menu in the dark theme, with the divider and red Delete carried over*

One library across Plane

Before Propel, the web app used three component libraries, and small differences built up between screens. Now the web app, the instance admin app, published views, and the desktop app all use Propel, and the old libraries are gone from the codebase.

Good to know

Escape doesn't close the Create new work item dialog yet. Use Discard instead.
The header row of the Members table scrolls out of view with the page.