⚠️ Figma 126+ blocks remote debugging. figma-use still works viafigma-use daemon start --pipe. Or skip Figma entirely with OpenPencil — an open-source design editor that reads and writes .fig files, with built-in AI and P2P collaboration.
CLI for Figma. Control it from the terminal — with commands or JSX.
# Create and style
figma-use create frame --width 400 --height 300 --fill "#FFF" --layout VERTICAL --gap 16
figma-use create icon mdi:home --size 32 --color "#3B82F6"
figma-use set layout 1:23 --mode GRID --cols "1fr 1fr 1fr" --gap 16
# Or render JSX
echo '<Frame style={{display: "grid", cols: "1fr 1fr", gap: 16}}>
<Frame style={{bg: "#3B82F6", h: 100}} />
<Frame style={{bg: "#10B981", h: 100}} />
</Frame>' | figma-use render --stdin --x 100 --y 100Figma's official MCP plugin can read files but can't modify them. This one can.
LLMs know CLI. LLMs know React. This combines both.
CLI commands are compact — easy to read, easy to generate, easy to chain. When a task involves dozens of operations, every saved token matters.
JSX is how LLMs already think about UI. They've seen millions of React components. Describing a Figma layout as <Frame><Text> is natural for them — no special training, no verbose schemas.
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npm install -g figma-useOr run directly without installing:
npx figma-use statusStart Figma with remote debugging enabled:
# macOS
open -a Figma --args --remote-debugging-port=9222
# Windows
"%LOCALAPPDATA%\Figma\Figma.exe" --remote-debugging-port=9222
# Linux
figma --remote-debugging-port=9222Check connection:
figma-use statusThat's it. No plugins to install.
Imperative — one command at a time:
figma-use create frame --width 400 --height 300 --fill "#FFF" --radius 12 --layout VERTICAL --gap 16Or declaratively — describe the structure in JSX and render it:
echo '<Frame style={{p: 24, gap: 16, flex: "col", bg: "#FFF", rounded: 12}}>
<Text style={{size: 24, weight: "bold", color: "#000"}}>Card Title</Text>
<Text style={{size: 14, color: "#666"}}>Description</Text>
</Frame>' | figma-use render --stdin --x 100 --y 200The stdin mode accepts pure JSX only — no variables, no logic. For components, variants, and conditions, use .figma.tsx files.
Elements: Frame, Rectangle, Ellipse, Text, Line, Star, Polygon, Vector, Group, Icon, Image
Insert any icon from Iconify by name. No downloading, no importing, no cleanup.
figma-use create icon mdi:home
figma-use create icon lucide:star --size 48 --color "#F59E0B"In JSX:
<Frame style={{ flex: 'row', gap: 8 }}>
<Icon icon="mdi:home" size={24} color="#3B82F6" />
<Icon icon="lucide:star" size={32} color="#F59E0B" />
</Frame>Browse 150k+ icons: icon-sets.iconify.design
Load images from URL:
<Image src="https://example.com/photo.jpg" w={200} h={150} />Convert any Figma node back to JSX:
figma-use export jsx 123:456 --prettyOutput:
import { Frame, Icon, Text } from 'figma-use/render'
export default function SaveButton() {
return (
<Frame name="SaveButton" w={120} h={44} bg="#1FAFBB" rounded={8} flex="row" gap={8}>
<Icon name="lucide:save" size={18} color="#FFFFFF" />
<Text size={16} color="#FFFFFF">
Save
</Text>
</Frame>
)
}Match vector shapes to Iconify icons automatically:
npm install whaticon # Optional dependency
figma-use export jsx 123:456 --match-icons --prefer-icons lucideCompare two nodes as JSX diff:
figma-use diff jsx 123:456 789:012Export components as Storybook stories:
figma-use export storybook --out ./stories
figma-use export storybook --out ./stories --match-icons --prefer-icons lucideGenerates .stories.tsx with typed props from component properties.
In a .figma.tsx file you can define components. First call creates the master, the rest create instances:
import { defineComponent, Frame, Text } from 'figma-use/render'
const Card = defineComponent(
'Card',
<Frame style={{ p: 24, bg: '#FFF', rounded: 12 }}>
<Text style={{ size: 18, color: '#000' }}>Card</Text>
</Frame>
)
export default () => (
<Frame style={{ gap: 16, flex: 'row' }}>
<Card />
<Card />
<Card />
</Frame>
)ComponentSet with all combinations:
import { defineComponentSet, Frame, Text } from 'figma-use/render'
const Button = defineComponentSet(
'Button',
{
variant: ['Primary', 'Secondary'] as const,
size: ['Small', 'Large'] as const
},
({ variant, size }) => (
<Frame
style={{
p: size === 'Large' ? 16 : 8,
bg: variant === 'Primary' ? '#3B82F6' : '#E5E7EB',
rounded: 8
}}
>
<Text style={{ color: variant === 'Primary' ? '#FFF' : '#111' }}>
{variant} {size}
</Text>
</Frame>
)
)
export default () => (
<Frame style={{ gap: 16, flex: 'col' }}>
<Button variant="Primary" size="Large" />
<Button variant="Secondary" size="Small" />
</Frame>
)This creates a real ComponentSet in Figma with all 4 variants, not just 4 separate buttons.
CSS Grid for 2D layouts — calendars, dashboards, galleries:
<Frame
style={{
display: 'grid',
cols: '1fr 1fr 1fr', // 3 equal columns
rows: 'auto auto', // 2 rows
gap: 16
}}
>
<Frame style={{ bg: '#FF6B6B' }} />
<Frame style={{ bg: '#4ECDC4' }} />
<Frame style={{ bg: '#45B7D1' }} />
<Frame style={{ bg: '#96CEB4' }} />
<Frame style={{ bg: '#FFEAA7' }} />
<Frame style={{ bg: '#DDA0DD' }} />
</Frame>Supports px, fr, and auto/hug. Separate gaps with colGap and rowGap.
In CLI:
figma-use set layout <id> --mode GRID --cols "100px 1fr 100px" --rows "auto" --gap 16Bind colors to Figma variables by name. The hex value is a fallback:
import { defineVars, Frame, Text } from 'figma-use/render'
const colors = defineVars({
bg: { name: 'Colors/Gray/50', value: '#F8FAFC' },
text: { name: 'Colors/Gray/900', value: '#0F172A' }
})
export default () => (
<Frame style={{ bg: colors.bg }}>
<Text style={{ color: colors.text }}>Bound to variables</Text>
</Frame>
)In CLI, use var:Colors/Primary or $Colors/Primary in any color option.
Compare two frames and get a patch:
figma-use diff create --from 123:456 --to 789:012--- /Card/Header #123:457
+++ /Card/Header #789:013
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
type: FRAME
size: 200 50
pos: 0 0
-fill: #FFFFFF
+fill: #F0F0F0
-opacity: 0.8
+opacity: 1Apply the patch to the original frame. On apply, current state is validated against expected — if they don't match, it fails.
Visual diff highlights changed pixels in red:
figma-use diff visual --from 49:275096 --to 49:280802 --output diff.png| Before | After | Diff |
|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
Page tree in readable form:
$ figma-use node tree
[0] frame "Card" (1:23)
400×300 at (0, 0) | fill: #FFFFFF | layout: col gap=16
[0] text "Title" (1:24)
"Hello World" | 24px Inter Bold
Export any node or screenshot with one command.
Tidy up canvas layout — especially useful after agents create multiple frames at the same position:
figma-use arrange # Grid-arrange all top-level nodes
figma-use arrange --mode row --gap 60 # Horizontal row
figma-use arrange --mode squarify --gap 60 # Smart packing for mixed sizesUses d3-hierarchy treemap for squarify and binary modes — size-aware rectangle packing.
Import SVG or work with paths directly — read, modify, translate, scale, flip:
figma-use path get <id>
figma-use path set <id> "M 0 0 L 100 100 Z"
figma-use path scale <id> --factor 1.5
figma-use path flip <id> --axis xFind nodes using XPath selectors:
figma-use query "//FRAME" # All frames
figma-use query "//FRAME[@width < 300]" # Narrower than 300px
figma-use query "//COMPONENT[starts-with(@name, 'Button')]" # Name starts with
figma-use query "//FRAME[contains(@name, 'Card')]" # Name contains
figma-use query "//SECTION/FRAME" # Direct children
figma-use query "//SECTION//TEXT" # All descendants
figma-use query "//*[@cornerRadius > 0]" # Any node with radiusFull XPath 3.1 support — predicates, functions, arithmetic, axes.
Discovery tools for understanding design systems:
# Find repeated patterns (potential components)
figma-use analyze clusters
# Color palette — usage frequency, variables vs hardcoded
figma-use analyze colors
figma-use analyze colors --show-similar # Find colors to merge
# Typography — all font combinations
figma-use analyze typography
figma-use analyze typography --group-by size
# Spacing — gap/padding values, grid compliance
figma-use analyze spacing --grid 8
# Accessibility snapshot — extract interactive elements tree
figma-use analyze snapshot # Full page
figma-use analyze snapshot <id> -i # Interactive elements onlyExample output:
[0] 48× frame "Header" pattern (100% match)
1280×56 | Frame > [Frame×2, Text]
examples: 53171:21628, 53171:21704
#303030 ████████████████████ 1840× (var)
#E5E5E5 ████████████████████ 1726× (var)
#000000 ████████ 238×
Check designs for consistency, accessibility, and best practices:
figma-use lint # Recommended rules
figma-use lint --page "Components" # Lint specific page
figma-use lint --preset strict # Stricter for production
figma-use lint --preset accessibility # A11y checks only
figma-use lint -v # With fix suggestionsOutput:
✖ Header/Title (1:234)
✖ Contrast ratio 2.1:1 is below AA threshold (4.5:1) color-contrast
⚠ Touch target 32x32 is below minimum 44x44 touch-target-size
⚠ Card/Body (1:567)
⚠ Hardcoded fill color #1A1A1A no-hardcoded-colors
ℹ Frame with 3 children doesn't use Auto Layout prefer-auto-layout
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
✖ 1 error ⚠ 3 warnings ℹ 1 info
17 rules across 6 categories:
| Category | Rules |
|---|---|
| Design Tokens | no-hardcoded-colors, consistent-spacing, consistent-radius, effect-style-required |
| Layout | prefer-auto-layout, pixel-perfect |
| Typography | text-style-required, min-text-size, no-mixed-styles |
| Accessibility | color-contrast, touch-target-size |
| Structure | no-default-names, no-hidden-layers, no-deeply-nested, no-empty-frames, no-groups |
| Components | no-detached-instances |
JSON output for CI/CD:
figma-use lint --json > report.jsonAI agents can wait for Figma comments and respond:
figma-use comment watch --json # Blocks until new comment
figma-use comment resolve <id> # Mark as doneReturns comment text, author, and target_node — the exact element under the comment pin. Agent processes the request, resolves the comment, then runs watch again for the next one.
See REFERENCE.md for the complete list of 100+ commands.
For AI agents that support Model Context Protocol:
figma-use mcp serveExposes 90+ tools. See MCP.md for setup.
For Storybook export and linting, create a config file:
figma-use initCreates .figma-use.json:
{
"storybook": {
"page": "Components",
"out": "./stories",
"matchIcons": true,
"preferIcons": ["lucide", "tabler"]
},
"lint": {
"preset": "recommended"
},
"format": {
"pretty": true,
"semi": false,
"singleQuote": true
}
}CLI arguments override config values.
Includes SKILL.md — a reference for Claude Code, Cursor, and other agents.
┌─────────────┐ ┌─────────────┐
│ Terminal │────CDP────▶│ Figma │
│ figma-use │ port 9222 │ │
└─────────────┘ └─────────────┘
figma-use communicates directly with Figma via Chrome DevTools Protocol (CDP). Just start Figma with --remote-debugging-port=9222 and you're ready.
Commands are executed via Runtime.evaluate in Figma's JavaScript context, with full access to the Plugin API.
Optional daemon keeps the CDP connection warm for faster sequential commands:
figma-use daemon start # Background daemon (~25% faster commands)
figma-use daemon stop # Stop daemon
figma-use daemon status # Check if runningFor Figma 126+ without admin access to patch, the daemon can launch Figma with --remote-debugging-pipe instead:
figma-use daemon start --pipe # Launches Figma, connects via stdio pipesSet FIGMA_BIN for custom binary locations. The daemon holds the pipe connection — all commands route through it automatically.
MIT