claude-talk-to-figma-mcp

Claude Talk to Figma MCP

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) plugin that allows Claude Desktop and other AI tools (GitHub Copilot, Cursor, etc.) to interact directly with Figma, enabling powerful AI-assisted design capabilities.

Important: This project is based on cursor-talk-to-figma-mcp by Sonny Lazuardi. It has been adapted to work with Claude Desktop and expanded with additional tools. Original credit belongs to Sonny Lazuardi ❤️

⚡ Installation

1. Prerequisites

• Claude Desktop or Cursor + Figma Desktop + Bun installed

2. Setup

git clone https://github.com/arinspunk/claude-talk-to-figma-mcp.git
cd claude-talk-to-figma-mcp
bun install

• macOS/Linux: bun run build
• Windows: bun run build:win

3. AI client configuration

Option 1: DXT Package (Claude Desktop only)

1. Download: Get the latest claude-talk-to-figma-mcp.dxt from releases
2. Install: Double-click the .dxt file → Claude Desktop installs automatically

Option 2: JSON (Claude Desktop or Cursor)

• Claude Desktop: Run bun run configure-claude (restart Claude Desktop)
• Cursor:
  1. Go to Cursor Settings → Tools & Integrations
  2. Click "New MCP Server" to open mcp.json config (screenshot)
  3. Add this configuration:

  {
    "mcpServers": {
      "ClaudeTalkToFigma": {
        "command": "bunx",
        "args": ["claude-talk-to-figma-mcp@latest"]
      }
    }
  }
  

  4. Save the file (screenshot)

4. Setup Figma Plugin (Required for all methods)

Import src/claude_mcp_plugin/manifest.json in Figma → Menu → Plugins → Development

4. First Connection

1. Start server: bun socket (verify at http://localhost:3055/status)
2. Connect plugin: Open Claude MCP Plugin in Figma → copy channel ID
3. Test: Ask your AI client: "Talk to Figma, channel {channel-ID}"

✅ Success: Your AI should confirm connection and you can start designing!

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🚀 Core Concepts

How It Works

Claude Desktop ↔ MCP Server ↔ WebSocket Server ↔ Figma Plugin

Simple: Claude sends design commands → Figma executes them in real-time
Bidirectional: Get info from Figma, create/modify elements, manage components

Key Capabilities

• Document Interaction: Analyze designs, get selections, export assets
• Element Creation: Shapes, text, frames with full styling control
• Smart Modifications: Colors, effects, auto-layout, responsive design
• Text Mastery: Advanced typography, font loading, text scanning
• Component Integration: Local and team library components

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🛠️ Usage Patterns

Getting Started with AI Design

1. Make Claude a UX expert: Use this prompt 🎨
2. Connect to your project: "Talk to Figma, channel {channel-ID}"
3. Start designing: "Create a mobile app login screen with modern styling"

Effective Prompting Examples

✅ Good: "Create a dashboard with a sidebar navigation, header with user profile, and main content area with card-based metrics"

✅ Good: "Redesign this button component with hover states and better contrast ratios"

❌ Avoid: "Make it look nice" (too vague)

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📚 Command Reference

📄 Document Tools

Command	Purpose	Example Use
get_document_info	Document analysis	Get project overview
get_selection	Current selection	What's selected now
get_node_info	Element details	Inspect specific component
get_nodes_info	Multiple elements info	Batch element inspection
scan_text_nodes	Find all text	Text audit and updates
get_styles	Document styles	Color/text style audit
join_channel	Connect to Figma	Establish communication
export_node_as_image	Asset export	Generate design assets

🔧 Creation Tools

Command	Purpose	Example Use
create_rectangle	Basic shapes	Buttons, backgrounds
create_frame	Layout containers	Page sections, cards
create_text	Text elements	Headlines, labels
create_ellipse	Circles/ovals	Profile pics, icons
create_polygon	Multi-sided shapes	Custom geometric elements
create_star	Star shapes	Decorative elements
clone_node	Duplicate elements	Copy existing designs
group_nodes	Organize elements	Component grouping
ungroup_nodes	Separate groups	Break apart components
insert_child	Nest elements	Hierarchical structure
flatten_node	Vector operations	Boolean operations

✏️ Modification Tools

Command	Purpose	Example Use
set_fill_color	Element colors	Brand color application
set_stroke_color	Border colors	Outline styling
move_node	Positioning	Layout adjustments
resize_node	Size changes	Responsive scaling
delete_node	Remove elements	Clean up designs
set_corner_radius	Rounded corners	Modern UI styling
set_auto_layout	Flexbox-like layout	Component spacing
set_effects	Shadows/blurs	Visual polish
set_effect_style_id	Apply effect styles	Consistent shadow styles

📝 Text Tools

Command	Purpose	Example Use
set_text_content	Text updates	Copy changes
set_multiple_text_contents	Batch text updates	Multi-element editing
set_font_name	Typography	Brand font application
set_font_size	Text sizing	Hierarchy creation
set_font_weight	Text weight	Bold/light variations
set_letter_spacing	Character spacing	Typography fine-tuning
set_line_height	Vertical spacing	Text readability
set_paragraph_spacing	Paragraph gaps	Content structure
set_text_case	Case transformation	UPPER/lower/Title case
set_text_decoration	Text styling	Underline/strikethrough
get_styled_text_segments	Text analysis	Rich text inspection
load_font_async	Font loading	Custom font access

🎨 Component Tools

Command	Purpose	Example Use
get_local_components	Project components	Design system audit
get_remote_components	Team libraries	Shared component access
create_component_instance	Use components	Consistent UI elements

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Building DXT Package (Developers)

To create your own DXT package:

npm run build:dxt    # Builds TypeScript and packages DXT

This creates claude-talk-to-figma-mcp.dxt ready for distribution.

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🧪 Testing & Quality Assurance

Automated Testing

bun run test            # Run all tests
bun run test:watch      # Watch mode
bun run test:coverage   # Coverage report

Integration Testing

bun run test:integration  # Guided end-to-end testing

Manual Verification Checklist

• WebSocket server starts on port 3055
• Figma plugin connects and generates channel ID
• AI tool recognizes "ClaudeTalkToFigma" MCP (Claude Desktop, Cursor, etc.)
• Basic commands execute (create rectangle, change color)
• Error handling works (invalid commands, timeouts)
• Channel communication works between AI tool and Figma

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🐛 Troubleshooting & Support

Connection Issues

• "Can't connect to WebSocket": Ensure bun socket is running
• "Plugin not found": Verify plugin import in Figma Development settings
• "MCP not available":
  • Claude Desktop: Run bun run configure-claude and restart Claude
  • Cursor IDE: Check MCP configuration in mcp.json file
  • Other AI tools: Verify MCP integration settings

Execution Problems

• "Command failed": Check Figma development console for errors
• "Font not found": Use load_font_async to verify font availability
• "Permission denied": Ensure you have edit access to the Figma document
• "Timeout errors": Complex operations may need retry

Performance Issues

• Slow responses: Large documents may require more processing time
• Memory usage: Close unused Figma tabs, restart if necessary
• WebSocket disconnects: Server auto-reconnects, restart if persistent

Common Solutions

1. Restart sequence: Stop server → Close AI tool → Restart both
2. Clean reinstall: Delete node_modules → bun install → bun run build
3. Check logs: Server terminal shows detailed error messages
4. Update fonts: Some team fonts require manual loading in Figma
5. Configuration check: Verify MCP setup in your AI tool's settings
6. Port conflicts: Ensure port 3055 is not used by other applications

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🏗️ Advanced Topics

Architecture Deep Dive

+----------------+     +-------+     +---------------+     +---------------+
|                |     |       |     |               |     |               |
| Claude Desktop |<--->|  MCP  |<--->| WebSocket Srv |<--->| Figma Plugin  |
|   (AI Agent)   |     |       |     |  (Port 3055)  |     |  (UI Plugin)  |
|                |     |       |     |               |     |               |
+----------------+     +-------+     +---------------+     +---------------+

Design Principles:

• MCP Server: Business logic, validation, default values
• WebSocket Server: Message routing and protocol translation
• Figma Plugin: Pure command executor in Figma context

Benefits:

• Clear separation of concerns
• Easy testing and maintenance
• Scalable architecture for additional tools

Project Structure

src/
  talk_to_figma_mcp/     # MCP Server implementation
    server.ts            # Main entry point
    tools/               # Tool categories by function
      document-tools.ts  # Document interaction
      creation-tools.ts  # Shape and element creation
      modification-tools.ts # Property modification
      text-tools.ts      # Text manipulation
    utils/               # Shared utilities
    types/               # TypeScript definitions
  claude_mcp_plugin/     # Figma plugin
    code.js              # Plugin implementation
    manifest.json        # Plugin configuration

Contributing Guidelines

1. Fork and Branch: git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature
2. Code Standards: Follow existing TypeScript patterns
3. Testing: Add tests for new functionality
4. Documentation: Update relevant sections
5. Pull Request: Clear description of changes

Recent Contributors

• Taylor Smits - DXT Package Support implementation, automated CI/CD workflows, testing improvements, and bug fixes (PR #17, PR #16, PR #13, PR #14)
• easyhak - Fixed build script not working on Windows OS (PR #10)

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📋 Version History

Current: 0.6.1

• 🔧 Tool Fix: The set_stroke_color tool now correctly accepts a strokeWeight of 0 for creating invisible strokes.

Previous: 0.6.0

• 🚀 DXT Package Support: one-click installation via Claude Desktop's extension manager (Thanks to Taylor Smits - PR #17)
• 📦 Automated Distribution: GitHub Actions workflow for automatic DXT package generation and release uploads
• ⚡ Enhanced UX: Installation time reduced from 15-30 minutes to 2-5 minutes for end users
• 🔧 Developer Tools: New build scripts for DXT packaging (npm run build:dxt, npm run pack)

See CHANGELOG.md for complete version history.

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📄 License & Credits

License: MIT License - see LICENSE file

Authors:

• Xúlio Zé - Claude adaptation - GitHub
• Sonny Lazuardi - Original implementation - GitHub

Acknowledgments:

• Anthropic team for Claude and Model Context Protocol
• Figma community for excellent plugin API
• Bun team for fast JavaScript runtime