figma-mcp-bridge

Figma MCP Bridge

[Pairing with Hopp]

• Demo
• Quick Start
• Available Tools
• Local development
• Structure
• How it works

[!NOTE]
Requires the Figma desktop app (macOS/Windows). The browser version of Figma does not support importing development plugins.

While other amazing Figma MCP servers like Figma-Context-MCP exist, one issues is the API limiting for free users.

The limit for free accounts is 6 requests per month, yes per month.

Figma MCP Bridge is a solution to this problem. It is a plugin + MCP server that streams live Figma document data to AI tools without hitting Figma API rate limits, so its Figma MCP for the rest of us ✊

It supports multiple Figma files connected simultaneously; open the plugin in each file and your AI agent can query any of them by fileKey. Single-file setups work exactly as before with no changes required.

It also includes a small, opt-in set of write tools for safe agent-driven edits — see Editing Notes below.

Demo

Watch a demo of building a UI in Cursor with Figma MCP Bridge

[Watch the video]

Quick Start

1. Add the MCP server to your favourite AI tool

Add the following to your AI tool's MCP configuration (e.g. Cursor, Windsurf, Claude Desktop):

{
  "figma-bridge": {
    "command": "npx",
    "args": ["-y", "@gethopp/figma-mcp-bridge"]
  }
}

That's it — no binaries to download or install.

2. Add the Figma plugin

Download the plugin from the latest release page, then in Figma go to Plugins > Development > Import plugin from manifest and select the manifest.json file from the plugin/ folder. The same plugin runs in Figma design files, Dev Mode (read-only), and FigJam boards.

3. Start using it 🎉

Open a Figma file, run the plugin, and start prompting your AI tool. The MCP server will automatically connect to the plugin.

To work across multiple files, just open the plugin in each Figma file. The bridge keeps all connections active and your AI agent can target any of them by fileKey.

If you want to know more about how it works, read the How it works section.

Available Tools

All tools accept an optional fileKey parameter when multiple Figma files are connected. Use list_files to discover connected files and their keys.

Prototype Notes

• Prototype tools are read-only and unavailable in FigJam. Set includePrototype: true on get_node to include the same interactions.
• Reactions are Figma's own trigger and action data, with destinations, variables, and modes resolved to names.
• Flow edges list their enclosing branch conditions from outermost to innermost (null marks an else branch).
• Observed AFTER_TIMEOUT values are in seconds (for example, 0.8 for 800 ms).

Editing Notes

• Edit tools work only when the plugin is opened in Figma's design editor (Dev Mode is read-only — they will return a clear error there).
• In FigJam, read tools plus the write tools (set_text_content, set_text_properties, set_node_properties, set_solid_fill, create_text, create_shape, create_shape_with_text, create_sticky, create_connector, create_section, duplicate_nodes, duplicate_with_offset, fit_to_content, distribute_horizontally, distribute_vertically, align_to_grid, place_below, place_right_of, delete_nodes, ...) are available. Auto-layout and motion/animation tools return a clear error in FigJam.
• set_text_content / set_text_properties edit a TEXT node's content directly, or the text sublayer of a FigJam STICKY / SHAPE_WITH_TEXT node. Alignment and auto-resize are TEXT-node-only — they return a clear error on stickies and shapes (x/y/width/height still apply to the containing node).
• set_node_properties accepts either nodeId or a nodeIds array to apply the same property changes to several nodes in one call.
• set_auto_layout targets frames; SECTION nodes have no auto-layout in Figma's API and return an explicit error.
• fit_to_content works on SECTION nodes only (Figma's API exposes no equivalent for other containers): it shifts children so their bounding box starts at padding and resizes the section to bbox + 2×padding.
• The current user must have permission to edit the target file.
• delete_nodes is intentionally gated behind confirm: true.
• run_script executes arbitrary JavaScript in the open file, so it is off unless the MCP server runs with FIGMA_BRIDGE_ENABLE_RUN_SCRIPT=1 (see Enabling run_script). The code is the body of an async function with figma in scope, and its return value must be JSON-serializable. Code that calls .remove() is rejected unless allowRemove: true is passed; this guards against accidental deletions and is not a security boundary. The server stops waiting after 3 minutes, but a script stuck in a loop keeps the plugin busy until it is closed. Works in Figma and FigJam.
• Text edits automatically load the fonts currently used by the target text node before applying the new content.
• New text nodes default to Inter Regular unless a font is provided.
• create_image reads local paths relative to the MCP server working directory unless you pass an absolute path.
• create_svg accepts raw <svg> markup or a local SVG path inside the MCP server working directory. SVG payloads are limited to 2 MiB.
• import_html_layers takes a JSON file produced by html-figma's browser htmlToFigma(). The path resolves relative to the MCP server working directory and must stay inside it, even when absolute. Everything lands inside one wrapper frame, and the response reports layerCount against expectedLayerCount so partial imports are visible.
• create_page returns the new page's ID — pass it as parentId to create_frame / create_text / create_shape / create_image to author content on that page without switching the editor.

Enabling run_script

run_script is off by default. To turn it on, add FIGMA_BRIDGE_ENABLE_RUN_SCRIPT to the server's env in your MCP configuration and restart your AI tool:

{
  "figma-bridge": {
    "command": "npx",
    "args": ["-y", "@gethopp/figma-mcp-bridge"],
    "env": {
      "FIGMA_BRIDGE_ENABLE_RUN_SCRIPT": "1"
    }
  }
}

If several AI tools run the bridge at the same time, set the variable in each of their configurations. Only one bridge process talks to Figma at a time, and it rejects run_script unless it was started with the variable.

What You Can Build

With the current write surface, an agent can build a basic slide deck in a new empty Figma file: create slide frames, style titles and body copy, lay out rectangles/ellipses/lines for cards and dividers, duplicate slide templates, reparent content into the right frame, and adjust common geometry/visual properties — including solid/gradient paints, shadows and blurs, stroke geometry, and auto-layout configuration.

The current version is intentionally limited — no components/instances, no variables/styles authoring, no per-segment text styling, and no vector boolean operations yet.

Local development

This repo uses Bun as its package manager and script runner throughout. Install it first if you don't have it.

1. Clone this repository locally

git clone git@github.com:gethopp/figma-mcp-bridge.git

2. Install root tooling

Install the root dependencies once. This runs Husky's prepare script, which installs the Git pre-commit hook that formats staged files with Prettier.

cd figma-mcp-bridge && bun install

3. Build the server

cd server && bun install && bun run build

4. Build the plugin

cd plugin && bun install && bun run build

5. Add the MCP server to your favourite AI tool

For local development, add the following to your AI tool's MCP config:

{
  "figma-bridge": {
    "command": "node",
    "args": ["/path/to/figma-mcp-bridge/server/dist/index.js"]
  }
}

Code style

The repo is formatted with Prettier (config in .prettierrc). A Husky pre-commit hook runs lint-staged, which formats only your staged files, so commits stay formatted automatically. You can also run it manually:

bun run format        # format the whole repo
bun run format:check  # verify formatting without writing (useful in CI)

Structure

Figma-MCP-Bridge/
├── plugin/   # Figma plugin (TypeScript/React)
└── server/   # MCP server (TypeScript/Node.js)
    └── src/
        ├── index.ts      # Entry point
        ├── bridge.ts     # WebSocket bridge to Figma plugin
        ├── leader.ts     # Leader: HTTP server + bridge
        ├── follower.ts   # Follower: proxies to leader via HTTP
        ├── node.ts       # Dynamic leader/follower role switching
        ├── election.ts   # Leader election & health monitoring
        ├── tools.ts      # MCP tool definitions
        └── types.ts      # Shared types

How it works

There are two main components to the Figma MCP Bridge:

1. The Figma Plugin

The Figma plugin is the user interface for the Figma MCP Bridge. You run this inside the Figma file you want to use the MCP server for, and its responsible for getting you all the information you need.

2. The MCP Server

The MCP server is the core of the Figma MCP Bridge. It maintains a registry of WebSocket connections keyed by fileKey, so multiple Figma files can be connected simultaneously. The server is responsible for:

• Handling WebSocket connections from one or more Figma plugin instances
• Routing tool calls to the correct file based on fileKey
• Forwarding responses back to the AI client
• Handling leader election (as we can have only one WS connection to an MCP server at a time)

The leader listens on 127.0.0.1 only. Its endpoints have no authentication, so other machines on the network must not reach them. If the plugin runs on another host (for example, the MCP server runs in a VM or a container), set FIGMA_BRIDGE_HOST=0.0.0.0 (or ::) in the MCP server environment. Use this only on a network that you trust.

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                           FIGMA (Desktop app)                               │
│  ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐  │
│  │                         Figma Plugin                                  │  │
│  │                    (TypeScript/React)                                 │  │
│  └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘  │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                                      │
                                      │ WebSocket
                                      │ (ws://localhost:1994/ws)
                                      ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                          PRIMARY MCP SERVER                                 │
│                         (Leader on :1994)                                   │
│  ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐    │
│  │  Bridge                                    Endpoints:               │    │
│  │  • Manages WebSocket conn                  • /ws    (plugin)        │    │
│  │  • Forwards requests to plugin             • /ping  (health)        │    │
│  │  • Routes responses back                   • /rpc   (followers)     │    │
│  └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘    │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                           ▲                              ▲
                           │ HTTP /rpc                    │ HTTP /rpc
                           │ POST requests                │ POST requests
                           │                              │
         ┌─────────────────┴───────────┐    ┌─────────────┴───────────────┐
         │    FOLLOWER MCP SERVER 1    │    │    FOLLOWER MCP SERVER 2    │
         │                             │    │                             │
         │  • Pings leader /ping       │    │  • Pings leader /ping       │
         │  • Forwards tool calls      │    │  • Forwards tool calls      │
         │    via HTTP /rpc            │    │    via HTTP /rpc            │
         │  • If leader dies →         │    │  • If leader dies →         │
         │    attempts takeover        │    │    attempts takeover        │
         └─────────────────────────────┘    └─────────────────────────────┘
                    ▲                                      ▲
                    │                                      │
                    │ MCP Protocol                         │ MCP Protocol
                    │ (stdio)                              │ (stdio)
                    ▼                                      ▼
         ┌─────────────────────────────┐    ┌─────────────────────────────┐
         │      AI Tool / IDE 1        │    │      AI Tool / IDE 2        │
         │      (e.g., Cursor)         │    │      (e.g., Cursor)         │
         └─────────────────────────────┘    └─────────────────────────────┘