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Unofficial Figma connector for excluded AI clients

Build an independent, MCP-compatible Figma connector built on Figma's public REST API and personal access tokens, so AI clients excluded from Figma's official whitelist (like Pi, or any future non-approved tool) can still pull frames, components, and design tokens for AI-assisted code generation. Package it as an open-source server plus a small hosted/paid tier for teams that want managed auth, caching, and multi-client support.

via Hacker News
Original post

What to build

An open-source MCP server that talks to Figma's public REST API using personal access tokens, exposing frame, component, and design-token retrieval as MCP tools so any AI coding client (Pi, custom agents, self-hosted tools) can pull Figma design data even without Figma's official whitelist approval.

Figma just locked its native MCP server behind a client whitelist that excludes tools like Pi, creating an opening for an independent REST-API-based connector that any AI coding client can use without needing Figma's approval.

Demand

Builders using non-whitelisted AI coding clients (Pi and others) lose design-to-code workflows overnight when Figma gates MCP access, and they need a drop-in replacement now rather than waiting on Figma to expand its whitelist.

  • Hacker NewsEngagement

    174 points, 98 comments on HN discussing Figma restricting MCP access to whitelisted clients, excluding Pi — high engagement at the source

  • Adjacent commercial Figma-to-code toolsReference

    Established paid products (e.g. Anima, Locofy, Builder.io Visual Copilot) already monetize automated design-to-code workflows from Figma, showing sustained willingness to pay for tooling in this exact problem space even without MCP.

Stack

  • Figma REST API
  • Figma Personal Access Tokens
  • Model Context Protocol SDK (TypeScript)
  • Node.js / Fastify
  • Redis (response caching)
  • Docker (self-host distribution)

Solo + AI difficulty

The core wrapper — fetching file/frame/component JSON via REST and reshaping it into MCP tool responses — is well-documented and buildable in days with AI assistance; the harder parts are handling Figma's nested node trees for large files, respecting REST rate limits, and keeping token/style extraction accurate across file versions. A working open-source MVP is realistic in 1-2 weeks solo; a polished hosted tier with multi-token management and caching adds another few weeks.

Entry threshold
Low barrier: Figma's REST API is public and documented, and MCP server templates already exist, so a working version is buildable solo in days; ongoing risk is Figma tightening API access or rate limits later.
Window
3-6 months

Where to find first users

  • Show HN launch
  • r/FigmaDesign and r/webdev
  • MCP community Discord servers and awesome-mcp-servers GitHub lists
  • Product Hunt launch

Competitors

  • Framelink Figma MCP

Counter-signals & risks

  • Figma could extend similar whitelist restrictions or rate-limiting to its public REST API itself, undermining a connector built solely on that API.

  • Figma may eventually widen or formalize its MCP whitelist process, reducing the market need for a third-party workaround.

  • Building and maintaining an unofficial connector carries ongoing risk of ToS violations or API changes that could break compatibility without notice.

Original title: Figma restricts MCP access to whitelisted clients, excluding Pi

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Unofficial Figma connector for excluded AI clients — Nichr