---
title: "Figma MCP vs. Figma Console MCP"
sidebarTitle: "Figma MCP vs. Console MCP"
description: "An objective comparison of Figma's official MCP server and Figma Console MCP — shared capabilities, real differences, and when to use which."
---

Both tools can now read and write to Figma. Both support skills and guided workflows. So what's actually different?

The short answer: **approach** and **audience**. The Figma MCP is a task-driven agent tool optimized for code-to-canvas workflows. Figma Console MCP is a design system ecosystem tool built to keep design and development in sync. They overlap significantly, and they work well together.

---

## The Short Version

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card title="Figma MCP (Official)" icon="figma">
    **Made by Figma, Inc.** — A design agent platform. Reads designs, generates code, captures web pages, and now writes to the canvas via `use_figma`. Skills guide agent behavior for consistent results.

    16 tools. REST API + `use_figma`. Closed source.
  </Card>
  <Card title="Figma Console MCP" icon="terminal">
    **Made by Southleft** — A design system management platform. 94 dedicated tools for reading, writing, managing tokens, analyzing parity, and bridging the gap between designers and developers.

    103 tools. Plugin API + REST API. Open source (MIT).
  </Card>
</Columns>

---

## Shared Ground

With Figma's March 2026 `use_figma` update, both tools now share a significant set of capabilities:

| Capability | Figma MCP | Console MCP |
|---|:---:|:---:|
| Read file structure, components, styles | Yes | Yes |
| Export screenshots | Yes | Yes |
| Read variables / design tokens | Yes | Yes |
| Search design system assets across libraries | Yes | Yes |
| Create frames, shapes, text nodes | Yes (via `use_figma`) | Yes (dedicated tools) |
| Create components and component sets | Yes (via `use_figma`) | Yes (dedicated tools) |
| Modify auto-layout, fills, strokes | Yes (via `use_figma`) | Yes (dedicated tools) |
| Create and manage variables | Yes (via `use_figma`) | Yes (11 dedicated tools) |
| Resize, move, clone, delete nodes | Yes (via `use_figma`) | Yes (dedicated tools) |
| Execute arbitrary Plugin API JavaScript | No | Yes (`figma_execute`) |
| Structured create/edit/delete operations | Yes (`use_figma`) | Yes (dedicated tools) |
| Skills (markdown workflow guides) | Yes | Yes |

Both support skills — markdown instruction files that teach agents patterns, gotchas, and workflows before executing tool calls. Skills are a Claude Code feature, not specific to either MCP server. The key difference is in how write access is surfaced: Figma MCP uses a single server-side `use_figma` tool that handles structured operations through Figma's cloud. Figma Console MCP uses a WebSocket Desktop Bridge to execute Plugin API calls directly, exposing 94 purpose-built tools with schema validation.

---

## Where They Diverge

### Tooling Philosophy

This is the most fundamental difference and it shapes everything else.

**Figma MCP** provides one powerful generic tool (`use_figma`) that handles structured create, edit, delete, and inspect operations through Figma's cloud infrastructure. Skills (markdown instruction files) guide the agent's behavior, teaching it patterns like font loading, color ranges (0-1 not 0-255), and auto-layout ordering.

**Figma Console MCP** provides 94 purpose-built tools, each with its own schema, validation, error messages, and AI guidance. Instead of writing `figma.createFrame()` code, you call `figma_create_child` with structured parameters. Instead of scripting a variable loop, you call `figma_batch_create_variables` with a JSON array of 100 tokens.

| Aspect | Figma MCP | Console MCP |
|---|---|---|
| **Write approach** | 1 generic tool + skills | 94 specialized tools |
| **Variable creation** | One-at-a-time via `use_figma` | `figma_batch_create_variables` (100/call) |
| **Error handling** | Agent must interpret raw JS errors | Tool-specific error messages with suggestions |
| **Validation** | Skills teach patterns, agent must follow | Schema-validated inputs, type-checked params |
| **Batch operations** | Agent scripts loops manually | 10-50x faster atomic batch tools |

**Why this matters:** For a single component, both approaches work fine. For a design system with 500 tokens across 4 modes, dedicated tools with batch operations are dramatically faster and more reliable than repeated code execution.

### Design System Management

Figma Console MCP was built for design system teams. These tools have no equivalent in Figma MCP:

| Capability | Figma MCP | Console MCP |
|---|:---:|:---:|
| Batch create variables (up to 100/call) | No | Yes |
| Batch update variables (up to 100/call) | No | Yes |
| Atomic token system setup (collection + modes + variables) | No | Yes |
| Design-code parity analysis (8 dimensions) | No | Yes |
| AI-complete component documentation | No | Yes |
| Design system health scoring | No | Yes |
| Token enrichment and dependency mapping | No | Yes |
| Hardcoded value detection | No | Yes |
| Per-variant color token analysis | No | Yes |
| Component reconstruction specifications | No | Yes |
| Design linting | No | Yes |
| Design annotations (read, write, clear) | No | Yes (3 dedicated tools) |
| Annotation-enriched component docs | No | Yes |
| Bidirectional Figma↔code token sync (DTCG canonical) | No | Yes (`figma_export_tokens` / `figma_import_tokens`) |
| Replaces Style Dictionary + Tokens Studio export pipeline | No | Yes (DTCG + CSS + Tailwind/SCSS/TS planned) |
| Round-trip safe — preserves Figma variable IDs in `$extensions` | No | Yes |
| Diff-aware merge (only writes changed values) | No | Yes |

### Code-to-Design Bridge (Figma MCP Strengths)

These are Figma MCP's genuine differentiators:

| Capability | Figma MCP | Console MCP |
|---|:---:|:---:|
| Code Connect (map components to code) | Yes (first-party) | No |
| AI-suggested Code Connect mappings | Yes | No |
| Framework-specific code output (React, Vue, etc.) | Yes (built-in) | Via AI interpretation |
| Design system rules generation | Yes | No |
| Capture live web pages into Figma layers | Yes (`generate_figma_design`) | No |
| Create FigJam diagrams from Mermaid syntax | Yes (`generate_diagram`) | No |
| Create new blank Figma files | Yes (`create_new_file`) | No |
| Figma community skills page | Yes | No |

<Note>
Code Connect is a significant advantage for teams that want to map Figma components directly to their codebase components. This creates a bridge where the AI knows which code component corresponds to each design component — making code generation more accurate.
</Note>

### Real-Time Awareness

Figma Console MCP's Desktop Bridge provides live awareness that has no equivalent in Figma MCP:

| Capability | Figma MCP | Console MCP |
|---|:---:|:---:|
| Track what the user has selected | No | Yes, in real time |
| Monitor document changes as they happen | No | Yes |
| Track page navigation events | No | Yes |
| Stream console logs from Desktop Bridge | No | Yes |
| Live plugin reload for development | No | Yes |
| Multi-file connection tracking | No | Yes |
| Connection health diagnostics | No | Yes |

### FigJam, Slides, Comments, and Annotations

| Capability | Figma MCP | Console MCP |
|---|:---:|:---:|
| Read FigJam boards | Yes | Yes |
| Create FigJam diagrams (Mermaid) | Yes | No |
| Structured FigJam tools (stickies, connectors, tables, etc.) | No | Yes (9 dedicated tools) |
| Figma Slides (create, edit, manage) | No | Yes (15 dedicated tools) |
| File comments (read, post, delete) | No | Yes |
| Design annotations (read, write, clear, categories) | No | Yes (3 dedicated tools) |

---

## How They Connect to Figma

| | Figma MCP | Console MCP |
|---|---|---|
| **Connection method** | REST API + server-side `use_figma` via Figma's cloud | WebSocket Desktop Bridge + REST API |
| **Runs where** | Figma's cloud or Desktop App | Your machine (`npx`) or self-hosted cloud |
| **Authentication** | OAuth (browser popup) | Personal Access Token |
| **Source code** | Closed source | Open source (MIT) |
| **Transport** | Streamable HTTP | stdio (local) or SSE/HTTP (remote) |

---

## Access and Pricing

| | Figma MCP | Console MCP |
|---|---|---|
| **Pricing** | Usage-based (becoming a paid feature) | Free (MIT license) |
| **Rate limits** | Yes (plan-dependent) | No |
| **Open source** | No | Yes |
| **Self-hostable** | No | Yes |
| **Supported MCP clients** | 11+ approved clients | Any MCP client |
| **Cloud mode (web AI clients)** | N/A | Yes (Claude.ai, v0, Lovable, Replit) |

---

## The Numbers

| Metric | Figma MCP | Console MCP |
|---|:---:|:---:|
| **Total tools** | 16 | 94 |
| **Read tools** | ~10 | ~22 |
| **Write/create tools** | 1 (`use_figma`) | 35+ dedicated tools |
| **Variable management** | Via `use_figma` | 11 dedicated tools |
| **Component management** | Via `use_figma` | 5+ dedicated tools |
| **Node manipulation** | Via `use_figma` | 11+ dedicated tools |
| **Annotation tools** | 0 | 3 dedicated tools |
| **Real-time awareness** | 0 | 2 |
| **Debugging tools** | 0 | 5 |
| **FigJam tools** | 2 (read + diagram) | 9 structured tools |
| **Code Connect tools** | 5 | 0 |
| **Parity / documentation** | 0 | 3 |

---

## Who Should Use Which

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Product Engineers">
    ### For engineers building from designs:

    **Figma MCP** is the natural choice when:
    - You want structured, framework-specific code output from Figma designs
    - You're using Code Connect to map design components to your codebase
    - You want to capture a running web app into Figma for review
    - You want zero-setup with Figma's hosted infrastructure

    **Figma Console MCP** is the better choice when:
    - You need to check if your coded components match the Figma specs (parity analysis)
    - You want to push design token changes back to Figma from code
    - You need AI-generated component documentation with token mappings
    - You want unlimited usage without rate limits
    - You want to self-host or audit the source code
  </Tab>
  <Tab title="Product Designers">
    ### For designers managing design systems:

    **Figma MCP** is useful when:
    - You want an agent to create designs from code references
    - You want to generate FigJam diagrams from text descriptions
    - You want to capture a live website into your Figma file for reference

    **Figma Console MCP** is the better choice when:
    - You manage a design system with hundreds of tokens across multiple modes
    - You need batch operations (create 100 variables in one call)
    - You want real-time awareness of what's happening in your file
    - You want design system health scoring and linting
    - You want to audit design-code drift with automated parity checks
    - You need structured FigJam tools or Slides support
    - You want to read or write design annotations (interaction specs, accessibility notes, animation timings)
    - You want to post review comments directly on components
  </Tab>
  <Tab title="Use Both Together">
    ### The best workflow uses both

    They're complementary, not competitive:

    1. **System setup**: Use Figma Console MCP to build your token architecture, create component variants with proper variable bindings, and organize your design system
    2. **Design creation**: Use either — Figma MCP for agent-guided design creation, or Console MCP's dedicated tools for systematic component building
    3. **Code generation**: Use Figma MCP's Code Connect and `get_design_context` for framework-specific code output from your designs
    4. **Maintenance**: Use Figma Console MCP's parity analysis to catch drift, then use either tool to fix discrepancies
    5. **Documentation**: Use Console MCP to generate component documentation (including design annotations for animation timings, interaction specs, and accessibility requirements), then use Figma MCP's design system rules to keep AI code generation consistent

    Both servers can be configured in the same MCP client simultaneously.
  </Tab>
</Tabs>

---

## Quick Reference Card

| Question | Figma MCP | Console MCP |
|---|---|---|
| *Can it read my designs?* | Yes | Yes |
| *Can it write to my designs?* | Yes (via `use_figma`) | Yes (95 tools) |
| *Can it manage variables?* | Yes (via code execution) | Yes (11 dedicated tools + batch) |
| *Can it run arbitrary plugin code?* | No | Yes (`figma_execute`) |
| *Does it know what I selected?* | No | Yes, in real time |
| *Does it have Code Connect?* | Yes (first-party) | No |
| *Does it have batch operations?* | No | Yes (10-50x faster) |
| *Does it analyze design-code parity?* | No | Yes (8 dimensions) |
| *Does it have rate limits?* | Yes (plan-dependent) | No |
| *Is it open source?* | No | Yes (MIT) |
| *Can I self-host it?* | No | Yes |
| *Who made it?* | Figma, Inc. | Southleft |

---

## A Note on the Evolution

When we first published this comparison in early 2025, the Figma MCP was a read-only, design-to-code tool. The landscape has changed significantly since then. Figma's addition of `use_figma` is a meaningful step toward making the Figma canvas programmable by AI agents.

Figma Console MCP's role has also evolved. Where we once differentiated primarily on write access, our focus has sharpened on what we do best: design system ecosystem management, design-code parity, and bridging the gap between design and development disciplines.

Both tools are better together. Use the one that fits your workflow, or use both.

<Note>
**Figma Console MCP** is built by [Southleft](https://southleft.com), a design and development studio. It is not affiliated with Figma, Inc. The official **Figma MCP** is built and maintained by the Figma team.
</Note>

---

## Get Started

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card title="Set Up Figma Console MCP" icon="rocket" href="/setup">
    Full 103 tool access in ~10 minutes. Manage your design system with AI.
  </Card>
  <Card title="Set Up Figma MCP (Official)" icon="figma" href="https://developers.figma.com/docs/figma-mcp-server/">
    Figma's official documentation for their MCP server.
  </Card>
</Columns>
