Figma Use

figma-use

CLI for Figma. Two modes: commands and JSX.

# Commands
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 fill 1:23 "$Colors/Primary"

# JSX (props directly on elements, NOT style={{}})
echo '<Frame p={24} bg="#3B82F6" rounded={12}>
  <Text size={18} color="#FFF">Hello</Text>
</Frame>' | figma-use render --stdin --x 100 --y 100

Before You Start

figma-use status  # Check connection

If not connected — start Figma with remote debugging:

# macOS
open -a Figma --args --remote-debugging-port=9222

# Windows
"C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Figma\Figma.exe" --remote-debugging-port=9222

# Linux
figma --remote-debugging-port=9222

Start Figma with --remote-debugging-port=9222 and you're ready.

Two Modes

Imperative — single operations:

figma-use create frame --width 400 --height 300 --fill "#FFF" --radius 12
figma-use set fill <id> "#FF0000"
figma-use node move <id> --x 100 --y 200

Declarative — render JSX trees:

echo '<Frame p={24} gap={16} flex="col" bg="#FFF" rounded={12}>
  <Text size={24} weight="bold" color="#000">Title</Text>
  <Text size={14} color="#666">Description</Text>
</Frame>' | figma-use render --stdin --x 100 --y 200

stdin supports both pure JSX and full module syntax with imports:

import { Frame, Text, defineComponent } from 'figma-use/render'

const Button = defineComponent(
  'Button',
  <Frame bg="#3B82F6" p={12} rounded={6}>
    <Text color="#FFF">Click</Text>
  </Frame>
)

export default () => (
  <Frame flex="row" gap={8}>
    <Button />
    <Button />
  </Frame>
)

Elements: Frame, Rectangle, Ellipse, Text, Line, Star, Polygon, Vector, Group, Icon, Image, Instance

Use <Instance> to create component instances:

<Frame flex="row" gap={8}>
  <Instance component="59763:10626" />
  <Instance component="59763:10629" />
</Frame>

⚠️ Always use --x and --y to position renders. Don't stack everything at (0, 0).

Icons

150k+ icons from Iconify by name:

figma-use create icon mdi:home
figma-use create icon lucide:star --size 48 --color "#F59E0B"
figma-use create icon heroicons:bell-solid --component  # as Figma component

In JSX:

<Icon name="mdi:home" size={24} color="#3B82F6" />

Images

Load images from URL:

<Image src="https://example.com/photo.jpg" w={200} h={150} />

Export JSX

Convert Figma nodes back to JSX code:

figma-use export jsx <id>           # Minified
figma-use export jsx <id> --pretty  # Formatted

# Format options
figma-use export jsx <id> --pretty --semi --tabs

# Match vector shapes to Iconify icons (requires: npm i whaticon)
figma-use export jsx <id> --match-icons
figma-use export jsx <id> --match-icons --icon-threshold 0.85 --prefer-icons lucide,tabler

Round-trip workflow:

# Export → edit → re-render
figma-use export jsx <id> --pretty > component.tsx
# ... edit the file ...
figma-use render component.tsx --x 500 --y 0

Compare two nodes as JSX:

figma-use diff jsx <from-id> <to-id>

Export Storybook (Experimental)

Export all components on current page as Storybook stories:

figma-use export storybook                      # Output to ./stories/
figma-use export storybook --out ./src/stories  # Custom output dir
figma-use export storybook --match-icons        # Match vectors to Iconify icons
figma-use export storybook --no-semantic-html   # Disable semantic HTML conversion

Semantic HTML: By default, components are converted to semantic HTML elements based on their names:

• Input/*, TextField/* → <input type="text">
• Textarea/* → <textarea>
• Checkbox/* → <input type="checkbox">
• Radio/* → <input type="radio">
• Button/* → <button>
• Select/*, Dropdown/* → <select>

Use --no-semantic-html to disable this and keep <Frame> elements.

Generates .stories.tsx files:

• ComponentSets → React component with props + stories with args
• VARIANT properties → Union type props (variant?: 'Primary' | 'Secondary')
• TEXT properties → Editable string props (label?: string)
• Components grouped by / prefix → Button/Primary, Button/Secondary → Button.stories.tsx

Example output for Button with variant and label:

// Button.tsx
export interface ButtonProps {
  label?: string
  variant?: 'Primary' | 'Secondary'
}
export function Button({ label, variant }: ButtonProps) {
  if (variant === 'Primary')
    return (
      <Frame>
        <Text>{label}</Text>
      </Frame>
    )
  // ...
}

// Button.stories.tsx
export const Primary: StoryObj<typeof Button> = {
  args: { label: 'Click', variant: 'Primary' }
}

Variables as Tokens

Reference Figma variables in any color option with var:Name or $Name:

figma-use create rect --width 100 --height 100 --fill 'var:Colors/Primary'
figma-use set fill <id> '$Brand/Accent'

In JSX:

<Frame bg="$Colors/Primary" />
<Text color="var:Text/Primary">Hello</Text>

Style Shorthands

Size & Position:

Layout:

Appearance:

Corners:

Effects:

Text:

Grid (CSS Grid layout):

Components (via .figma.tsx)

First call creates master, rest create instances:

import { defineComponent, Frame, Text } from 'figma-use/render'

const Card = defineComponent(
  'Card',
  <Frame p={24} bg="#FFF" rounded={12}>
    <Text size={18} color="#000">
      Card
    </Text>
  </Frame>
)

export default () => (
  <Frame gap={16} flex="row">
    <Card />
    <Card />
  </Frame>
)

figma-use render ./Card.figma.tsx --x 100 --y 200
figma-use render --examples  # Full API reference

Variants (ComponentSet)

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
      p={size === 'Large' ? 16 : 8}
      bg={variant === 'Primary' ? '#3B82F6' : '#E5E7EB'}
      rounded={8}
    >
      <Text color={variant === 'Primary' ? '#FFF' : '#111'}>
        {variant} {size}
      </Text>
    </Frame>
  )
)

Creates real ComponentSet with all combinations.

Diffs

Compare frames and generate patch:

figma-use diff create --from <id1> --to <id2>

--- /Card/Header #123:457
+++ /Card/Header #789:013
 type: FRAME
 size: 200 50
-fill: #FFFFFF
+fill: #F0F0F0

⚠️ Context lines need space prefix: size: 200 50 not size: 200 50

Apply with validation:

figma-use diff apply patch.diff            # Fails if old values don't match
figma-use diff apply patch.diff --dry-run  # Preview
figma-use diff apply patch.diff --force    # Skip validation

Visual diff (red = changed pixels):

figma-use diff visual --from <id1> --to <id2> --output diff.png

⚠️ After initial render, use diffs or direct commands. Don't re-render full JSX trees.

Query (XPath)

Find nodes using XPath selectors:

figma-use query "//FRAME"                              # All frames
figma-use query "//FRAME[@width < 300]"                # Frames 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 radius
figma-use query "//FRAME[@width > 100 and @width < 500]"  # Range

Attributes: name, width, height, x, y, cornerRadius, opacity, visible, characters, fontSize, layoutMode, itemSpacing

XPath functions: contains(), starts-with(), string-length(), not(), and, or

Common Commands

# Create
figma-use create frame --width 400 --height 300 --fill "#FFF" --layout VERTICAL --gap 16
figma-use create text --text "Hello" --font-size 24 --fill "#000"
figma-use create rect --width 100 --height 50 --fill "#F00" --radius 8

# Find
figma-use query "//FRAME[@name = 'Header']"
figma-use find --name "Button"
figma-use find --type FRAME
figma-use selection get

# Explore
figma-use node ancestors <id>              # Get parent chain (useful for navigation)
figma-use node bindings <id>               # Get variable bindings for fills/strokes
figma-use page bounds                      # Find free space for new objects
figma-use variable find "Text/Neutral"     # Search variables by name

# Modify
figma-use set fill <id> "#FF0000"
figma-use set radius <id> 12
figma-use set text <id> "New text"
figma-use set text-resize <id> height   # Wrap text (height auto, fixed width)
figma-use set layout <id> --mode VERTICAL --gap 12 --padding 16
figma-use set layout <id> --mode GRID --cols "1fr 1fr 1fr" --rows "auto" --gap 16
figma-use node move <id> --x 100 --y 200
figma-use node resize <id> --width 300 --height 200
figma-use node delete <id> [id2...]
figma-use node to-component <id>

# Export
figma-use export node <id> --output design.png
figma-use export screenshot --output viewport.png

# Navigate
figma-use page list
figma-use page set "Page Name"
figma-use viewport zoom-to-fit <id>

Full reference: REFERENCE.md

Analyze

Discovery tools for understanding design systems:

# Repeated patterns — potential components
figma-use analyze clusters
figma-use analyze clusters --min-count 5

# Color palette
figma-use analyze colors                   # Usage frequency
figma-use analyze colors --show-similar    # Find similar colors to merge

# Typography
figma-use analyze typography               # All font combinations
figma-use analyze typography --group-by size

# Spacing
figma-use analyze spacing --grid 8         # Check 8px grid compliance

# Accessibility snapshot — extract interactive elements
figma-use analyze snapshot                 # Full page
figma-use analyze snapshot <id> -i         # Interactive only (buttons, inputs, etc.)
figma-use analyze snapshot --depth 6       # Limit depth

Use cases:

• Component extraction — find copy-pasted elements that should be components
• Design audit — identify inconsistencies, similar-but-different elements
• Design system creation — discover existing colors, typography, spacing patterns
• Onboarding — understand structure of unfamiliar design files

Output shows counts, examples, and warnings (e.g., off-grid spacing, hardcoded colors).

Lint (Experimental)

Check designs for consistency and accessibility issues:

figma-use lint                          # Recommended preset
figma-use lint --page "Components"      # Lint specific page
figma-use lint --preset strict          # Stricter rules
figma-use lint --preset accessibility   # A11y only (contrast, touch targets)
figma-use lint --rule color-contrast    # Single rule
figma-use lint -v                       # With fix suggestions
figma-use lint --json                   # For CI/CD
figma-use lint --list-rules             # Show all rules

Presets: recommended, strict, accessibility, design-system

17 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

Exit code 1 if errors found — use in CI pipelines.

Output

Human-readable by default — prefer this to save tokens. Use --json only when you need to parse specific fields programmatically.

Node IDs

Format: session:local (e.g., 1:23). Inside instances: I<instance-id>;<internal-id>.

Get IDs from figma-use selection get or figma-use node tree.

Colors

Hex: #RGB, #RRGGBB, #RRGGBBAA Variables: var:Colors/Primary or $Colors/Primary

Best Practices

Always verify visually

figma-use export node <id> --output /tmp/check.png

Always zoom after creating

figma-use viewport zoom-to-fit <id>

Position multiple renders separately

echo '...' | figma-use render --stdin --x 0 --y 0
echo '...' | figma-use render --stdin --x 500 --y 0    # Not at same position!

Copy between pages

figma-use node clone <id> [id2...] --json | jq -r '.[].id'
figma-use node set-parent <new-id> --parent <target-page-id>
figma-use node move <new-id> --x 50 --y 50

Replace node

# Replace with component (creates instance)
figma-use node replace-with <id> --target <component-id>

# Replace with JSX from stdin
echo '<Icon name="lucide:x" size={16} />' | figma-use node replace-with <id> --stdin

Convert to component

figma-use node to-component <id>
figma-use node to-component "1:2 1:3 1:4"  # Multiple

Instance internal IDs

figma-use set text "I123:456;789:10" "New text"  # I<instance>;<internal>

Row layout needs width

# ❌ Collapses to 1×1
<Frame flex="row" gap={8}>

# ✅ Explicit width
<Frame w={300} flex="row" gap={8}>

Sections

figma-use create section --name "Buttons" --x 0 --y 0 --width 600 --height 200
figma-use node set-parent <id> --parent <section-id>

⚠️ Deleting section deletes all children!

Comment-driven workflow

Wait for designer feedback and react:

figma-use comment watch --json

Output when comment arrives:

{
  "id": "123456",
  "message": "Make this button bigger",
  "user": { "handle": "designer" },
  "client_meta": { "node_id": "1:23" }
}

Agent workflow — run once per comment, then restart:

1. figma-use comment watch --json — blocks until new comment
2. Parse the JSON, get message and target_node (exact element under comment)
3. Process the request (modify design, etc.)
4. Reply: figma-use comment add "Done!" --reply <comment-id>
5. Resolve: figma-use comment resolve <comment-id>
6. Exit. External runner restarts for next comment.

Options:

• --timeout 60 — exit after 60s if no comment (returns {"timeout":true})
• --interval 5 — poll every 5s (default: 3s)

Vector paths — iterative workflow

Draw, screenshot, adjust, repeat — like a designer tweaking Bezier curves:

# 1. Draw initial shape
figma-use create vector --path "M 50 0 L 100 100 L 0 100 Z" --fill "#F00"

# 2. Check result
figma-use export node <id> --output /tmp/shape.png

# 3. Adjust: scale, move, flip
figma-use path scale <id> --factor 0.8
figma-use path move <id> --dx 20 --dy -10
figma-use path flip <id> --axis x

# 4. Or replace path entirely
figma-use path set <id> "M 50 0 C 80 30 80 70 50 100 C 20 70 20 30 50 0 Z"

# 5. Screenshot again, repeat until good
figma-use export node <id> --output /tmp/shape.png

For complex illustrations, import SVG:

figma-use import --svg "$(cat icon.svg)"