> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.mcpmanager.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Connect Figma

> Connect Figma to MCP Manager. Figma's remote MCP server at mcp.figma.com accepts only the clients in Figma's MCP Catalog, so a gateway cannot connect to it and the attempt fails with "Invalid scope: mcp:connect". Instead, enable the Figma desktop app's local MCP server and add it as a Workstation server, so every call still goes through the gateway.

Figma runs two MCP servers. The **remote server** at `https://mcp.figma.com/mcp` accepts only the clients Figma has approved, and MCP Manager is not one of them. The **desktop server** runs inside the Figma desktop app on your own machine. You can connect the desktop server to MCP Manager as a [Workstation server](/mcp-gateway-concepts/mcp-servers/workstation), and every call then goes through your gateway, where it is logged and checked against your rules.

<Info>
  **Want the remote server to work through your gateway?** Figma is more likely to approve MCP Manager's callback URL when its own customers ask
  for it. Tell [Figma's support team](https://www.figma.com/contact/) that you want to use Figma's remote MCP server through MCP Manager.
</Info>

## Why the remote server does not connect

If you add `https://mcp.figma.com/mcp` as a remote server, the connection fails with:

```text theme={null}
Invalid scope: mcp:connect
```

This is a restriction on Figma's side, and no MCP Manager setting changes it. Figma states that **only clients listed in the Figma MCP Catalog can connect** to the remote server. It enforces that at every step:

* **Dynamic client registration is refused.** Figma publishes a registration endpoint, but it returns `403 Forbidden` to any client that is not in the catalog.
* **Client ID Metadata Documents are not supported.** Figma's authorization server does not advertise them, so there is no other way for a client to identify itself.
* **Your own Figma OAuth app does not help.** An app you create in Figma's developer portal cannot be granted the `mcp:connect` scope, which the remote server requires. Pasting its Client ID and Secret into MCP Manager is what produces the error above.

That is also why Figma's connector works directly in Claude or Cursor: those clients are in the catalog. Figma runs a waitlist for new clients. Until MCP Manager is approved, use the desktop server.

## What you need

* The **Figma desktop app**, on macOS or Windows. The desktop server does not run in the browser version of Figma.
* A **Dev or Full seat** on a paid Figma plan. Full seats can write to files outside their drafts; Dev seats are read-only there.
* [Docker](https://docs.docker.com/get-started/) on the same machine. The workstation tunnel runs as a container.
* Outbound access on TCP 443 to `headscale.mcpmanager.ai`, `derp-a.mcpmanager.ai` and `derp-b.mcpmanager.ai`. See [Network requirements](/mcp-gateway-concepts/mcp-servers/workstation#network-requirements).

## Connect the server

<Steps>
  <Step title="Enable the desktop MCP server in Figma">
    Open the Figma desktop app and open a design file. Switch to **Dev Mode** with the toolbar toggle at the bottom, or press **Shift + D**. In the
    inspect panel, find the **MCP server** section and click **Enable desktop MCP server**.

    The server now listens at `http://127.0.0.1:3845/mcp`. To confirm, run `curl -i http://127.0.0.1:3845/mcp` in a terminal. Any HTTP response means
    the server is up. `connection refused` means it is not enabled, or the desktop app is closed.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Create a Workstation server">
    Go to [MCP Servers](https://app.mcpmanager.ai/settings/servers) and click **Add**. Choose **Workstation** ("The MCP servers run on personal
    computers"). Enter a **Server Name** such as `Figma`, then click **Save MCP server**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Point an instance at the desktop server">
    On the **Server instances** tab, click **Add server instance**. Name the instance after the machine or the person, for example `Figma — Dana's
            MacBook`. Choose **Connect to existing (Streamable HTTP)**, because Figma already runs the server. Set **Destination URL** to:

    ```text Destination URL theme={null}
    http://127.0.0.1:3845/mcp
    ```

    No custom headers are needed. Click **Next**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Start the tunnel">
    The **Deploy workstation proxy** screen shows the command **Start MCPM's workstation proxy**. There is no server command to run, because Figma
    is already serving. Copy the command and run it on the same machine as the Figma desktop app:

    ```bash terminal theme={null}
    docker run --rm -it --net=host -v "/var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock" -e MCPM_REGISTRATION_TOKEN="<your-registration-token>" mcpmanager/cli:latest workstation
    ```

    A dashboard opens and shows each step as the tunnel comes up. If it stalls, see [Troubleshoot a workstation
    connection](/mcp-gateway-concepts/mcp-servers/workstation-troubleshooting).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Test the connection">
    Return to the browser and click **Test connection**. MCP Manager reaches the Figma desktop server through the tunnel, discovers its tools, and
    opens the instance's **Features** page.

    <Check>
      The **Features** page lists Figma's tools. Assign the server to a [gateway](https://app.mcpmanager.ai/settings/gateways) like any other.
    </Check>
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Identity and attribution

The desktop server acts as **whoever is signed in to the Figma desktop app** on that machine. It does not take a token from MCP Manager. Every
gateway user who calls this instance reaches Figma with that person's files and seat permissions.

* **One instance per person** is the usual pattern. Each designer or developer runs their own instance on their own machine, and the gateway's
  audit log shows who made each call.
* **A shared instance** on one machine gives everyone on the gateway that one Figma account's access. Use it only if that is what you intend, and
  limit which users can reach it with [gateway rules](/features/gateway-rules/overview).

## Gotchas & things to keep in mind

**The desktop app must stay open.** The server runs inside the Figma desktop app. If the app is closed, tool calls fail until it is open again.
The tunnel container restarts itself after a reboot, but Figma does not start its MCP server until the app is running.

**Some tools work on the current selection.** Several of the desktop server's tools read the frame or layer that is selected in the app. Select
the design you want the agent to use before you ask it.

**Do not add the remote URL as well.** A remote server entry for `https://mcp.figma.com/mcp` fails with `Invalid scope: mcp:connect` for every
user. Remove it so nobody tries to authorize it.

**Figma for Government** supports only the desktop server, so this guide is the only path for those accounts.

## Further reading

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Workstation MCP Servers" icon="laptop" href="/mcp-gateway-concepts/mcp-servers/workstation">
    How the encrypted tunnel reaches a server on your own machine, and the network rules it needs.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Choosing remote auth" icon="list-check" href="/mcp-gateway-concepts/mcp-servers/choosing-remote-auth">
    What to do when a vendor's remote server does not accept a gateway.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Per-user versus shared identity" icon="users" href="/security/authentication-and-identity#per-user-identity-versus-shared-identity">
    What a shared identity means for attribution.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Connect your AI client" icon="plug" href="/tutorials/connect-your-ai-client">
    Point Claude, Cursor, or another client at the gateway once Figma is connected.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## External sources

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Figma MCP server" icon="figma" href="https://developers.figma.com/docs/figma-mcp-server/">
    Figma's reference for the remote and desktop servers, including the MCP Catalog and the client waitlist.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Set up the desktop server" icon="figma" href="https://developers.figma.com/docs/figma-mcp-server/local-server-installation/">
    Figma's steps for enabling the desktop server in the Figma desktop app.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>


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