Offline snapshots

Keep reading designs with the plugin closed.

When the plugin isn't connected, every read tool falls back to the newest saved snapshot that holds the node. Snapshots live in ~/.figma-local-mcp/snapshots.

Automatic cache

Each full read from the plugin is cached as a snapshot. If you close Figma, the agent can still read the frames it has already seen. A cached read never replaces a snapshot you saved yourself.

Save a full export

save_design_export writes a complete export of a node (the selection by default) to a JSON file: the node tree with every layout, paint, text, variable, style, component and interaction detail, icon SVGs and renders of masked layers.

save a design export of the selected frame

Import an export

Load an export JSON as a snapshot with import_design_export, or from the command line:

npx -y @irshad.io/figma-local-mcp@latest import ./onboarding.json

This is handy for sharing a frame with a teammate who doesn't have the file open.

Limits

Without the plugin, variable and style names are unknown, so get_variable_defs returns the raw values used in the snapshot. Writing with use_figma always needs the plugin.

Run whoami to list the saved snapshots.