Design Systems help teams build consistent and scalable products. But one challenge has always remained:
How do we get designs into code accurately and efficiently
AI coding tools like GitHub Copilot often had to guess what your designs meant.
The result was code that did not always match your components, tokens or theming.
That changes now.
Figma's new Dev Mode MCP server gives AI tools real, precise Design System context directly from your Figma files.
This is a foundational shift for Design Systems and development workflows.
What is the MCP server
In simple terms:
👉 The MCP server lets AI tools read your actual Design System context from Figma.
Instead of guessing from a screenshot or rough export, AI can now understand:
- the exact component you used
- the correct Design Tokens that apply
- which variables and modes are in use
- how variants and responsive behavior work
- how your Design System is structured
This turns your Figma file into a source of truth for AI code generation.
Why this matters for your Design System
1️⃣ Smarter and faster developer handoff
Developers and AI coding tools can now:
- pick the correct component from your library
- apply the right tokens
- follow the right theming
- avoid guessing and mismatching
This saves hours of back and forth.
2️⃣ Preserve your Design System integrity
If you invested time into:
- Design Tokens
- Variables
- semantic naming
- component architecture
the MCP server ensures this structure is used correctly when generating code.
3️⃣ Reduce rework and bugs
Before MCP:
AI sees a red rectangle and guesses which token to use.
With MCP:
Figma tells the AI: Use
color-primary-500
Less confusion.
More accuracy.
No more off brand buttons or mismatched colors.
4️⃣ Scale your design to code automation
As AI gets better, teams want to automate more workflows without losing control.
The MCP server provides the structure needed to scale safely.
A simple example
Old workflow:
- AI sees a shape
- Tries to guess which color token matches
- Often makes the wrong guess
New workflow:
- Figma sends structured token information
- AI knows exactly which semantic token to apply
This creates clean, predictable and consistent output.
The big picture
For Design System teams, this unlocks:
- less manual checking of code output
- more accurate use of tokens and components
- better alignment between design and engineering
- a more scalable and future proof workflow
And this is only the beginning.
Figma is planning deeper integrations that will make this even more powerful.
👉 If you want your Design System to scale from Figma into code, learning the MCP server is worth your time.
It shifts the mindset from handoff to design informed code generation.
Resources to dive deeper
Here are some great tutorials, guides and examples to help you get started:
📚 Start here: official overview
👉 Introduction to the Dev Mode MCP server
👉 Guide to the Dev Mode MCP Server
🎓 Tutorials and examples
👉 Figma MCP Example and Tutorial
👉 Figma MCP Setup and Tutorial
👉 Design to Code with the MCP Server
👉 Another MCP Example and Tutorial
🤖 Interesting read
👉 Design Systems are getting ready for agentic experiences
🚨 Before you start: strong foundations matter
To benefit from the MCP server, your Design System should already have:
- Design Tokens
- Variables
- documentation
- accessibility foundations
- developer handoff workflow
Without these, AI may still use components incorrectly or create faulty implementations.
🙌 Good news:
At Into Design Systems Conference you can learn all these foundations from real world sessions.
We offer 20 plus hours of hands on sessions taught by leading Design System experts.
Learn how to master:
- Design Tokens
- Figma Variables
- Accessibility
- Documentation
- Developer Handoff
