Figma restricts remote MCP access to an approved client list

Figma restricts remote MCP access to an approved client list

Figma's remote Model Context Protocol server now only accepts connections from clients on a list Figma publishes itself. On 30 September 2026, Figma community lead Gayani confirmed on X that the server "only accepts clients on our supported list," after Pi creator David Soria Parra, who co-created MCP while at Anthropic, publicly asked Figma to fix access for Pi. Soria Parra replied that the restriction cuts against the open ecosystem he says MCP was built for.

Figma's remote MCP server is the version that lets an agent write directly into Figma Design and FigJam files, not just read from them. It only connects to clients named in Figma's MCP Catalog. Pi, the open source coding agent harness built by Soria Parra's team at Earendil, is not on that list, so it cannot authenticate under its own name, even though Figma's separate, read only desktop MCP server remains open to any MCP compatible editor.

What changed

Figma's developer documentation states the policy directly: "Only clients listed in the Figma MCP Catalog are able to connect to the Figma MCP Server. If you're a developer interested in connecting a new MCP client, you can join the waitlist." The catalog currently lists Claude, Claude Code, ChatGPT, Codex, Cursor, Xcode, VS Code, Kiro, Grok, Google Antigravity, GitHub Copilot CLI, Notion, Slack, Devin, Replit, Warp, Factory, Augment, Rovo Studio and Android Studio.

The check runs on the client's OAuth name. Commenters on the Hacker News thread reported that changing a client's OAuth name field to "Codex," one of the approved names, let an unapproved tool connect to the remote server anyway. One commenter described an eight month legal review before OpenCode, another open agent harness, was added to the approved list.

Figma's remote server write access is free during its current beta and is set to become a usage based paid feature later, per Figma's own help documentation. Tool call limits also scale by seat: Starter view and collab seats get up to 20 calls a month, Professional and Organization view and collab seats get up to 6 a month, Professional Dev and Full seats get up to 200 a day and 10 a minute, Organization Dev and Full seats get up to 200 a day and 15 a minute, and Enterprise Dev and Full seats get up to 600 a day and 20 a minute, according to Figma's rate limits and access page.

Why it matters for agent builders

A new or independent MCP client cannot write to Figma files the day it ships a working integration, regardless of how correctly it implements the protocol. Approval depends on Figma adding the client's name to its catalog through a waitlist form, a process one Hacker News commenter said took about eight months for OpenCode. That turns platform access into an approval queue rather than a technical requirement, and it follows Amazon's move in September 2026 to block Meta's Muse agent from shopping on Amazon.com, another case of a platform choosing which agents may act on it.

The OAuth name check also means the restriction is not a hard technical wall. Because Pi or any other tool can reportedly pass by relabeling its OAuth client name as an approved one, the whitelist mainly screens honest, unmodified clients rather than blocking determined ones. Builders maintaining an agent harness that talks to Figma should expect both the approval wait and the per seat rate limits above to shape how they ship Figma integrations.

What to watch

Whether Figma works through its waitlist faster than the eight months OpenCode reportedly needed, whether Figma closes the OAuth name spoofing gap commenters described, and whether other design or collaboration platforms adopt a similar approved client list for their own MCP servers are the open questions here. Soria Parra's public request for Pi's inclusion is still pending as of this writing.

Key takeaways

• Figma's remote MCP server, the only one with write access to Figma Design and FigJam, connects only to clients on Figma's published MCP Catalog as of 30 September 2026.
• Pi is excluded from that catalog; Figma's read only desktop MCP server is not subject to the whitelist.
• MCP co-creator David Soria Parra publicly asked Figma to open access, saying the restriction works against MCP's open ecosystem design.
• Hacker News commenters reported the OAuth client name check can be bypassed by relabeling a client as an approved name such as "Codex."
• Remote server tool call limits range from 6 calls a month on free view and collab seats to 600 a day on Enterprise Dev and Full seats.

FAQ

Why can't Pi connect to Figma's MCP server?

Figma's remote MCP server only authenticates clients listed in its MCP Catalog, and Pi is not currently on that list. Figma confirmed this on X on 30 September 2026 and pointed developers to a waitlist form to request a new client be added.

How does Figma's MCP client whitelist work?

The remote server checks the OAuth client name presented during login against its approved catalog. Hacker News commenters reported that changing this name field to match an approved client, such as "Codex," let unapproved tools connect anyway, which suggests the check is not independently verifying a client's identity.

Can every MCP client write to Figma files?

No. Only the remote MCP server, hosted at mcp.figma.com/mcp, supports writing to Figma Design and FigJam canvases, and only for clients on the approved catalog. Figma's local desktop MCP server is read only and is not restricted by the whitelist.

Source: Gayani (Figma) on X Discussion: Hacker News

Readers comparing MCP clients and servers before building their own Figma integration can browse the MCP servers directory on AI Agents Listing.