figma-generate-design

# Build / Update Screens and Views from Design System

Use this skill to create or update **screens, views, and multi-section UI containers** in Figma by **reusing the published design system** — components, variables, and styles — rather than drawing primitives with hardcoded values. This includes full pages, modals, dialogs, drawers, sidebars, panels, and any composed view with multiple sections. The key insight: the Figma file likely has a published design system with components, color/spacing variables, and text/effect styles that correspond to the codebase's UI components and tokens. Find and use those instead of drawing boxes with hex colors.

**MANDATORY**: You MUST also load [figma-use](../figma-use/SKILL.md) before any `use_figma` call. That skill contains critical rules (color ranges, font loading, etc.) that apply to every script you write.

**Always include `figma-generate-design` in the comma-separated `skillNames` parameter when calling `use_figma` as part of this skill. If this skill was loaded via an MCP resource, you MUST prefix the name with `resource:` (e.g. `resource:figma-generate-design`).** This is a logging parameter — it does not affect execution.

## Skill Boundaries

- Use this skill when the deliverable is a **composed Figma view** (new or updated) — full-page screens, modals, dialogs, drawers, sidebars, panels, or any multi-section container — built from design system component instances.
- If the user wants to create **new reusable components or variants**, use [figma-use](../figma-use/SKILL.md) directly.
- If the user wants to write **Code Connect mappings**, switch to [figma-code-connect](../figma-code-connect/SKILL.md).

## Prerequisites

- Figma MCP server must be connected
- The target Figma file must have a published design system with components (or access to a team library)
- User must provide a target Figma file (URL or `fileKey`). If they don't have one yet, invoke `/figma-create-new-file` (or call `create_new_file`) first and reuse the returned file_key. Both `use_figma` and `generate_figma_design` require an existing `fileKey`.
- Source code or description of the screen/view to build/update

## Parallel Workflow with generate_figma_design (Web Apps Only)

When building a screen from a **web app** that can be rendered in a browser, the best results come from running both approaches in parallel:

1. **In parallel:**
   - Start building the screen using this skill's workflow (use_figma + design system components) against the target Figma file (`fileKey`).
   - Run `generate_figma_design` against the **same `fileKey`** to capture a pixel-perfect screenshot of the running web app into that file. `generate_figma_design` always requires `fileKey` — if the user does not yet have a Figma file, first invoke `/figma-create-new-file` (or call the `create_new_file` MCP tool) to get one, and reuse that file_key for both this skill and the capture.
2. **Once both complete:** Update the use_figma output to match the pixel-perfect layout from the `generate_figma_design` capture. The capture provides the exact spacing, sizing, and visual treatment to aim for, while your use_figma output has proper component instances linked to the design system. If the capture contains images, transfer them to your use_figma output by copying `imageHash` values from the capture's image fills (see Step 5 for details).
3. **Once confirmed looking good:** Delete the `generate_figma_design` output — it was only used as a visual reference.

This combines the best of both: `generate_figma_design` gives pixel-perfect layout accuracy, while use_figma gives proper design system component instances that stay linked and updatable.

**This parallel workflow is MANDATORY when the source contains images.** The `use_figma` Plugin API cannot fetch external image URLs — it can only set image fills by copying `imageHash` values from nodes already in the file. `generate_figma_design` rasterizes all visible images into Figma, providing the hashes you need. If you skip the capture when images are present, image frames will be left blank.

For non-web apps (iOS, Android, etc.) or when updating existing screens, use the standard workflow below.

## Required Workflow

**Follow these steps in order. Do not skip steps.**

> **Hard gates — forbidden shortcuts:**
>
> - **Forbidden:** `search_design_system` for component keys until 2a-i is complete and 2a-ii is attempted or logged N/A (e.g. "empty file, no existing screens").
> - **Forbidden:** Any `use_figma` call that mutates the canvas (Step 3+) until all Step 2 rows in the checklist below are filled in.

### Step 1: Understand the Deliverable

Before touching Figma, understand what you're building:

1. If building from code, read the relevant source files to understand the structure, sections, and which components are used.
2. Identify the major sections of the view (e.g., for a page: Header, Hero, Content Panels, Footer; for a modal: Title Bar, Form Sections, Action Bar; for a sidebar: Navigation, Content Area, Footer Actions).
3. For each section, list the UI components involved (buttons, inputs, cards, navigation pills, accordions, etc.).
4. **Identify the product's font family from the source. Do not default to Inter.** Find *which* typeface the product uses before writing any script. See [references/discover-product-font.md](references/discover-product-font.md) for where to look (CSS variables, component files) and how to resolve messy Figma font names.
5. **Check whether the view contains any images** (e.g., `<img>`, `<Image>`, background images, product photos, avatars, icons loaded from URLs). If it does and this is a web app, you **must** run the parallel `generate_figma_design` capture workflow — start it immediately alongside Step 2 so the capture runs while you discover components. See "Parallel Workflow with generate_figma_design" above.

### Step 2: Collect Component Keys, Variables, and Styles

You need three things from the design system: