Figma MCP: link your models to your database

What if your Figma mockups could “explain” their logic to an LLM, while connecting to your API or database? That's exactly what Figma MCP promises, when properly framed.

In short: what is the purpose of Figma MCP in a product team

Figma MCP (Model Context Protocol) allows you to pass the Context from your Figma designs (components, variables, structures, styles) to a MCP client like Cursor, VS Code or Claude Code. Then, this customer can combine this context with your codebase and your data (API, server, database) to produce more accurate and faster code.

Concretely, you use it to:

• Generate code from a Figma screen without losing details (layout, variables, components)
• maintain consistency between Design system and implementation, even when several developers are working in parallel
• connect an UI to real data via a API or a server, with the right fields and the right states
• speed up iterations, especially when the product is data-driven (catalog, back-office, dashboard)

The “figma → code → data” workflow in 7 steps

1. Structuring the design in Figma (components, variables, useful names)
2. Start a MCP server Figma (desktop or remote server)
3. Connect your MCP client (Cursor, VS Code, Claude Code)
4. Manage theAccess via OAuth or a token/token depending on the mode
5. Add the “data” context (API endpoints, DB schema, server rules)
6. Generate the UI code aligned design, then plug in the data
7. Lock the quality (states, errors, perf, security, rules)

The idea is not to “automate everything.” The idea is to get a Pipeline more reliable, with safeguards.

What is MCP exactly and why is everyone getting started

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is a Protocol open to connect LLM apps to external sources. Instead of creating a custom integration between each tool and each model, we standardize: a waiter Expose tools, a shopper Call them.

Why is it important for Figma?

• An LLM that receives the right context (component names, variables, constraints, hierarchy) can be accurate.
• The prototype/product border has been reduced, especially with quick-to-app approaches. Figma pushes this logic further with Make and the “design context everywhere” access.

How does “link a model to a database” really work

We often talk about “connecting Figma to a DB” as if Figma were going to read Postgres. In practice, the useful connection is elsewhere: you connect a agent (in your IDE) to Figma, then this agent connects your UI to the data via your API or your server.

The 4 bricks you need to know

Figma documents two ways to connect your MCP server: Desktop (local) and Remote (hosted).

Desktop or remote: which one to choose in an SME

The right choice depends on your organization, not the hype.

• Desktop MCP server : ideal for a quick start. It runs locally via the Figma desktop app. Figma provides a local server URL (127.0.0.1) for client-side configuration.
• Remote MCP server : useful when you want to connect without depending on a specific station, or when the team is distributed. It connects to an endpoint hosted by Figma and goes through OAuth authentication.

A simple guide:

• small team, fast iterations, need for a reliable POC: desktop
• multi-dev team, tooled process, need for homogeneous access: remote

What Figma MCP is changing for design and code

The main gain is not “generating code.” The main gain is to align three worlds that speak badly to each other:

• the design (Figma)
• the reality of the code (codebase, conventions, existing components)
• the reality of the data (API, server rules, formats)

With MCP, you create a context “corridor” that reduces information loss. And that's often where the costs are hidden: QA returns, inconsistencies, forgotten states, component duplications.

The most profitable (and most requested) use cases

Product catalog: e-commerce, B2B, marketplace

A Figma “listing + product sheet” screen seems simple, but the data quickly breaks the design:

• variants, promo prices, stock, badges, sorting rules
• cards that change according to the status or customer segment

With a well-structured MCP workflow, you are looking for two results:

1. code components that use the structure of the design (grids, spacing, fonts, variables)
2. a clear mapping between data fields and UI, without inventing properties

Here, the LLM is useful if it can read your design and your API in the same context.

Marketing pages and CMS: speed without debt

When content lives in a CMS, the difficulty is not the layout. It's robustness:

• states “empty”, “loading”, “error”
• reusable components, not a stack of single sections
• simple rules on the server side (cache, revalidation, security)

Figma MCP helps maintain visual consistency, while the developer maintains control of server rules.

Dashboard and back office: the real life of data

For a back office, the Figma screen is the start. Then there are:

• tables, filters, pagination, sorting
• access rights, roles, audit
• performance and readability

The MCP + API contract combo is interesting here because it forces the design to take states and constraints into account.

Living design system: variables, components, conventions

This is often the most “underrated” use case. When your Figma variables are clean and your components are well defined, the generated code becomes more stable. And above all, it becomes reusable.

Figma highlights the extraction of variables and components via its MCP server to improve code consistency.

Implementation: from Figma to Cursor, then up to your API

The aim here is not to give you a magic recipe. The aim is to clarify the steps, so you know what to fit into your workflow.

Activate the MCP server on the Figma side

Desktop option
In Figma desktop, you switch to Dev Mode and then activate the desktop MCP server in the inspection panel. Figma then indicates the local address of the server.

Remote option (hosted)
You connect your client (VS Code, Cursor, Claude Code) to the Figma remote server via the MCP endpoint, then you authorize access (OAuth). The Figma doc shows an example mcp.json configuration for VS Code, and a guided flow for Cursor.

Example of configuration on the VS Code side (remote):

{

“inputs”: [],

“servers”: {

“figure”: {

“url”: "https://mcp.figma.com/mcp “,

“type”: “http”

}

}

}

Give the LLM the right context, without drowning it out

This is a point that distinguishes “wow in demo” projects from reliable projects.

Two useful modes exist on the Figma side:

• Selection-based (rather desktop): you select a frame or a layer in Figma, then the client works on this selection
• Link-based (remote and desktop): you give a link to a node, the client extracts the node-id and gets the context

In a real product, the link works well for framing. The selection works well for iterating quickly.

Linking the database: the pattern that avoids problems

The healthiest business model for an SME is often:

• UI generated or assisted via MCP
• data via a API controlled (Rest/GraphQL) server side
• secrets and access rules exclusively on the server side

Direct DB access from an MCP tool may exist, but it must be locked. Otherwise, you create an unnecessary risk surface, especially with poorly managed tokens.

Get a code that's true to the design (and not “just about”)

When an LLM comes out of the “clean” but wrong code, it's not a model problem. It's a problem of context and conventions.

On the Figma side: what increases the quality

• Of Components named as real components, not “Frame 123"
• Of variables consistent values (typo, spacing, colors) rather than isolated values
• Limited but intentional variants (size, state, intent)
• Frames that are not too heavy: less noise, more signal

Figma recommends to avoid too heavy frames and to structure the file for better results.

On the codebase side: the key is in your rules

The LLM should include:

• your conventions (naming, folders, lint)
• your existing components
• how you connect the API (fetch layer, services, hooks, cache)

This is where a lot of teams save time: they transform the MCP into a real team workflow, not a personal tool.

Security, access, token: what to lock before connecting

As soon as you “connect” an LLM to tools, you manage permissions. It's good news if it's clean. It's bad news if it's implicit.

Simple rules that avoid 80% of worries

• A token or token never has more rights than necessary
• No secrets in the client, everything goes through the server
• Separate environments (dev, staging, prod)
• Server-side logs to know which tool was called, when, and why
• A short list of authorized tools, with a rotation key if necessary

Remote MCP: OAuth and control

The Figma remote MCP server goes through an OAuth flow. This is a good point because you avoid distributing static keys everywhere.

At this stage, what matters is your governance: who can access which Figma files, and in what context.

To go from a model to an app linked to data, without debt

Figma MCP is an excellent tool when treated as a real product subject: conventions, security, access, API mapping, and codebase integration. That's exactly what makes the difference between an impressive demo and a reliable daily workflow.

At Scroll, we help SMEs, VSEs and entrepreneurs to set up this type of design → code → data chain, with a simple framework: design system, MCP server and client (Cursor, VS Code), generation rules, and connection specific to your server and your API. The objective is clear: deliver faster, without losing control.

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