OpenPencil

Open-source design editor. Opens .fig and .pen design files, includes built-in AI, and ships as a programmable toolkit with a headless Vue SDK for building custom editors.

Status: Active development. Not ready for production use.

Note: There is another open-source project with the same name — OpenPencil by ZSeven-W, focused on AI-native design-to-code workflows. This project focuses on Figma-compatible visual design with real-time collaboration.

Try it online → · Download · Documentation

Installation

macOS (Homebrew):

brew install open-pencil/tap/open-pencil

Or download from the releases page, or use the web app — no install needed.

What it does

• Opens .fig and .pen files — read and write native Figma files, open supported Pencil documents from the app or OS file browser, copy & paste nodes between apps
• AI builds designs — describe what you want in chat, 90+ tools create and modify nodes. Connect OpenRouter, Anthropic, OpenAI, Google AI, Z.ai, MiniMax, or compatible endpoints
• Fully programmable — headless CLI, XPath queries, Figma Plugin API via eval, MCP server for AI agents, and desktop agent integrations for Claude Code, Codex, and Gemini CLI
• Lint, convert, and extract tokens — inspect documents, lint naming/layout/accessibility, convert between supported formats, analyze colors/typography/spacing/clusters, and extract design tokens
• Components and variants — create reusable components, group variants into component sets, insert local assets as instances, and switch variants from the inspector
• Design-to-code export — export selections as JSX/Tailwind, generate token outputs, and map designs into component-oriented code workflows
• Vue SDK for custom editors — headless components and composables for embedding OpenPencil into other apps or building workflow-specific editing surfaces. Read the SDK docs →
• Real-time collaboration — P2P via WebRTC, no server, no account. Cursors, presence, follow mode
• Auto layout & CSS Grid — flex and grid layout via Yoga WASM, with gap, padding, alignment, track sizing
• ~7 MB desktop app — Tauri v2 for macOS, Windows, Linux. Also runs in the browser as a PWA

CLI

bun add -g @open-pencil/cli

Inspect design files

Browse node trees, search by name or type, dig into properties — all without opening the editor:

open-pencil tree design.fig
open-pencil find design.pen --type TEXT
open-pencil node design.fig --id 1:23
open-pencil info design.fig

[0] [page] "Getting started" (0:46566)
  [0] [section] "" (0:46567)
    [0] [frame] "Body" (0:46568)
      [0] [frame] "Introduction" (0:46569)
        [0] [frame] "Introduction Card" (0:46570)
          [0] [frame] "Guidance" (0:46571)

Query with XPath

Use XPath selectors to find nodes by type, attributes, and structure:

open-pencil query design.fig "//FRAME"                              # All frames
open-pencil query design.fig "//FRAME[@width < 300]"                # Frames under 300px
open-pencil query design.fig "//TEXT[contains(@name, 'Button')]"     # Text with 'Button' in name
open-pencil query design.fig "//*[@cornerRadius > 0]"               # Rounded corners
open-pencil query design.fig "//SECTION//TEXT"                       # Text inside sections

Export

Render to PNG, JPG, WEBP, SVG, .fig, or JSX — or export selections/pages as .fig and convert whole documents between supported formats:

open-pencil export design.fig                           # PNG
open-pencil export design.fig -f jpg -s 2 -q 90        # JPG at 2x, quality 90
open-pencil export design.fig -f fig --page "Page 1"   # Export a page as .fig
open-pencil export design.fig -f jsx --style tailwind   # Tailwind JSX
open-pencil convert design.pen output.fig               # Convert between document formats

<div className="flex flex-col gap-4 p-6 bg-white rounded-xl">
  <p className="text-2xl font-bold text-[#1D1B20]">Card Title</p>
  <p className="text-sm text-[#49454F]">Description text</p>
</div>

Lint design files

Catch naming, layout, structure, and accessibility issues from the terminal:

open-pencil lint design.fig
open-pencil lint design.pen --preset strict
open-pencil lint design.fig --rule color-contrast
open-pencil lint design.fig --list-rules

Analyze and extract design tokens

Audit an entire design system from the terminal — find inconsistencies, extract the real palette, and spot components waiting to be extracted:

open-pencil analyze colors design.fig
open-pencil analyze typography design.fig
open-pencil analyze spacing design.fig
open-pencil analyze clusters design.fig
open-pencil variables design.fig

#1d1b20  ██████████████████████████████ 17155×
#49454f  ██████████████████████████████ 9814×
#ffffff  ██████████████████████████████ 8620×
#6750a4  ██████████████████████████████ 3967×

3771× frame "container" (100% match)
     size: 40×40, structure: Frame > [Frame]

2982× instance "Checkboxes" (100% match)
     size: 48×48, structure: Instance > [Frame]

Script with Figma Plugin API

eval gives you the full Figma Plugin API. Modify the file, write it back:

open-pencil eval design.fig -c "figma.currentPage.children.length"
open-pencil eval design.fig -c "figma.currentPage.selection.forEach(n => n.opacity = 0.5)" -w

Control the running app

When the desktop app is running, omit the file argument — the CLI connects via RPC and operates on the live canvas. Useful for automation scripts, CI pipelines, or AI agents that need to interact with the editor:

open-pencil tree                               # Inspect the live document
open-pencil export -f png                      # Screenshot the current canvas
open-pencil eval -c "figma.currentPage.name"   # Query the editor

All commands support --json for machine-readable output.

AI & MCP

Built-in chat

Press ⌘J to open the AI assistant. It has 100+ tools that can create shapes, set fills and strokes, manage auto-layout, work with components and variables, run boolean operations, analyze design tokens, and export assets. Bring your own API key for OpenRouter, Anthropic, OpenAI, Google AI, Z.ai, MiniMax, or compatible endpoints. No backend, no account.

Coding agents (desktop)

Use Claude Code, Codex, or Gemini CLI directly in the chat panel. The agent connects to the editor's MCP server and uses all 100+ design tools. Requires the desktop app and the agent CLI installed locally.

Setup (Claude Code):

1. Install the ACP adapter: npm install -g @agentclientprotocol/claude-agent-acp
2. Add MCP permission to ~/.claude/settings.json:

   {
     "permissions": {
       "allow": ["mcp__open-pencil__*"]
     }
   }
   

3. Open the desktop app → CtrlJ → select Claude Code from the provider dropdown

MCP server

Connect Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, or any MCP client to inspect, modify, and export design documents headlessly. 100+ tools. Full docs →

Stdio (Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf):

npm install -g @open-pencil/mcp
claude mcp add --scope user open-pencil -- openpencil-mcp

For other MCP clients:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "open-pencil": {
      "command": "openpencil-mcp"
    }
  }
}

HTTP (scripts, CI):

openpencil-mcp-http   # http://localhost:3100/mcp

File access: Set OPENPENCIL_MCP_ROOT to scope file operations (open_file, new_document, export path param) to a directory. Defaults to the current working directory.

AI agent skill

Teach your AI coding agent to use OpenPencil — inspect designs, export assets, analyze tokens, modify .fig files:

npx skills add open-pencil/skills@open-pencil

Works with Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, Codex, and any agent that supports skills.

Collaboration

Share a link to co-edit in real time. No server, no account — peers connect directly via WebRTC.

1. Click the share button in the top-right panel
2. Share the generated link (app.openpencil.dev/share/<room-id>)
3. Collaborators see your cursor, selection, and edits in real time
4. Click a peer's avatar to follow their viewport

Why

Figma is a closed platform that actively fights programmatic access. Their MCP server is read-only. figma-use added full read/write automation via CDP — then Figma 126 killed CDP. Your design files are in a proprietary binary format that only their software can fully read. Your workflows break when they decide to ship a point release.

OpenPencil is the alternative: open source (MIT), reads .fig files natively, every operation is scriptable, and your data never leaves your machine.

Roadmap

OpenPencil is moving toward production-grade Figma compatibility while keeping every workflow scriptable and local-first.

Compatibility and fidelity

• Improve .fig import/export parity across large real-world design systems, including component sets, variants, nested instances, variables, auto layout, vector networks, and derived Figma text
• Expand automated visual compatibility coverage across full multi-page documents, not just isolated fixtures
• Continue renderer parity work for Skia/CanvasKit output: strokes, effects, gradients, image fills, text outlines, masks, blend modes, export bounds, and raster export compositing
• Build focused regression fixtures for every discovered Figma compatibility edge case before broadening behavior

Editor capabilities

• Prototyping — frame transitions, interaction triggers, overlay management, and preview mode
• Component libraries — publish, share, and consume design systems across files
• Grid authoring UI — column/row span controls, grid overlays on canvas, and richer inspector controls
• Variables UI — complete variable collection editing, binding discovery, and token-oriented workflows

Performance and scale

• Raster tile caching for instant zoom/pan on complex documents
• Renderer profiling tools for isolating slow nodes, effects, masks, and large imported documents
• Incremental layout/render invalidation for large documents and collaborative sessions

Automation and CI

• CI tools for design linting, code export, visual regression, and design-token checks in pipelines
• Deeper MCP/CLI workflows for headless inspection, migration, and batch editing of .fig and .pen files
• More deterministic export and comparison utilities for compatibility testing

Platform polish

• Shader effects (SkSL) — custom visual effects via GPU shaders
• Windows code signing with Azure Authenticode certificates
• Packaged desktop-side MCP integration so agent workflows do not require global installs

Contributing

Setup

bun install
bun run dev        # Dev server at localhost:1420
bun run tauri dev  # Desktop app (requires Rust)

Quality gates

Command	Description
bun run check	Lint + typecheck
bun run test	E2E visual regression
bun run test:unit	Unit tests
bun run format	Code formatting

Project structure

packages/
  core/           @open-pencil/core — engine (scene graph, renderer, layout, file formats, tools)
  vue/            @open-pencil/vue — headless Vue SDK
  cli/            @open-pencil/cli — headless CLI
  mcp/            @open-pencil/mcp — MCP server (stdio + HTTP)
  docs/           Documentation site (openpencil.dev)
src/              Vue app (components, composables, stores)
desktop/          Tauri v2 (Rust + config)
tests/            E2E (188 tests) + unit (764 tests)

Tech stack

Layer	Tech
Rendering	Skia (CanvasKit WASM)
Layout	Yoga WASM (flex + grid via fork)
UI	Vue 3, Reka UI, Tailwind CSS 4
File format	Kiwi binary + Zstd + ZIP
Collaboration	Trystero (WebRTC P2P) + Yjs (CRDT)
Desktop	Tauri v2
AI/MCP	Multi-provider (Anthropic, OpenAI, Google AI, OpenRouter), MCP SDK, Hono

Desktop builds

Requires Rust and platform-specific prerequisites (Tauri v2 guide).

bun run tauri build

Acknowledgments

Thanks to @sld0Ant (Anton Soldatov) for creating and maintaining the documentation site.

License

MIT