Figma introduces Specs to guide AI agents with design context

Figma has announced Specs, a Markdown-based editor designed to define a company’s design language for teams and AI agents. Unveiled at the company’s first Config event in India, the feature can capture design rules, reference Figma assets and assemble the context needed for Figma’s own and third-party agents to work within a brand’s standards.

The company also placed Code Layers into public beta, expanded support for more than 20 tools through its Model Context Protocol (MCP), and announced an integration between its Payload headless CMS and Figma Make. Figma said Payload downloads have increased sixfold over the past 12 months.

A shared specification for design work

Specs is both a text editor and a design reference. It can exist as a standalone file in Figma or alongside work on the canvas. Teams can reference canvas elements, embed FigJam diagrams, code layers and designs, and bring design libraries, code libraries and guidelines into the same system.

That centralised material is intended to give agents a defined set of rules to consult while creating or revising designs. Figma made its canvas agent available to a wider group of users in the past week, but says the new controls are meant to steer outcomes towards greater predictability despite the non-deterministic nature of AI.

Code Layers moves beyond private beta

Code Layers adds code directly to designs on the canvas so that teams can produce more interactive prototypes. Figma announced the capability in private beta in June and is now making it available in public beta. Users can ask an agent to turn a design into code or alter part of the code while iterating on a prototype.

The release extends the direction set by Figma code layers and interactive prototypes as Figma connects code layers and interactive prototyping with the design workspace. Chief Design Officer Loredana Crisan said Figma sees itself as the place where software teams decide what to build and ship, while AI has made building more accessible.

Crisan said 17 times more lines of code are being produced today, while releases are only 1.3 times higher. In her view, much of that code is used to discover what a product is and to design it rather than to ship it.

Payload and India expansion

Figma acquired the open-source headless CMS Payload last year. Its connection to Figma Make is intended to support the generation of dynamic websites and direct content management from that workflow.

India is Figma’s largest user market outside the United States, the company said. Figma opened its first Indian office late last year for sales, partnerships, go-to-market and product support, and said its platform works with 40% of the top 100 companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

For businesses, the immediate implication is to document design systems, code libraries and operating guidelines in a form that both people and agents can reference before using AI to generate or modify prototypes.