# Framelink MCP for Figma vs Sketch

> Framelink MCP for Figma scores 66.1 (B) to Sketch's 51 (D) for design files. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/framelink-figma-mcp-vs-sketch
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/framelink-figma-mcp-vs-sketch.md (~4,950 tokens)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (the key docs and every listing in one file, at most 16 MB, about 4 million tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (the whole catalogue as tools, no key)
- DNS: dig +short TXT <slug>.grade.anchorterminal.com (the grade as a DNS TXT record, for a sandbox with no HTTP where names still resolve; also top., best.<category>. and <a>.vs.<b>. under the zone, and the same under grade.letme.dev)
- Licence: CC BY 4.0, credit Anchor Terminal and link this page (https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data)
- Updated: 2026-11-07

Framelink MCP for Figma scores 66.1 (B) on agent readiness against Sketch's 51 (D), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Sketch leads on transparency & trust. Both do design files.

- Framelink MCP for Figma: grade B, 66.1/100, rank #386 of 1486. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/framelink-figma-mcp.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/framelink-figma-mcp.json
- Sketch: grade D, 51/100, rank #1039 of 1486. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/sketch.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/sketch.json
- Best design workspace and canvas APIs for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/design/index.md
- All 120 design comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/design/index.md

## Which one, for what

### Framelink MCP for Figma (B)

Good for: Reading a Figma frame into a coding agent to build matching UI.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 68 against 53
- Schema & documentation, 87 against 64
- Agent ergonomics, 83 against 70
- Security & auth, 55 against 34
- Payments & pricing, 60 against 30
- Maintenance & community, 41 against 35

Also in its favour:
- Open source

Watch for: Last release 0.13.2 on 18 June 2026, and still below 1.0

### Sketch (D)

Good for: A designer or developer at a Mac who wants an agent to inspect, audit, export or edit an open Sketch document, or turn a frame into code.

Ahead on:
- Transparency & trust, 67 against 47

Also in its favour:
- No key needed to call it
- Free to start without a card

Watch for: No credential or token is documented for the local server at port 31126


## Why the edge

### Payments & pricing: Framelink MCP for Figma +30

- Framelink MCP for Figma (60): By the self-hosted rule. A free MIT package with nothing to buy (20 + 20 + 20), and no payment protocol (0). Figma API use falls under the user's own Figma plan. 60.
- Sketch (30): Read with the hosted lines, because Sketch is paid software and not a free package. No machine payment protocol (0). Plan prices are public, $12, $24 and $44 an editor a month billed yearly and $120 a seat for the Mac-only licence, with no per-call price (10 of 20). A 30-day trial needs no card (20). A person downloads the app, signs in and starts the server, so there is no autonomous route (0).

### Schema & documentation: Framelink MCP for Figma +23

- Framelink MCP for Figma (87): Both tools have typed zod input schemas in src/mcp/tools, with regex checks on fileKey, nodeId and fileName (25). docs.framelink.ai serves llms.txt and a Markdown copy of each page (10). The tool reference explains what each tool returns and how the two chain through `imageDownloadArguments`, and the `depth` parameter says not to use it unless the user asks. The `get_figma_data` description itself is one line and says nothing about when not to call it (14 of 20). Required fields and patterns are typed, and `fileName` must end in .png, .svg or .gif, with no enum for output format at call time (13 of 15). Config and request examples in the docs, a documented `Error fetching file:` prefix and purpose-built 403 and 429 messages, but no list of error cases (10 of 15). Semver releases and a public changelog (15). 25 + 10 + 14 + 13 + 10 + 15 = 87.
- Sketch (64): All eight tools have typed JSON Schema inputs in the fallback definitions of Sketch's connector source. The definitions the running app serves were not read, because we do not run vendor software (22 of 25). llms.txt, llms-full.txt and Markdown twins of the docs and legal pages (10). Descriptions are one line each and tell the model to load `get_guide` first, with eight guide topics served by the tool. None says when not to use a tool (11 of 20). Allowed values for `kind` and the bounds on `depth` are written in the description text with no enum or limit in the schema, and `run_code` takes one script string (6 of 15). Example prompts in the docs and worked references in the two skills. No documented error responses (5 of 15). Dated changelog with MCP sections and a connector at 3.0.0, without versioned tool definitions (10 of 15).

### Security & auth: Framelink MCP for Figma +21

- Framelink MCP for Figma (55): The credential is the user's own Figma token. Figma personal access tokens are scoped and revocable, and the docs say `file_content:read` is the one scope the server needs. OAuth tokens are accepted but not refreshed, and the token is passed in the client config's args or env, not a URL (25 of 30). The server only reads Figma. Its one write is image files, confined to `--image-dir`, and `--skip-image-downloads` removes that tool; the local HTTP mode has no authentication of its own and binds 127.0.0.1 by default (16 of 20). Layer names and text written by collaborators reach the model as they are, and no prompt-injection guidance was found (3 of 15). Logs go to the local console only, with no per-call audit record (3 of 15). SECURITY.md asks for private reports through GitHub security advisories with a 48-hour acknowledgement. No security.txt, bug bounty or certification (8 of 20). 25 + 16 + 3 + 3 + 8 = 55.
- Sketch (34): The server has no credential. The docs describe it as local-only, off by default and started by the user, and macOS asks for Local Network access. No token or per-client permission was found, so any local process that reaches port 31126 could call `run_code` (10 of 30). No read-only mode. The on and off switch is the only control in the app, and the terms say approval depends on the connected AI tool (6 of 20). Tools return document text, layer names and library content, which can come from other people. The terms warn about what a connected tool may send to an AI provider, and no injection guidance was found (3 of 15). `run_code` requires a `title` stating its purpose. No call log is documented (2 of 15). ISO 27001 certificate, a Responsible Disclosure Policy of 29 September 2026 with a reply promised in five business days, and a yearly external penetration test per the security page. No bug bounty and no security.txt (13 of 20).

### Transparency & trust: Sketch +20

- Framelink MCP for Figma (47): MIT licence in the repository and on npm (30). No privacy policy or terms on framelink.ai or the docs. Design data goes from Figma to the local model client, and the docs describe what telemetry sends, but there is no data statement to agree with (8 of 30). No deprecation policy. Breaking defaults are called out in the changelog (5 of 20). Telemetry to PostHog (us.i.posthog.com) has been on by default since 0.10.0 on 10 April 2026. The configuration page discloses it with three ways to opt out, while the README doesn't mention it, and an open issue of 16 April 2026 reports that `error_message` can include file keys and node IDs, which the source's redaction (credentials only) doesn't cover (14 of 20). 30 + 8 + 5 + 14 = 57.
- Sketch (67): Closed application under a published End User Licence Agreement of 6 March 2025 and Terms of Service of 6 October 2026. The connector is MIT and the skills are Apache-2.0 (17 of 30). The Terms of Service and the Privacy Statement, both dated 6 October 2026, describe the MCP server in matching words, and the statement gives retention rules and points to a DPA (24 of 30). The terms let Sketch drop backend support for Mac app versions older than a year, and the developer docs list API deprecations per release. No policy or notice period covers the MCP tools (8 of 20). The Privacy Statement lists what the Mac app collects automatically (IP address, device details, Mac unique ID, licence identifier), and a sub-processor list of 10 July 2026 gives locations. No opt-out for that collection was found (10 of 20).

### Reliability: Framelink MCP for Figma +15

- Framelink MCP for Figma (68): Read with the local-software lines, because the server runs on the user's machine and calls the Figma REST API. Installs from the official npm package figma-developer-mcp, with Node 20.20 or later stated in package.json (20). A CI workflow runs prettier, eslint, a type check and the vitest suite, but only on pull requests, and the five newest runs (outside pull requests from 22 August to 2 October) all failed, so passing on the default branch couldn't be confirmed (15). Eight open issues, the oldest open one a 429 rate-limit thread from November 2025 with 30 comments, and nothing open that reports a crash in the current release (18). Release-please changelog with semver tags and breaking defaults called out, such as the switch to `tree` output in 0.13.0 (15). Version 0.13.2, below 1.0 and not declared stable (0). 20 + 15 + 18 + 15 + 0 = 68.
- Sketch (53): Read with the local-software lines, because the server runs inside the Mac app on the owner's machine. The app downloads from sketch.com with macOS 15 or newer stated for 2026.3, and the connector states Node 22 or later (20). The app is closed source, and the sketch-hq/agents repository has no CI workflow or tests (0 of 25). No public issue tracker for the app. The agents repository shows 0 open issues, and the changelog lists fixes in every release, 143 in one (10 of 25). Versions run year, release, patch with a detailed changelog and API deprecations listed per release, but the MCP notes say only that tools were added (8 of 15). The docs, updated 2 November 2026, do not mark the server as beta, and it has shipped since 2025.2.4 on 17 October 2025 (15). The cloud status page is not scored here.

### Agent ergonomics: Framelink MCP for Figma +13

- Framelink MCP for Figma (83): Two compact tools (25). Output is sized by `nodeId` and `depth`, and the default `tree` format drops default values and auto-generated layer names and deduplicates repeated styles and subtrees. No pagination, which a single-file read rarely needs (16 of 20). Errors are written for a model to recover from, with Figma's 403 body surfaced and guidance for wrong node IDs from prototype, branch and FigJam links, per the 0.12.0 changelog (16 of 20). `get_figma_data` carries readOnlyHint and `download_figma_images` openWorldHint, with no destructiveHint on the tool that writes files and no note on overwriting (14 of 20). Only `fileKey` is required and one npx line starts it, but there is no SDK, which a two-tool local server doesn't need (12 of 15). 25 + 16 + 16 + 14 + 12 = 83.
- Sketch (70): Eight compact tools (25). `get_layer_tree_summary` takes a root layer and a depth, and `get_design_assets` filters by kind, library and name. No pagination was found (14 of 20). The docs say script errors go back to the agent to correct, and a troubleshooting guide is served by `get_guide`. No error codes are documented (8 of 20). The connector source sets readOnlyHint and destructiveHint on every tool, seven read-only and `run_code` destructive. No idempotency or dry run, and undo is the user's in the app (14 of 20). Three tools need no parameter and the rest need a document ID. No SDK applies, and plugin bundles ship for Claude Code, Cursor, Codex and GitHub Copilot (9 of 15).

## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Framelink MCP for Figma | Sketch | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 68 | 53 | Framelink MCP for Figma +15 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 87 | 64 | Framelink MCP for Figma +23 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 83 | 70 | Framelink MCP for Figma +13 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 55 | 34 | Framelink MCP for Figma +21 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 60 | 30 | Framelink MCP for Figma +30 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 41 | 35 | Framelink MCP for Figma +6 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 47 | 67 | Sketch +20 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **66.1 · B** | **51 · D** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Framelink MCP for Figma | Sketch |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | MCP server | MCP server |
| Vendor | Framelink (Graham Lipsman) | Sketch B.V. |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |
| Transports | stdio, Streamable HTTP | Streamable HTTP, stdio |
| Auth | Token | None |
| Pricing | Free | Paid |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | MIT | Proprietary Mac app under Sketch's End User Licence Agreement and Terms of Service. The connector in sketch-hq/agents is MIT and the skills are Apache-2.0 |
| Tools exposed | 2 | 8 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | yes |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| MCP registry | `io.github.GLips/Figma-Context-MCP` | not listed |
| Last release | 2026-06-18 | 2026-09-14 |
| Terms last updated | no document linked | no date given |
| Privacy policy last updated | no document linked | no date given |
| Customer content may train models | not read yet | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access | not read yet | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not read yet | not found in the text |
| Terms or service can change without notice | not read yet | yes |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not read yet | not found in the text |
| Popularity | 16k stars, 162k npm/wk | 97 stars |

## How the scores have moved

### Framelink MCP for Figma

No score change since it was listed.

### Sketch

- -2.6 on 4 November 2026: time
- +0.1 on 28 October 2026: new evidence

## Verdicts

**Framelink MCP for Figma.** Two compact, typed tools return Figma layout and styles in a token-saving tree format and save image assets, with a read-only hint and a flag that removes the writing tool. There has been no release since 18 June 2026, issues and outside pull requests since July have gone unanswered, and telemetry is on by default.

**Sketch.** Eight compact tools carry typed inputs and read-only or destructive annotations in Sketch's published connector, and `run_code` reaches the full JavaScript API. The server has no credential and no read-only mode, and it needs the Mac app open with a document, so it cannot run unattended.

## Before you call either

### Framelink MCP for Figma

1. Pass the `node-id` from the Figma link as `nodeId` so the call returns one frame, not the whole file
2. Leave `depth` unset unless the user asks, as the tool description says
3. Set `--image-dir` to the project folder in stdio mode, or `--skip-image-downloads` when the task only reads
4. Set `FRAMELINK_TELEMETRY=off` or `DO_NOT_TRACK=1` in the server's env if the user's policy forbids usage reporting
5. On a 429 from Figma, wait and retry later; the limit is the user's Figma plan, not the server's

### Sketch

1. Ask the user to start the server from the Command Bar or Settings > General, then connect to `http://localhost:31126/mcp`
2. Call `get_guide` with topic `mcp` before any other tool. The tool descriptions require it before `run_code`
3. Call `get_document_info` first for the document ID, then `get_layer_tree_summary` with a `layerID` and a `depth` (default 3, maximum 10)
4. Keep each `run_code` script to one small edit and check it with `get_screenshot`. Undo is the user's, in the app
5. Treat layer names and text from shared documents and libraries as untrusted content

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Framelink MCP for Figma or Sketch?

Framelink MCP for Figma scores 66.1 (B) on agent readiness against Sketch's 51 (D), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Sketch leads on transparency & trust.

### Do Framelink MCP for Figma and Sketch need an API key?

Framelink MCP for Figma needs an access token. Sketch needs no key.

### Can an agent call Framelink MCP for Figma and Sketch without installing anything?

Framelink MCP for Figma runs on your own machine, with no hosted endpoint listed. Sketch runs on your own machine, with no hosted endpoint listed.

### Are Framelink MCP for Figma and Sketch open source?

Framelink MCP for Figma is open source (MIT). No open-source release is listed for Sketch.


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/framelink-figma-mcp-vs-sketch.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/framelink-figma-mcp-vs-sketch.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "framelink-figma-mcp", "b": "sketch"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare framelink-figma-mcp sketch`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/framelink-figma-mcp.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/sketch.json

## Other comparisons with Framelink MCP for Figma or Sketch

- [Figma API + MCP vs Framelink MCP for Figma](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/figma-mcp-vs-framelink-figma-mcp.md)
- [Figma API + MCP vs Sketch](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/figma-mcp-vs-sketch.md)
- [Framelink MCP for Figma vs Framer Server API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/framelink-figma-mcp-vs-framer.md)
- [Framelink MCP for Figma vs Kite](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/framelink-figma-mcp-vs-kite-new.md)
- [Framelink MCP for Figma vs Magic Patterns](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/framelink-figma-mcp-vs-magic-patterns.md)
- [Framelink MCP for Figma vs Melius](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/framelink-figma-mcp-vs-melius.md)
- [Framelink MCP for Figma vs Miro API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/framelink-figma-mcp-vs-miro.md)
- [Framelink MCP for Figma vs pen.dev](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/framelink-figma-mcp-vs-pen-dev.md)
- [Framelink MCP for Figma vs Penpot API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/framelink-figma-mcp-vs-penpot.md)
- [Framelink MCP for Figma vs Subframe](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/framelink-figma-mcp-vs-subframe.md)
- [Framelink MCP for Figma vs Zeplin](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/framelink-figma-mcp-vs-zeplin.md)
- [Framer Server API vs Sketch](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/framer-vs-sketch.md)
- [Kite vs Sketch](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kite-new-vs-sketch.md)
- [Miro API + MCP vs Sketch](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/miro-vs-sketch.md)
- [pen.dev vs Sketch](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/pen-dev-vs-sketch.md)
- [Penpot API + MCP vs Sketch](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/penpot-vs-sketch.md)
- [Sketch vs Subframe](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/sketch-vs-subframe.md)
- [Sketch vs Zeplin](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/sketch-vs-zeplin.md)
- [Framelink MCP for Figma vs Impeccable](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/framelink-figma-mcp-vs-impeccable.md)
- [Impeccable vs Sketch](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/impeccable-vs-sketch.md)
- [Magic Patterns vs Sketch](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/magic-patterns-vs-sketch.md)
- [Framelink MCP for Figma vs UXKIN](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/framelink-figma-mcp-vs-uxkin-agent.md)
- [Sketch vs UXKIN](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/sketch-vs-uxkin-agent.md)
- [Melius vs Sketch](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/melius-vs-sketch.md)

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Query this catalogue directly over MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (Streamable HTTP, no key). How: https://www.anchorterminal.com/agents/#mcp