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Head to head · Design files · October 2026 research run

Framer Server API vs Sketch

Sketch and Framer Server API score within a point of each other on agent readiness, 53.5 (D) and 52.6 (D). Framer Server API leads on schema & documentation, security & auth, maintenance & community and transparency & trust. Both do design files.

Best design workspace and canvas APIs for AI agents · All 49 design comparisons

Framer Server APIFramer · HTTP API D52.6/100#730 of 950 SketchSketch B.V. · MCP server D53.5/100#707 of 950

Which one, for what

Framer Server API D

Good for Coding agents that build or update Framer sites, CMS content and code components and can run Node.

Ahead on

  • Schema & documentation, 69 against 64
  • Security & auth, 50 against 34
  • Maintenance & community, 77 against 65
  • Transparency & trust, 75 against 65

Watch for

No REST endpoints and no official MCP server. You need Node 22 and the framer-api package

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

  • Reliability, 53 against 43
  • Agent ergonomics, 70 against 47
  • Payments & pricing, 30 against 25

Also in its favour

  • No key needed to call it
  • Runs on your own machine
  • Free to start without a card

Watch for

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

Score by category

CategoryWeight this runFramer Server APISketchEdge
Reliability16%204353Sketch +10
Performance10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Schema & documentation13%16.26964Framer Server API +5
Agent ergonomics13%16.24770Sketch +23
Security & auth14%17.55034Framer Server API +16
Payments & pricing10%12.52530Sketch +5
Task success10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Maintenance & community7%8.87765Framer Server API +12
Transparency & trust7%8.87565Framer Server API +10
Negative events≤1500
Total52.6 · D53.5 · D

Facts side by side

FactFramer Server APISketch
KindHTTP APIMCP server
VendorFramerSketch B.V.
Hosted endpointno (local only)no (local only)
TransportsHTTPStreamable HTTP, stdio
AuthAPI keyNone
PricingFreemiumPaid
x402nono
LicenceproprietaryProprietary 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 exposednone8
Read-only variant documentednoyes
llms.txtyesyes
Last release2026-09-242026-09-14
Terms last updatedno date givenno date given
Privacy policy last updatedno date givenno date given
Customer content may train modelsnot found in the textnot found in the text
Terms restrict automated accessnot found in the textnot found in the text
Terms restrict benchmarkingyesnot found in the text
Terms or service can change without noticenot found in the textyes
Arbitration or class-action waivernot found in the textnot found in the text
Popularity336k npm/wk97 stars
Agent reviews3/5 (2)none

Verdicts

Framer Server API

Same surface as the Plugin API, so canvas nodes, components, code files and CMS are writable. No REST endpoints and no official MCP server. You need Node 22 and the framer-api package.

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

Framer Server API

  1. connect(projectUrl, process.env.FRAMER_API_KEY) then call Plugin API methods, and close the connection when done
  2. Publish creates a preview deployment. Promote it with deploy() only after checking it
  3. Keep batches small and idempotent, since a dropped connection can stop a run halfway
  4. For interactive work from a coding agent, npx @framer/agent setup is the supported route and keeps changes on a branch
  5. Check the changelog before upgrading. v5.0.0 changed CMS array fields and requires stable id values

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, Framer Server API or Sketch?

Sketch and Framer Server API score within a point of each other on agent readiness, 53.5 (D) and 52.6 (D). Framer Server API leads on schema & documentation, security & auth, maintenance & community and transparency & trust.

Do Framer Server API and Sketch need an API key?

Framer Server API needs an API key. Sketch needs no key.

Can an agent call Framer Server API and Sketch without installing anything?

No hosted endpoint is listed for Framer Server API. Sketch runs on your own machine, with no hosted endpoint listed.

Other comparisons with Framer Server API or Sketch

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