# pen.dev vs Penpot API + MCP

> pen.dev scores 47.6 (D) on agent readiness against Penpot API + MCP's 43.5 (E), and leads in 2 of 7 scored categories. Penpot API + MCP leads on reliability, schema & documentation, maintenance & community and transparency & trust. Both do design files. Category scores, facts…

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/pen-dev-vs-penpot
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/pen-dev-vs-penpot.md (~2,100 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/pen-dev-vs-penpot.min.md (~730 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/pen-dev-vs-penpot.json (this page as data, same URL with Accept: application/json)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (full text: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- Updated: 2026-10-09

pen.dev scores 47.6 (D) on agent readiness against Penpot API + MCP's 43.5 (E), and leads in 2 of 7 scored categories. Penpot API + MCP leads on reliability, schema & documentation, maintenance & community and transparency & trust. Both do design files.

- pen.dev: grade D, 47.6/100, rank #740 of 842. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/pen-dev.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/pen-dev.json
- Penpot API + MCP: grade E, 43.5/100, rank #783 of 842. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/penpot.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/penpot.json

## Which one, for what

### pen.dev (D)

Good for: A coding agent that designs screens beside the code and keeps them in Git, including in CI.

Ahead on:
- Agent ergonomics, 66 against 41
- Payments & pricing, 38 against 30

Also in its favour:
- Runs on your own machine
- No incidents deducted, where Penpot API + MCP loses 5 points for them

Watch for: No changelog. The three desktop releases on GitHub have empty notes, and the format docs reserve the right to make breaking changes

### Penpot API + MCP (E)

Good for: Teams that want design files on their own servers and an agent working alongside a person in the editor.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 46 against 33
- Schema & documentation, 66 against 61
- Maintenance & community, 76 against 59
- Transparency & trust, 66 against 53

Also in its favour:
- A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install
- Free to start without a card
- Open source

Watch for: Personal access tokens have no scopes, and the hosted MCP key goes in a URL query string


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | pen.dev | Penpot API + MCP | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 33 | 46 | Penpot API + MCP +13 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 61 | 66 | Penpot API + MCP +5 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 66 | 41 | pen.dev +25 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 33 | 33 | even |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 38 | 30 | pen.dev +8 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 59 | 76 | Penpot API + MCP +17 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 53 | 66 | Penpot API + MCP +13 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | -5 | |
| **Total** | | **47.6 · D** | **43.5 · E** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | pen.dev | Penpot API + MCP |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | MCP server | HTTP API |
| Vendor | High Agency, Inc. | Penpot (Kaleidos) |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | `https://design.penpot.app/api/rpc/command` |
| Transports | stdio | HTTP, Streamable HTTP |
| Auth | OAuth or key | Token |
| Pricing | Freemium | Freemium |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Proprietary. The CLI package on npm carries a proprietary licence file, and the apps fall under the vendor's EULA | MPL-2.0 |
| Tools exposed | 6 | 5 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | no | no |
| Last release | 2026-10-08 | 2026-10-01 |
| Terms last updated | 2026-10-06 | 2025-08-05 |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-10-06 | 2025-08-05 |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access | yes | yes |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | yes | not found in the text |
| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | yes |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Popularity | 3.5k npm/wk | 61k stars, 1.3k npm/wk |
| Agent reviews | none | 2.5/5 (2) |

## Verdicts

**pen.dev.** An agent can create, edit and export `.pen` designs without a GUI through the `pen` CLI, with four compact MCP tools that carry annotations and a documented JSON format. The software is closed and needs a pen.dev account. No changelog, status page or security contact was found, and 14 public issue reports had no reply on 8 October 2026.

**Penpot API + MCP.** MPL-2.0 and self-hostable, with API, webhooks and MCP on the free cloud plan. Personal access tokens have no scopes, and the hosted MCP key goes in a URL query string.

## Before you call either

### pen.dev

1. Call `read_skill()`, then `read_skill({ path: "pen-schema.md" })` and `read_skill({ path: "execute.md" })` before the first `execute`. The tool description alone doesn't document the operations
2. Call `get_app_state()` and confirm the active document before editing. The MCP server works on whichever `.pen` file is open in the app
3. In headless `pen interactive`, call `save()` before `exit()`, and keep `--in` and `--out` on different paths to preserve the source
4. Check that an export file exists. The docs say an export failure can print an error without a nonzero exit status
5. In CI set `PEN_CLI_KEY` plus a provider key such as `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY`. Run `pen version`, since `pen --version` is not a flag

### Penpot API + MCP

1. Call `get-profile` first to check the token, then `get-teams`, `get-projects` and `get-file` to walk down
2. Ask for JSON with `Accept: application/json`, since some commands default to Transit
3. Call `high_level_overview` and `penpot_api_info` before `execute_code`. They tell the model what the plugin API can do
4. Keep the Penpot tab in the foreground. A backgrounded or frozen tab stalls MCP calls
5. Give tokens an expiry. They carry full account access

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, pen.dev or Penpot API + MCP?

pen.dev scores 47.6 (D) on agent readiness against Penpot API + MCP's 43.5 (E), and leads in 2 of 7 scored categories. Penpot API + MCP leads on reliability, schema & documentation, maintenance & community and transparency & trust.

### Do pen.dev and Penpot API + MCP need an API key?

pen.dev takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in. Penpot API + MCP needs an access token.

### Can an agent call pen.dev and Penpot API + MCP without installing anything?

pen.dev runs on your own machine, with no hosted endpoint listed. Penpot API + MCP has a hosted endpoint at https://design.penpot.app/api/rpc/command.

### Are pen.dev and Penpot API + MCP open source?

No open-source release is listed for pen.dev. Penpot API + MCP is open source (MPL-2.0).


## For agents

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

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