
Figma adds code layers, support for animations, more AI features in new update
Quick Answer
Figma's latest update introduces a new code layer, enhanced support for motion and shaders, and AI-driven custom plugin capabilities, significantly expanding its design and development functionalities.
Quick Take
Figma's latest update introduces a new code layer, enhanced support for motion and shaders, and AI-driven custom plugin capabilities, significantly expanding its design and development functionalities. These features aim to streamline workflows for designers and developers by integrating coding and animation directly into the design process.
Key Points
- New code layer allows for direct coding within Figma projects.
- Enhanced support for motion and shaders improves animation capabilities.
- AI features enable the creation of custom plugins for various tasks.
- Update aims to streamline collaboration between designers and developers.
- Figma continues to evolve as a versatile tool for design and development.
📖 Reader Mode
~2 min readFigma on Wednesday showed off an update that adds a new code layer, support for motion and shaders, and the ability to create custom plug-ins for various tasks using AI.
The design platform has been working on bringing code integration into its tool for a while. Last year, it unveiled an AI prompt-based prototyping tool, Figma Make, and has since launched integrations with Claude Code and Codex to improve the hand-off between coding and design.
The company is now adding code layers directly to the collaborative canvas, helping teams clone repositories and extract flows from code to design layers for testing.

Figma’s chief product officer, Yuhki Yamashita, said code layers make it easier for designers, product managers, and programmers to iterate on ideas rather than focus on creating pristine code that goes into production.
“We think the multiplayer canvas is really powerful because this is an environment where you don’t really care about the quality of the code. If you’re rapidly exploring or need to kind of explore a bunch of new directions, you can do that in this spatial way. We hope that this feature produces different behavior not just with designers, but also with engineers and PMs,” he said over a call.
Figma now also supports animations, transitions, and 3D transforms. Previously, designers had to create animations in other software and convert it to code that the app could understand. Now designers can integrate animations and transitions directly into Figma.

You can now use AI to create some of these assets, and the update is adding support for adding shader effects and fills using AI, too.
Last year, Figma acquired node-based tool Weavy, which helped designers run workflows through different models to compare outputs, and is now working to integrate the two apps better. In an update rolling out later in the year, users will be able to generate Weavy workflows directly within Figma.
The company’s also adding new skills to make its AI assistant more useful with its collaborative canvas. Users can now write text prompts to create repeatable skills that AI agents can use. You can also connect tools like Notion, Granola, Excel, and GitHub, or attach files to give the AI bot more context about what you want it to do.
The company is also adding a feature to help users create custom plug-ins, like layout generators or vector path tracers, with prompts.
When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.
Ivan covers global consumer tech developments at TechCrunch. He is based out of India and has previously worked at publications including Huffington Post and The Next Web.
You can contact or verify outreach from Ivan by emailing im@ivanmehta.com or via encrypted message at ivan.42 on Signal.
— Originally published at techcrunch.com
Want this in your inbox every morning?
Daily brief at your local 8am — bilingual EN/中文, free.
More from TechCrunch
See more →
Qualcomm wants to be the chip inside whatever replaces your smartphone, and it just announced two products toward that end
Qualcomm is developing over 40 new AI hardware designs aimed at becoming the core technology in devices that will replace smartphones. This strategic move highlights Qualcomm's ambition to lead in the next generation of mobile computing, focusing on AI integration across various platforms.

