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One command, one plugin import, one run, one question to Claude. All of it runs on your machine. If the panel shows something you did not expect, Troubleshooting has every state and what to do next.
npx deskhand@latest setupNeeds Node.js 18 or newer, the Figma desktop app, and Claude Code or Claude Desktop.
You do steps 01 and 02 once. After that you only run the plugin.
Setup copies Deskhand into ~/.deskhand, registers it with Claude Code, Claude Desktop or both, and asks for a licence key. Press Enter to start the 14-day trial instead. It ends by printing the path of the plugin manifest.
npx deskhand@latest setupIn Figma, open Plugins, Development, Import plugin from manifest, and choose the file setup printed. The path stays the same after every update.
~/.deskhand/current/node_modules/deskhand/plugin/manifest.jsonOpen any Figma or FigJam file and run Plugins, Development, Deskhand. The panel finds the server on port 3055 by itself and shows Connected with your file’s name. One server serves every Claude session on your machine: it starts with the first session and stops a minute after the last one closes.
Ask Claude to call figma_get_context. When it answers with your file name and current page, you are set. The call shows up in the panel’s Activity tab, with how long it took.
--client code|desktop|bothRegister with that client without asking.--profile design|figjam|allThe tool profile for the server. Default design.--licence <key>Activate this licence key.--trialStart the 14-day trial without asking for a key.--yesAccept the defaults with no prompts. Registers with both clients when both are installed.Deskhand is free for 14 days from the first run, with no card and no key. After that it needs a subscription: £5 a month or £50 a year. The key arrives in your receipt email.
Paste it into Settings, Licence in the panel and press Activate key. Or hand it to setup:
npx deskhand@latest setup --licence <key>One key works in 3 places at once. Free a slot from the customer portal.
See pricingOne command updates Deskhand. When a newer version is on npm the panel shows Update available with the command to copy, and Settings has Check for updates.
npx deskhand@latest updateIt keeps its version until it exits, which it does by itself a minute after the last Claude session closes. Check it, or stop it now, then run the plugin again in Figma to load the new panel.
npx deskhand@latest statusnpx deskhand@latest stopA profile decides which tools the server loads, so every Claude session carries a shorter tools list. Setup picks design. Pass --profile to setup to change it, or set DESKHAND_PROFILE in the server’s environment.
designSetup default94tools
Figma Design and prototype tools. FigJam tools off.
figjam109tools
Figma and FigJam tools: stickies, shapes with text, connectors, tables, code blocks. Prototype tools off.
all113tools
Every tool. For days you move between Figma and FigJam.
npx deskhand@latest setup --profile figjamDeskhand checks your key online and keeps the result. Lose the connection and it keeps working on that last check.
Find the line the panel shows, then do what it says next. Every state below is drawn from the panel itself.
The panel looked and no Deskhand server is running.
npx deskhand@latest status says whether the server is running.The panel is scanning ports 3055 to 3070.
DESKHAND_PORT to a port outside that range? Press Use a fixed port and enter it.More than one Deskhand server is running, for example a beta beside the release.
The 14 days are up. Reads and writes stop until a key is added.
The key does not match a Deskhand licence. Usually a character went missing in the copy.
The licence was revoked or disabled, for example after a refund, or Deskhand could not check it for 30 days.
The last licence check was 9 days ago. Everything still works.
One file connects to the server at a time, and you ran the plugin in a second file.
deskhand · failedThe server stopped while the session was open, after stop --force or a crash. In Claude Code, run /mcp and reconnect Deskhand, or start a new session. Claude Desktop starts it again when you relaunch the app.
JOB_BUSYEvery Claude session shares the one server, and scripts run one at a time. Wait for the other script to finish, then ask again.
TIMEOUTCommands stop after 30 seconds. Large exports hit it first: export at a smaller scale, or fewer nodes at a time.
fontClaude can only set text in fonts installed on your machine. Install the font, or ask Claude to use one you have.
EADDRINUSEThe server binds one port and exits if another program holds it; ~/.deskhand/daemon.log says so. Free the port, or register Deskhand with the same alternative port for every session:
claude mcp add --scope user deskhand -e DESKHAND_PORT=3057 -e DESKHAND_NODE=$(command -v node) -- /bin/sh ~/.deskhand/current/node_modules/deskhand/src/shim.shTwo commands remove the server and everything in ~/.deskhand.
claude mcp remove -s user deskhandrm -rf ~/.deskhandUsing Claude Desktop? Remove the deskhand entry from claude_desktop_config.json too. Then remove the plugin in Figma under Plugins, Development.
Email the line the panel shows and the output of npx deskhand@latest status.