Figma used Config India 2026 to put several AI-era design tools into wider testing. In release notes dated 15 October 2026, the company listed code layers and Figma Specs in open beta, Payload backends inside Figma Make, Guidelines for its agent, and more partners for Figma MCP.
Code layers and Specs
Code layers let people build interactive, code-backed prototypes on the Figma canvas. According to Figma, you can start by converting a design frame, importing a GitHub repo, capturing a website with the Figma Chrome extension, or prompting from scratch. The feature is rolling out now in open beta. Creating and editing inside a code layer will be free on paid plans through 4 November 2026.
Figma Specs is described as a “native home for context” that brings written intent, visual exploration and technical details together for teams and agents. It is rolling out now in open beta on paid plans.
TechCrunch reported that code layers were announced in private beta in June, and that this India event moves them into public beta.
Payload in Figma Make
Figma Make can now scaffold a Payload backend, Figma says, giving an app a CMS, database, media, APIs, auth and an admin panel so a prototype can become a production app with content hosted alongside the designs. The release notes say this is rolling out across all plans.
Guidelines, design systems and MCP
Guidelines can be added to published design libraries so the agent follows established patterns and avoids anti-patterns. That is in open beta. Code sources, which import code from GitHub repositories or npm packages to help the agent match real design systems, are in closed beta. Centralized design systems, which bundle design libraries, code libraries and guidelines, are preview only.
Figma MCP now supports 20 new partners, the company says, and can create code layers, edit specs or generate images on the canvas from external AI tools.
Context on the agent, and a company figure
Figma’s agent itself is not a same-day launch. Figma’s own notes say the agent became generally available on 6 October 2026. TechCrunch reported that in the past week Figma made the agent on the canvas available to a wider user base.
Speaking to TechCrunch, Figma chief design officer Loredana Crisan said: “There are 17-times more lines of code being produced today than in the past. But when you’re looking at releases, only 1.3-times more releases.” Those ratios are hers; TechCrunch does not cite an independent source for them.
What this means
- Config India is a rollout day for several tools, not a brand-new agent launch. Code layers, Specs and Guidelines widen access; the agent was already GA earlier in October.
- Figma is tying design context to agents. Specs, Guidelines and centralized design systems are meant to steer AI toward a team’s rules.
- Make is moving closer to production apps. Payload gives prototypes a hosted backend inside Figma’s stack.
Sources
- Figma, “Here’s everything from Config India 2026”, Release Notes, 15 October 2026. https://www.figma.com/release-notes/
- TechCrunch (Ivan Mehta), “Figma announces new features to define how agents work on its platform”, 14 October 2026. https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/14/figma-announces-new-features-to-define-how-agents-work-on-its-platform/
