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In April 2024, Figma released "FigPals" as a temporary April Fools feature. Its removal sparked an unexpected rebellion: over 3,000 users signed a petition demanding their return.

When I joined the Into Design Systems Hackathon team, ctrl_alt_design, we saw an opportunity to turn this community icon into a functional powerhouse.

This wasn't just about aesthetics; it was about identity and tone of voice. The Maker made these complex AI configurations tangible and fun.

• The Extension Brain: Handled logic and LLM orchestration, bypassing sandbox timeouts.
• The Plugin Hands: Headless plugin that provides canvas context and executes actions.
• The UI Injection: Physics-based avatars that follow user focus, acting as a visual anchor.

Metrics & KPIs

Next Steps & Future Alternative

During the hackathon, Figma had zero native support for AI agents directly in the canvas. In response, the design and developer communities did what they do best: hacked their way to getting what they wanted. Inspired by this experience, I independently built and released Figma Agent Embed—the next, fully production-ready evolution of this concept.

Since the project's inception, Figma has released its own native canvas AI agent. While their native solution will continue to improve, its eventual pricing and cost models remain uncertain. Figma Agent Embed stands as a powerful, open-source alternative. Instead of being locked into a single provider, it lets you bypass sandbox limitations and plug your existing AI subscriptions (like Claude, OpenAI, or local agents) right inside your Figma workspace.