TL;DRFigma launched code layers, native animations, AI shader effects, custom AI skills, and prompt-built plugins at its Config 2026 conference.
Figma used the opening keynote of its Config 2026 conference on Wednesday to unveil code layers, a feature that brings executable code directly onto the collaborative design canvas. Teams can now clone repositories and extract flows from code into design layers for testing, collapsing a handoff step that has defined the design-to-development workflow for over a decade.
The announcement came alongside native animation and motion support, AI-generated shader effects, new AI skills for Figma’s design assistant, and the ability to create custom plugins through text prompts. The updates were presented at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, where in-person tickets had sold out ahead of the three-day event.
Chief product officer Yuhki Yamashita said code layers are designed to change how designers, product managers, and engineers collaborate on ideas. He told TechCrunch the multiplayer canvas is powerful because teams exploring new directions do not need to worry about code quality. The spatial format, he said, lets them iterate without the pressure of writing production-ready code.
