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As a user who prefers the cloud version of Figma, but needs the desktop version for certain plugins to work, the “Do you want to open this file in the desktop app?” pop-up prompt is an extra time-wasting click, every time I open a file (dozens of times per day).


I understand the intention is to give people to options - perhaps this would be better suited as a preference setting i.e. “choose default open-with app” cloud or desktop.


Thanks for considering!


Screenshot 2024-07-08 at 09.04.03

Hey there! Thanks for your feedback!

As a workaround, you can disable opening links in the Figma desktop app by default, by turning this setting off:



  1. Visit figma.com in a browser.

  2. Open a Figma design or FigJam file.

  3. Select Preferences > Open links in desktop app to uncheck and disable the setting.

    Let me know if this resolves the issue.

    If not, please clear the Desktop App cache:


On Mac:



  1. Quit the Figma Desktop App.

  2. Open Terminal.app and enter the following command: rm -rf "$HOME/Library/Application Support/Figma/"{Desktop,DesktopProfile}

  3. Try opening the Desktop App again.


On Windows:



  1. Close the Desktop app.

  2. Open the Start menu, and paste in this followed by enter: %APPDATA%\Figma

  3. In the window that opens, delete the Desktop and DesktopProfile folders if they exist.

  4. Launch the Desktop app again.

Thanks for the solution @Celine_Figma !


“open links in desktop app” was already unchecked but clearing the desktop app cache seemed to resolve it! I am no longer getting the message:) Thanks so much!

Ahh glad it’s working now! Thanks for letting me know. I’ve gone ahead and closed the topic 😊

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