Figma MCP no edit access on read tools with a view link works after can edit remote server claude code

Hi ​@Jaycee Lewis , we get exactly the same error with get_metadata/get_screenshot and can answer your questions for our case:

1. whoami: one plan, tier "starter", seat "View", role "admin"
2. File location: in a plan of another organization (whoami lists no plan other than ours)
3. Remote server (https://mcp.figma.com/mcp), used from Claude Code
4. We first only had "can view" via a link we were sent: both calls were rejected immediately with the same message as in the original post (debug UUIDs
fc3b696c-5c21-4ede-95af-2bf8c5534d3b and d24736d5-8b44-406d-8eea-67bf3a097358, 2026-09-23 08:29:58 UTC). Later someone granted us "can edit" on request (we don't know
at which level - file, project or team), and the identical calls on the same file work. Plan and seat in whoami are the same before and after.

So for us view-only access isn't enough, although the Help Center lists "edit or view only permissions" as the requirement. Is edit access really required for read
tools, or is something else checked (e.g. membership in the file's plan, as described in https://forum.figma.com/report-a-problem-6/mcp-not-working-51611)? Either way
the message names "edit access", which may be misleading.

Reading a design file through the official remote Figma MCP server fails with an "edit access" error while our access to the file is "can view". After our access was
changed to "can edit", the identical calls succeed. The Help Center lists "edit or view only permissions" as the requirement, so we would like to understand which
rule is actually applied.

What happened
1) 2026-09-23, 08:29:58 UTC - our access to the file: "can view" (via a link we were sent). get_metadata and get_screenshot were both rejected within a second:
"Looks like you don't have edit access to this file. The file owner can share it with you and make you an editor."
Figma Debug UUIDs: fc3b696c-5c21-4ede-95af-2bf8c5534d3b (get_metadata), d24736d5-8b44-406d-8eea-67bf3a097358 (get_screenshot)
2) 2026-09-30, from 08:43 UTC - after edit access had been granted on our request: the same two calls with identical parameters succeeded, no errors. We don't know at
Figma Debug UUIDs: fc3b696c-5c21-4ede-95af-2bf8c5534d3b (get_metadata), d24736d5-8b44-406d-8eea-67bf3a097358 (get_screenshot)
which level the grant was made (file, project or team).
3) whoami on 2026-09-23 and on 2026-10-12 shows the same: one plan (tier "starter"), seat "View", role "admin".

Setup
- Remote server (https://mcp.figma.com/mcp, OAuth), serverInfo "Figma MCP Server" 1.0.0
- Client: Claude Code 2.1.280 (failed calls), 2.1.285 (successful calls)
- File location: in a plan of another organization; whoami lists no plan other than ours
- Our access has since been upgraded to "can edit", so we can't reproduce the "can view" case ourselves right now.

Docs vs. behavior

• Help Center ("How to set up the Figma remote MCP server"): "Edit or view only permissions to that file." and "If someone else owns the file your team wants to use, just ask them to share it with you first." That is what we did: the file was shared with us via a view link. https://help.figma.com/hc/en-us/articles/35281350665623

• MCP docs ("Rate limits & access"): "You can only access Figma content that you already have permission to view or edit."
  https://developers.figma.com/docs/figma-mcp-server/rate-limits-access/

• Our seat is "View". The Help Center says other seats "may have usage limits with the MCP server" (not that they are blocked), and the same View seat works as soon
  as we have "can edit", so the seat does not seem to be the blocker.

• The error links to the rate-limits-access doc. Its troubleshooting step says "Confirm permissions: Ensure the user belongs to the plan to which the file being
  accessed belongs to as well"; nothing in it says that edit access is required for read tools.

• Same message in other threads: https://forum.figma.com/report-a-problem-6/figma-get-screenshot-mcp-server-claude-code-edit-access-error-56506 and https://forum.figm
  a.com/report-a-problem-6/mcp-get-metadata-get-design-context-fails-with-don-t-have-edit-access-despite-owner-edit-permissions-multiple-debug-uuids-57392 . In
  https://forum.figma.com/report-a-problem-6/mcp-not-working-51611 , Community Support says an account must belong to the plan/team the file lives in.

Questions

1. Which rule is actually applied when a file belongs to another organization's plan: the file permission ("can view" vs. "can edit"), membership in the owning
plan/team, or a seat there? The docs mention all three in different places.

2. In our case a view link without membership in the owning plan was rejected with "edit access". After "can edit" was granted, the same calls work, yet whoami still
lists only our own plan. What did the grant change for us? We can't see at which level it was made; you should be able to check that on your side.

3. Please align the docs and the error message with the actual rule. "Edit access" points users in the wrong direction.

The debug UUIDs above should identify the file on your side; happy to add details where we can.

Hey ​@Jens Geyer ​@Jaycee Lewis - I merged over the conversation happening over here to the new topic made!