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VS Code + Figma MCP Failing to Create Authentication Token

Forum|Forum|3 months ago
May 27, 2026
24 replies
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Hi Figma team and community,

I am trying to use Figma MCP (Model Context Protocol) integration in VS Code, but I’m running into a persistent authentication token creation issue that prevents the connection from working.

Problem Description

When I configure mcp.json like this:

"figma": {"type": "http","url": "https://mcp.figma.com/mcp"},

and start the server in VS Code, a browser opens to https://www.figma.com/oauth/mcp /... where I click “Agree and Allow Access”.

It seems that fails then a window in VS Code shows “You have not yet finished authenticating to 'Figma MCP'. Would you like to try a different way? (URL Handler)”, which I click “yes” and it takes me through the same Figma OAuth Access flow in the browser, and re-opens VS Code.

After doing this, the Figma MCP server fails to start and I see the following MCP Output Error messages:

[warning] Error getting token from server metadata: Error: Failed to create authentication token

[info] Connection state: Error 401 status sending message to https://mcp.figma.com/mcp: Unauthorized

As far as I can tell, Figma + VS Code are failing to create an authentication token and no Figma MCP account in VS Code is created and logged into.

Workarounds Tried

Tried using the Figma MCP tool from VS Code’s MCP marketplace
Restarted VS Code
Logged out and back in on Figma.com
Removed and re-added "https://www.figma.com" to the trusted domains for VS Code
Ran the VS Code command: “MCP : Reset Trust”
Switching "type": "sse" in mcp.json → does not bypass the validation

Request

Please let me know if this is a known issue or if you have any troubleshooting tips. The Figma MCP connection was working last week but this week it has been failing to authenticate AFAIK.

Additional Info

VS Code version: 1.121.0
OS: macOS 26.3.1
MCP config:

"figma": {"type": "http","url": "https://mcp.figma.com/mcp"},

Impact:

Cannot use Figma Dev Mode + MCP in VS Code
Blocks programmatic access to components, tokens, and design data via MCP

I hope the Figma team can update the metadata to resolve this issue so MCP integration works as intended.

Thank you!

Best answer by Celyn_L

Hi everyone, thanks for chiming in and sharing the additional details.

Just to clarify, the initial 401 Unauthorized response is expected as part of the MCP authentication flow. The flow is:

VS Code sends an initialize request to the Figma MCP server.
The Figma MCP server returns a 401 response with information on how to authenticate.
VS Code then sends the authentication request.

More details here: https://modelcontextprotocol.io/docs/tutorials/security/authorization

@brenelene – Based on the logs you shared, it looks like the authentication flow is being canceled before it completes, rather than the initial 401 response being the root cause. We've also seen reports of inconsistent authentication behavior in VS Code during this stage of the flow.

@MiguelCanelo – Based on the steps you outlined, it looks like the browser authentication completes successfully, but the flow doesn't finish after you're redirected back to VS Code. Just a heads up that the initial 401 response is expected as part of the authentication process.

If you are able to share a screen recording of the full authentication flow (from initiating the MCP connection through to the error), that would be really helpful for comparing the behavior with what we've been seeing.

Thanks again all for taking the time to include the logs, screenshots, and environment details 🙏

Show previous replies

LmasniukAuthor

New Member

For anyone coming to this post now; the team responded to me indicating that this is a known issue and there is no fix for it currently.

MiguelCanelo

New Member

I'm experiencing exactly the same issue.

Environment:

VS Code 1.122.1 (Stable)
macOS Sequoia (Apple Silicon)
Official Figma MCP server (https://mcp.figma.com/mcp)

What happens:

I start the Figma MCP server in VS Code.
VS Code opens the browser for OAuth authentication.
I click "Agree & Allow Access" in Figma.
The browser redirects back to VS Code.
VS Code says that authentication has not been completed and asks me to try another method.
If I retry, the authentication ultimately fails with:

Failed to create authentication token
401 Unauthorized

The MCP log shows:

Discovered resource metadata at https://mcp.figma.com/.well-known/oauth-protected-resource
Using auth server metadata url: https://api.figma.com
Discovered authorization server metadata at https://api.figma.com/.well-known/oauth-authorization-server
Waiting for server to respond to `initialize` request...
...
Failed to create authentication token
401 Unauthorized

I have already verified the following:

My Figma account is working correctly.
My Personal Access Token is valid (GET https://api.figma.com/v1/me returns 200 OK when using the X-Figma-Token header).
The mcp.json configuration is the standard one recommended in the documentation.
I have already tried reauthorizing, restarting VS Code, and using a different browser.

This was working previously and then suddenly stopped without any configuration changes.

Please let me know if there is any workaround or if you need additional logs to help diagnose the issue.

Marvin Min

New Member

Facing the same issue.

brenelene

New Member

Hi, I’m having the same problem.
Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. I’ve been struggling a lot with this issue working with VS Code.
Can we get some kind of step-by-step to resolve this please?
Thanks a lot.

2026-07-23 10:56:41.367 [info] Discovered resource metadata at https://mcp.figma.com/.well-known/oauth-protected-resource
2026-07-23 10:56:41.368 [info] Using auth server metadata url: https://api.figma.com
2026-07-23 10:56:42.254 [info] Discovered authorization server metadata at https://api.figma.com/.well-known/oauth-authorization-server
2026-07-23 10:56:42.255 [warning] Error getting token from server metadata: Canceled: Canceled
2026-07-23 10:56:42.262 [info] Connection state: Error 401 status sending message to https://mcp.figma.com/mcp: Unauthorized

Celyn_LAnswer

Figmate

Hi everyone, thanks for chiming in and sharing the additional details.

Just to clarify, the initial 401 Unauthorized response is expected as part of the MCP authentication flow. The flow is:

VS Code sends an initialize request to the Figma MCP server.
The Figma MCP server returns a 401 response with information on how to authenticate.
VS Code then sends the authentication request.

More details here: https://modelcontextprotocol.io/docs/tutorials/security/authorization

@brenelene – Based on the logs you shared, it looks like the authentication flow is being canceled before it completes, rather than the initial 401 response being the root cause. We've also seen reports of inconsistent authentication behavior in VS Code during this stage of the flow.

@MiguelCanelo – Based on the steps you outlined, it looks like the browser authentication completes successfully, but the flow doesn't finish after you're redirected back to VS Code. Just a heads up that the initial 401 response is expected as part of the authentication process.

If you are able to share a screen recording of the full authentication flow (from initiating the MCP connection through to the error), that would be really helpful for comparing the behavior with what we've been seeing.

Thanks again all for taking the time to include the logs, screenshots, and environment details 🙏

Evan Symonds

New Member

I am having the exact same issue, any way to resolve this?

Jaycee Lewis

Figmate

HI @Evan Symonds 👋 thanks for flagging this. To get your case moving, could you share the exact error text from VS Code's MCP output panel (View → Output, then select "Figma MCP" from the dropdown)? That's the single most useful thing for the team to compare against what others have reported (e.g. Error getting token from server metadata / 401 Unauthorized).

A things that are always helpful:

Your VS Code version and OS
The full contents of your mcp.json for the Figma server entry

One thing worth double-checking against our setup guide: the config should be wrapped like {"inputs": [], "servers": {"figma": {...}}} — if yours is missing that outer structure, that alone could be the blocker rather than the auth token issue others hit.

Thanks! — Jaycee

brenelene

New Member

Hi @celyn and @jaycee
Thank you for your kind reply.
I’m not 100% sure but its a bad UX on the VS Code or Figma plugin but I could solve it by just erasing my account/creds/connection with Figma from VS Code and authorizing again. Like removing the account and everything and then do the process from zero.
That’s what I’ve been doing, it looks like there might be a misleading token or something between the two parts but that solved my issue. I will give more information if I get to understand the issue better.

Marvin Min

New Member

@brenelene Thank you for your answer. I 100% sure it’s a bug of Figma MCP. The bad design & implementation caused this issue.

I fixed this issue by using the follow configuration:

"figma": {

"type": "http",

"url": "https://mcp.figma.com/mcp",

"headers": {

"X-Figma-Token": "${input:figma-api-token}"

}

}

},

"inputs": [

{

"type": "promptString",

"id": "figma-api-token",

"description": "Figma Personal Access Token",

"password": true

}

]

if anyone struggle with this issue, you can have a try on this solution.

Jakub Fryga

New Member

Hi, I’m experiencing the same issue on macOS.

The browser authentication completes successfully and displays:
“Sign-in successful! Returning to Visual Studio Code…”

The callback reaches VS Code, but authentication then stops while exchanging the authorization code for a token:

2026-08-25 10:27:43.822 [info] Creating session for scopes: mcp:connect
2026-08-25 10:27:43.827 [info] Opening authorization URL for scopes: mcp:connect
2026-08-25 10:27:52.511 [info] Authorization code received for scopes: mcp:connect
2026-08-25 10:27:52.511 [info] Exchanging authorization code for token...

Nothing happens after that, no session is created, and retrying produces the same result.

My MCP configuration uses:
https://mcp.figma.com/mcp

Version: 1.134.0 (Universal)

Commit: 110a328ea54b42367b803ec53ee0bf52ef26b419

Date: 2026-08-18T18:24:44Z (7 days ago)

Electron: 42.8.1

ElectronBuildId: 14906494

Chromium: 148.0.7778.280

Node.js: 24.18.1

V8: 14.8.178.38-electron.0

@github/copilot: 1.0.81-0

@github/copilot-sdk: 1.0.11

OS: 110a328ea54b42367b803ec53ee0bf52ef26b419

I’ve attached a screenshot of the successful browser redirect. Is there currently a workaround or a VS Code/Figma update containing a fix?

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