Figma, Your New Left-Hand Menu/Panel Is a Disaster – 7th Jan 2026

I can see why people are frustrated. On smaller screens especially, every pixel matters. A collapsible or customizable sidebar could be a good compromise, allowing users to choose between quick access to tools and maximizing canvas space.

 

hey, folks. i never seen this in my figma app…

i have extra space, and wondering if there is a way to toggle this ON to check how bad it is? 😌

Are you using the native app or the Webapp.  We are using the Webapp. 

This was only visible to me from today. What an utter waste of space and why even do this? Are they going to release a million new icons on the left nav? that could be the only motication for this? However, currently there is only 3 icons?

I mean all of us doing UX/UI know this is pretty terrible. Even if this was a TOP or BOTTOM icon panel (like an iOS app tabbar) this would have been a superior solution. 

I can understand the frustration. When a UI change disrupts workflows that people have built over years, even small adjustments can have a big impact on productivity. The new left-hand panel feels less intuitive to me as well, especially when switching between projects quickly. Hopefully Figma continues collecting feedback and offers more customization options. I spend a lot of time working on design-related projects, and having a predictable interface is just as important as having reliable hardware from Laptop Giant for getting work done efficiently.

How does a piece of software created specifically for UI/UX designers manage to make some of the most awful UI decisions?
Can there please be one piece of software that doesn’t get made worse by a companies desperate obsession with bloating it with AI features?

It’s been 5 months, Figma. Why is this still a problem?

The new location for assets is particularly annoying. Before you could easily go between tabs from layers to assets and back.  Now you have to go between a whole new menu. 😭 This was a step in the wrong direction!

Yup, the new left navigation bar is awful.

PLEASE choose another design, it consumes too much screen real estate and gives too little value.

From hour whole design team and the whole organisation: 

0% of us appreciate this sidebar
100% of us are frustrated about the significant space loss and want to get rid of the bar.

​@Figma_Moderation Can you bring this to PM / dev team’s attention please?

Can we please disable this bar already? Or add a toggle in the settings?

Just got the update today.
Nothing to say that hasn’t alreasy been said: it’s a waste of space, plain and simple.

Please remove it, or at the very least, give us an option to toggle between this and the previous layout..

You can actually fit about 5 icons at the top section, or possibly add this as a tabbar at the bottom?

I also massively dislike this new sidebar. I will never click on these items. I don’t understand the logic for this. The only motivation I can think of is to push the ‘Token Burning Money Maker’ that is ‘Agents’. I don’t want this here and would like to remove this permanently, not hide for a while or hide per figma file. On my account I would like to toggle this off and never see it again.

A Website Designer on laptop screen

The current AI Agent panel occupies the left sidebar, which is the same space used for page and layer navigation. This makes it impossible to browse pages, select layers, or inspect the layer tree while simultaneously working with the agent — you have to choose one or the other.

Suggested improvement: Move the AI Agent to a floating button in the bottom-right corner (near or replacing the Help button), similar to a chat widget pattern. Clicking it would open a compact overlay or side panel that doesn't replace the main navigation sidebar.

Benefits:

• Users can navigate pages and layers freely while the agent conversation stays open
• The canvas and layer panel remain fully accessible during agent interactions
• Familiar UX pattern — low learning curve
• Enables real-time feedback loop: select a layer → ask agent → see result → navigate → repeat, all without switching modes

Current workaround: None — you have to close the agent panel to navigate, then reopen it, losing context of what's on screen.

This would significantly improve the workflow for tasks that involve browsing across multiple pages or frames while iterating with the agent.

 

P.S.

I'm a Product & UX/UI Designer myself, so this feedback comes from daily hands-on use rather than theoretical observation. If perspectives like this are useful to your team — whether for research, beta testing, or design collaboration — I'd love to be involved. Always open to a conversation.

Obviously this must have been pushed by management to promote their AI agenda.
It’s terrible. There is no excuse from the UX side and I’m pretty sure _every_ designer at Figma feels the same. So, the obvious question: Is there a secret option or keyboard command to change it or hide it?

Alternatively, are the 50×1000px for rent? Are we going to see ads there to get an even better subscriptions?

I really dislike the new sidebar navigation for AI Agents.

As many other users have already pointed out, the new navigation permanently takes up around 40px of screen space. This feels unnecessary, especially considering that it only adds a single new feature.

Previously, the Files and Assets sections were organized efficiently as tabs within the same sidebar. Now, introducing an entirely separate sidebar just for AI Agents seems like an excessive use of valuable workspace.

For designers working on laptops or smaller screens, every pixel matters. Dedicating a permanent navigation column to a single feature significantly reduces the available canvas area without providing proportional value.

My suggestion would be to integrate AI Agents as another tab within the existing main sidebar, alongside Files and Assets, rather than introducing a completely separate sidebar. This would keep the interface cleaner, more space-efficient, and consistent with Figma’s previous navigation patterns.

The current implementation feels like a solution that prioritizes feature visibility over usability.

I agree with you on every point here.

Currently I’m working on a 16’ MacBook and even on the largest screen size available this feature seems like a pointless waste of my screen space. Let’s also point that in some files such as design libraries, where I (and other members of design team) don’t have edit access, the bar disappears completely, creating confusion and inconsistency throughout the software. Although I’m not a big user (and enjoyer) of the AI Agents themselves, so my opinion could be biased.

Anyway I would like to have my 40px back, I really hope that Figma Team would rollback this decision! 

Exactly, just please stop changing the UI all the time

We're already constantly learning things, so having to find everything every time we open the Figma interface is a huge waste of time, an unnecessary drain on our workflow, and you could make it optional 😬

With the new Beta version, you're taking up more and more canvas space. It would be helpful to be able to collapse some panels instead of the entire interface (for example, leaving only layers and tools, instead of all the agents, resources, files, and libraries).

Or just remove me from the group of users who are always shown the beta versions pleaaaseeeeee; it's exhausting. Can we ask for that? hah

No thank you :) People on 1080p monitors are going to livid for taking their precious screen real-estate 

How about something like this?

I’d love something like this.

Oh I saw the other thread before finding this one - I won’t repeat what others have rightfully said; please remove/undo/fix. It’s terrible. ​@jase_x and ​@john-mainboard have it right!

Just got the update today and am completely appalled. 

It’s to promote their AI garbage which is being pushed by lulled VCs and monkey-brain marketing team. It won’t be removed, you can stop complaining, they will keep nagging you forever to use it because they invested tons of money into this hypeshit-train. 🤢

I just spent 30 min trying to figure out how to collapse/remove the new 60px left-of-left panel (and fumbling to find where I can update my assets!) only to find this thread, and learn it can’t be removed 😭 I frequently work only on my Macbook Pro, and need as much width as possible for my canvas. I constantly use the layers panel, so minimizing isn’t an option. I hope with the outcry of designers who hate the new nav, this will get updated ASAP!