Figma plugins not working? How to fix it

Plugins can edit layers, so Figma only lets them run for people who can edit the file. If you opened a link with can view access, the plugin list is greyed out or the plugin won't start. You have two quick fixes. Duplicate the file into your drafts (you'll have full edit access to the copy), or ask the owner to change your access to can edit.

Your seat is the second gate, and it applies even to files you own. Here's what each seat can run, from Figma's help center:

• Full seat: plugins in Figma Design, Dev Mode, FigJam, Slides and Buzz.
• Dev seat: Dev Mode, FigJam, Slides and Buzz. No plugins in Figma Design.
• Collab seat: FigJam and Slides only.
• View seat: no plugins in any product.
• Starter (free) plan: Figma Design, FigJam, Slides and Buzz, but not Dev Mode.

If you're on a Dev seat and a design-mode plugin won't run, that's expected. Ask your admin for a Full seat or look for a Dev Mode version of the plugin.

If a plugin is missing from your search results or your recents, one of these is usually the reason:

• Wrong product. Plugins declare which editors they support. A FigJam-only plugin won't appear in a design file, and the Dev Mode sidebar only lists plugins built for Dev Mode.
• Organization approval. Admins can switch to 'Only admin-approved plugins'. Unapproved plugins then show a Request approval button instead of Run. On Enterprise, approval can be per workspace, so the plugin may work in one team's files and not another's.
• You're looking for an Install button. There isn't one. Search for the plugin from the Tools tab or the Actions menu (Cmd + K / Ctrl + K) and click Run. How to install Figma plugins covers every product.
• The plugin was removed. Developers can unpublish plugins. If its Community page no longer loads, it's gone, and you'll need an alternative.

Most plugins act on the current selection. Run one with nothing selected, or with the wrong kind of layer (a group when it expects frames, say), and it may show an empty panel or quietly finish. Read the listing or the plugin's docs, select the right layers, and run it again. Figma also runs one plugin at a time, so opening a second plugin closes the first.

Large files are the other common cause. Plugins run inside the same tab as the file, and Figma warns you when memory use hits 60%, 75% and 100% of what's available. A plugin that has to read thousands of layers can stall or time out near that limit. Try it on a smaller selection, or split the file.

Plugins that call an API, load fonts, fetch images or check a license need network access. When that request is blocked, you'll see errors like 'failed to fetch', a spinner that never ends, or a login step that never completes. Three things block it:

• Company firewalls, proxies and VPNs. In a file, open the actions menu, type Check network settings and press Enter. Figma lists anything it finds blocked. If the plugin works on your phone's hotspot but not on the office network, send your IT team the plugin's domains.
• The plugin's own allowlist. A plugin labelled 'Restricted network access' can only reach the domains it declared. If the developer's backend moved, the plugin breaks until they publish an update. Only the developer can fix that.
• Being offline. Offline, you can only use plugins that were already open and don't need outside browser APIs.

If plugins fail only in the desktop app, clear its cache. On Mac, click Help in the menu bar at the top of the screen (not inside Figma) and choose Troubleshooting > Reset Figma and Restart. On Windows, open the menu from the toggle arrow at the top right of the app, then Help > Troubleshooting > Reset Figma and Restart.

If the app is frozen, force quit it and clear the cache by hand. On Mac, run rm -rf "$HOME/Library/Application Support/Figma" in Terminal. On Windows, open %APPDATA%\Figma from the Start menu and delete the Desktop and DesktopProfile folders plus the font_cache and settings files if they exist. Then relaunch.

If plugins fail only in the browser, try a private window with extensions disabled. Ad blockers and privacy extensions can block a plugin's iFrame or its requests. Figma supports only stable releases of Chrome, Firefox and Safari, so beta and developer builds are worth ruling out too. A simple test is to open the same file in the other environment: if the plugin works there, the problem is local to your browser or app.

Sometimes a plugin is just broken after a Figma update, or it has a bug with certain layer types. Figma doesn't provide support for third-party plugins, but every developer has to list a support contact on the plugin's Community page. Include what you selected, which product you were in, and any error text. If a plugin looks suspicious, use Report resource on its Community page.

If you need a replacement, our best Figma plugins lists show several options for each task, so you can pick one that's actively maintained.