> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://elf-docs.riftlabs.xyz/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Connect Figma

> Pair the open document with your local Elf runtime.

## Install in Figma Desktop

**Figma Desktop is required for this development-plugin setup.** Use the desktop app, not Figma in a browser.

Elf Bridge is currently installed from a development manifest. It is not approved or available through Figma Community; clarification of the review requirements is pending. Development installation does not imply Figma approval.

### Locate the plugin files

From your local project directory, install the beta package when available:

```sh theme={null}
npm install --save-dev elf-tokens@beta
node -p "require.resolve('elf-tokens/package.json')"
```

The second command prints the installed package’s `package.json` path. Open its containing folder, then find:

```text theme={null}
dist/bridge-plugin-public/manifest.json
```

If you received a plugin folder directly from the maintainer, extract the whole folder and use its `manifest.json`. Keep `manifest.json`, `code.js`, and `ui.html` together. A manifest file alone is not the plugin.

### Import and run

1. Open the intended file in **Figma Desktop**.
2. Choose **Plugins → Development → Import plugin from manifest**.
3. Select the public bundle’s **manifest.json**. Do not select the source `manifest.public.json`.
4. Run **Elf Bridge** from **Plugins → Development**.

Keep the plugin folder on your machine. Reopen Elf Bridge from the Development menu on later visits. After a plugin update, close and reopen it; re-import the manifest if its location changed.

## Pair and approve

Run `npx elf-tokens@beta start`, open the intended Figma file, and open Elf Bridge. Enter the current terminal pairing code. If it expires, request a new code in Elf and use it once.

The Figma file key must match the configured target. The file name may be anything, including Untitled. For a new design system, choose a blank file explicitly; for an existing system, inspect before proposing edits.

Connecting the bridge and approving a document are separate steps. Strict verification checks account access. Plugin-only approval trusts the currently open plugin document without independent REST verification. Reconnection can require fresh approval even when pairing is saved.

## Keep it connected

The plugin must remain open to execute operations. Saved pairing does not make a closed Figma plugin run in the background. The MCP status row indicates initialized coding-assistant sessions; it does not authorize writes.


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