Figma Cheat Sheet

This content was generated with the assistance of AI and should be verified against the official Figma documentation before being relied on in production.

This sub-section’s Figma bibliography lists the reference material consulted while preparing these pages.

A single-page, colour-coded summary of the Figma sub-section: products and seats, the UI3 regions and essential shortcuts, layout (auto layout, hug, fill and fixed, constraints), components and variables, prototyping and animation (transitions, easing, Smart Animate, variables in prototypes), the UX process and fidelity ladder, accessibility checks (contrast ratios, target sizes, focus order), collaboration, Dev Mode handoff and the Figma MCP server, the AI products and credits, the plugin manifest, the REST API with its token header and the webhook events, and a strip of what changed since older tutorials. It reflects Figma as checked on 2026-10-30 and is available as a downloadable PDF.

For the full explanation, every option and additional examples, see the dedicated pages:

Getting started — Introduction and the Figma Product Family, Plans, Seats and AI Credits, Files, Folders, Teams and Sharing, Interface Tour, Navigation, Shortcuts and Actions, and Desktop, Mobile and VS Code.

Design fundamentals — Frames, Groups and Sections, Shapes, Vectors and the Pen Tool, Text and Typography, Color, Fills and Images, Strokes, Effects and Blend Modes, Masks, Constraints and Layout Guides, Figma Draw, and Exporting Assets.

Layout — Auto Layout, Grid Flow in Auto Layout, and Responsive Design.

Components and design systems — Components and Instances, Variants and Component Properties, Slots, Styles, Variables, Collections and Modes, Design Tokens, Libraries and Publishing, and Design Systems in Figma.

Prototyping and animation — Prototyping Basics, Transitions, Easing and Springs, Smart Animate, Overlays, Scrolling and Fixed Elements, Interactive Components and Microinteractions, Advanced Prototyping with Variables, Video, GIFs and Lottie, Figma Motion, and Presenting and Testing Prototypes.

UX process with Figma — UX Process and Design Thinking, Research, Personas and Journey Maps, Information Architecture and User Flows, Wireframing and Fidelity, Usability Testing and Iteration, and Accessible and Inclusive Design in Figma.

Collaboration — Comments and Real-Time Collaboration, Version History and Branching, FigJam, Figma Slides, and Figma Specs.

Handoff and developers — Preparing Files for Handoff, Dev Mode, Code Connect, and Figma MCP Server.

AI and AI-native products — Figma AI Tools, Figma Agent and Skills, Figma Make, Figma Sites, Figma Buzz and Figma Weave, and Code Layers.

Extending and automating Figma — Using Plugins and Widgets, Building Plugins, Building Widgets, REST API and Webhooks, and Embeds.

Administration and migration — Administration and Security, Importing and Migrating, and What Changed Since Older Guides.