---
prompt-id: "19"
name: MCP connection diagnostic (Figma Dev Mode)
status: live
mcp: figma-dev-mode
model: Sonnet 4.6
environment: Claude Desktop
inputs:
  - (None — runs against the connected MCP)
outputs:
  - List of available Figma MCP tools with parameters
  - Connection state report (connected / not connected)
  - Currently open Figma file (if any) with file key
chains: [2]
prereqs: []
documented-in: Ch15 — Figma + AI Foundation
---

# Prompt 19 — MCP Connection Diagnostic

A standalone diagnostic to verify the Figma Dev Mode MCP connection before any Path B / Path C workflow. Listed in Chain 2 (Figma MCP extract) as an optional Step 0 — running it once at the start of a Path B session avoids hours of debugging when prompts later "fail mysteriously" because the MCP isn't actually connected.

## When to use

- Starting any Path B or Path C workflow for the first time in a session
- After updating MCP server configuration
- When a Figma-dependent prompt produces unexpected output (does it have access? are the tools registered?)
- After restarting Claude Desktop

## Output shape

A list of every Figma MCP tool with its parameters, plus a connection state report. If no tools are listed, the MCP is not connected and the reader gets a checklist of fixes (Figma Desktop running? Dev Mode enabled? MCP config pointing at the right URL? Client restarted?).

## Chain memberships

- Chain 2 — Figma MCP Extract (optional Step 0 — verify before extract)
- Also useful before any Chain 8 (write-back) session

## Prompt body

```
MCP CONNECTION DIAGNOSTIC — Figma Dev Mode MCP

List all Figma MCP tools you have access to.

For each tool, report:
1. Tool name
2. What it does (one sentence)
3. Required parameters
4. Optional parameters

Then confirm:
  - Is the Figma MCP server connected and responding?
  - Is a Figma file currently open in the Desktop app?
  - If yes: what is the file name and file key?

If no tools are listed, the MCP server is not connected.
Check: (a) Figma Desktop is running, (b) Dev Mode is enabled,
(c) your AI client's MCP configuration points at Figma's
local server URL, (d) you have restarted your AI client
since updating the MCP config.

META-FOOTER (chain runner)
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
SAVE INSTRUCTION
  Diagnostic output is for reading, not saving. If you want a
  record, append the tool list to output/chain-state.md.

VERIFY
  Tool list is non-empty. File name and file key are reported.
  No "MCP server not responding" errors.

HANDOFF
  "MCP diagnostic complete. <N> tools available. <File> open.
   Next → Run Chain 2 (Figma MCP extract) Step 1, or any
   Path B / C prompt that uses the MCP."
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
```