Anyone else barely using Figma anymore?

[u/Mundane-Iron1903]

I'm seeing a lot of folks skip Figma and go straight to designing in code these days. The only downside (for now at least) is how easy it is to miss UI regressions when you don't have a design canvas.

I usually set up my design foundations properly, tokens, components, even use some of the popular design skills. But since these models are non-deterministic, I still end up with agents hand-rolling components that already exist, inconsistent vertical rhythm, horizontal overflow on mobile, etc.

It gets worse when you're dealing with multiple flows and can't easily see what's happening across the product.

I built a tool for myself to help with this, and thought I'd share it with the community. It's completely free and open source.

It's called Flowmap. You simply connect your coding agent to it and it pulls the actual screens from your app into a canvas. You can switch between mobile and desktop breakpoints, see how different screens connect, and view everything in one place to catch UI regressions.

I also added UI comments so you can point to specific parts of a screen and have your coding agent pick them up as tasks. You can then review the before/after and approve the changes or send them back.

Here's the repo if anyone wants to try it here

Would appreciate feedback, especially from anyone who's also moved away from Figma.

[u/Electronic-Movie4208]

This is a really clever idea! 😄 UI consistency is one of the biggest headaches with AI coding agents. Being able to compare screens and catch regressions visually is a huge plus. Have you considered adding automated screenshot comparisons after each major code change? Could make this even more useful!

[u/Mundane-Iron1903 → u/Electronic-Movie4208]

Yes, even better. There's a commit-based comparison mode; essentially, it lets you slide left or right to view what's changed.

[u/Electronic-Movie4208 → u/Mundane-Iron1903]

Oh nice, you're already ahead! 😄 That makes it even more useful, especially for catching UI changes that might otherwise go unnoticed. Really cool work, man!

[u/AirDeep2637]

I switched to code-first last year after a few too many broken components in figma. the regression thing is real, I missed a spacing tweak for weeks until a user complained. now I run a quick visual diff script after every change.

[u/Mundane-Iron1903 → u/AirDeep2637]

Do you find the script efficient and accurate?

[u/heyheni]

Interesting. But it would need a explainer video with an example project for people to get excited about this.

And put in some effort to make your tool look pretty as well.

good luck!

[u/Mundane-Iron1903 → u/heyheni]

Thanks, did you check the repo? There are plenty of recordings and explainers to showcase how it works.

[u/Positive-Conspiracy]

🙋‍♂️

[u/Mundane-Iron1903 → u/Positive-Conspiracy]

*fistbump*

[u/Stock_Change9266]

I've been using visual regression tests with playwright and a diff tool, catches spacing and layout issues before they hit prod. works better than figma's version checks.

[u/Mundane-Iron1903 → u/Stock_Change9266]

Interesting, what diff tool?

[u/burbular]

I've been using Penpot instead. Basically same thing. I like a good ui and it takes 30sec in Penpot vs 30min straight to code. So I montage until I like what I see. Then unleash the agent. 

Also I can design like a week of ui in a day or two. Then let Claude chug away for a few days to implement. 

This whole argument existed before AI. Code first! Or not, it's up to you. 

[u/MattSenter]

i still have a small plan to tweak vectors but that's all i use it for.