What is a .fig file?
Figma Design File · Design · Figma · 2016
A .fig file is an exported Figma design document: the offline copy of a file from the browser-based UI design tool that most product teams use. Figma normally keeps designs in the cloud; .fig is the download.
What is a .fig file used for?
Figma lives in the browser, so the .fig extension only appears when someone saves a local copy (File > Save local copy) for backup, hand-off or migration. The format is proprietary and undocumented, built for re-import rather than for other tools.
Getting a .fig back into use means dragging it into Figma, which recreates the full document with pages, components and auto-layout. Some competitors (Penpot, Sketch via plugins) import .fig with varying fidelity.
What opens a .fig file?
The .fig format opens in the following apps, grouped by operating system. If one app does not work, try another from the same list.
Windows
- Figma (import)
- Figma desktop app
macOS
- Figma (import)
- Figma desktop app
Linux
- Figma in the browser (import)
Open a .fig file step by step
- Confirm the file really is a .fig. Drop it into the WhatFileType identifier, which reads its signature in your browser without uploading anything.
- On Windows, open it with Figma (import) or Figma desktop app.
- On Mac, use Figma (import) or Figma desktop app.
- On Linux, try Figma in the browser (import).
- Still stuck? Convert the .fig to pdf (export), which opens more widely.
Why can't I open my .fig file?
Almost always because no installed app understands Figma. Install one of the apps above, or convert the file to a format your existing software already reads. If double-clicking opens the wrong program instead of nothing at all, the file association is set to the wrong app rather than the file being broken.
The other possibility is that the file is not really a .fig at all. Drop it into the file identifier to check it by its bytes instead of its name. Nothing is uploaded.
How to convert a .fig file
You can convert a .fig file to pdf (export), png, svg using a conversion tool or the export menu of an app that opens it.
Figma has no fixed magic number, so there is no signature table on this page. Its bytes alone do not prove the format: identification relies on the extension, the structure of the content and the program that created it. The magic-numbers reference lists the formats that do carry one.
Frequently asked questions
What is a .fig file?
A .fig file is an exported Figma design document: the offline copy of a file from the browser-based UI design tool that most product teams use. Figma normally keeps designs in the cloud; .fig is the download.
How do I open a .fig file?
Drag it onto the Figma file browser (web or desktop app) and Figma imports it as a new document. There is no standalone viewer for the format.
Can I open a .fig file without a Figma account?
Not really: a free Figma account is the practical route. Penpot, the open-source alternative, can import many .fig files if you want to avoid Figma entirely.
Why do designers send links instead of .fig files?
Because Figma is cloud-first: a link always shows the live, current design with comments and dev mode. A .fig file is a frozen offline snapshot.
Related formats
Sources
Details on this page were checked against authoritative references. How sources are ranked and what is deliberately left out is set out in the methodology.