How can I troubleshoot disappearing Figma tools in VS Code Copilot when encountering 'Error loading 1 tool(s)'?

Other Questions Figma
1

I’m facing a problem with the integration of Figma’s Model Context Protocol (MCP) in Visual Studio Code with GitHub Copilot. Initially, everything works fine, but then issues arise.

Description of the Issue:
After restarting VS Code, the Figma MCP tools appear in the Copilot chat momentarily before disappearing. When they vanish, I receive a vague “Error loading 1 tool(s)” warning with no further details to help me diagnose the issue.

Configuration Details:
I’ve followed the official Figma guide and updated my settings.json with the following configuration:

{
    "chat.mcp.discovery.enabled": true,
    "mcp": {
        "inputs": [],
        "servers": {
            "mcp-server-time": {
                "command": "python",
                "args": [
                    "-m",
                    "mcp_server_time",
                    "--local-timezone=America/Los_Angeles"
                ],
                "env": {}
            },
            "Figma Dev Mode MCP": {
                "type": "sse",
                "url": "http://127.0.0.1:3845/sse"
            }
        }
    },
    "chat.agent.enabled": true
}

Steps Taken:

  • Ensured the MCP is enabled within my Figma file.
  • Confirmed that the local server is operational on port 3845.
  • Restarted VS Code multiple times.
  • Verified that my coworkers are successfully using the same setup.

My Dilemma:
Given that the error message lacks details, how can I access more extensive logs to investigate why the MCP connection fails? Is there a method to enable detailed logging for MCP in VS Code?

This situation is frustrating because it works briefly before running into trouble, and I can’t pinpoint the cause.

2

Enable verbose logging by adding "chat.experimental.logging": true to your settings.json - this caught MCP server crashes I couldn’t see anywhere else. Also check if Figma’s desktop app is still running when tools disappear. Mine kept auto-closing and breaking the connection.

3

I encountered similar issues with the Figma MCP tools disappearing in VS Code. After some investigation, I found that the connection can drop when VS Code is idle or the computer enters sleep mode. To troubleshoot, I recommend checking the VS Code Developer Console (Help > Toggle Developer Tools) for detailed error logs related to MCP. You might see network errors or disconnect messages that can give you clues. A solution that worked for me was adjusting the timeout settings in the MCP configuration and ensuring the Figma application remains active during use. This helped maintain the connection between the tools and the server.

4

Check if your firewall or antivirus is blocking the connection on port 3845. I had the same intermittent issue until I found Windows Defender was killing my SSE connection after startup. Disable your firewall temporarily and test it. Also try swapping “127.0.0.1” for “localhost” in your config (or the other way around). SSE connections can be picky about localhost formats. Might be a port conflict too - run netstat -an | findstr 3845 to see if something else is using that port when your tools vanish.