Paper

Paper (paper.design) is a code-native design tool built by Stephen Haney. It runs on real HTML, CSS, and React — not a proprietary format. It solves the broken design-to-handoff process by letting designers export production-ready code directly from the canvas.

Features

• Code-Native Canvas: Every element on the canvas is real HTML and CSS. Designers can use "Copy as React" or Tailwind export to send production-ready code straight to developers.
• MCP Server Integration: Paper connects to any IDE or CLI agent via its MCP server. Agents can read, write, create frames, update styles, and retrieve JSX or Tailwind output from design nodes.
• Paper Shaders: GPU-accelerated visual effects render directly on the canvas. Effects include mesh gradients, liquid metal, halftone CMYK, fluted glass, and grain textures — all exportable as lightweight web code.
• Live Data Connections: Paper connects to external sources like Notion, Google Sheets, and APIs. Designers use real content inside their layouts instead of placeholder text.
• AI Image Generation & Editing: Built-in image generation runs from multiple model providers. Tools include background removal, one-click color palette extraction, and canvas-aware AI agents for repetitive layout tasks.

Use Cases

• For Product Designers: Design and export real React components without involving a developer at every step, cutting handoff time significantly.
• For Developer-Designer Teams: Use the MCP server to keep the canvas and codebase in sync, so design tokens and styles always reflect the live product.
• For Brand Designers: Apply animated shader effects like halftone or mesh gradients and export them as video or web-ready code for digital campaigns.
• For Agencies: Pull live client data from APIs or Google Sheets directly into mockups. Show clients designs using their actual content, not dummy text.

TL;DR: Paper is a code-native design tool in open alpha that outputs real HTML, CSS, and React from a Figma-style canvas. It suits teams who want to close the gap between design files and production code, though its alpha status means some features are still in progress.