# open-design for Claude Code: what it does and how to install it > nexu-io/open-design is an open-source, local-first design plugin that turns a coding agent into a design engine, packaging 163 skills, one MCP server, and one command for image, video, and audio generation, Figma handoff, animation, presentations, and documents. Reach for it when one specific job, like a Figma sync or a GSAP animation, matches a single skill. Canonical: https://www.flowy.sh/plugins/nexu-io-open-design/guide Published: 2026-10-29 Updated: 2026-10-29 Author: Flowy ## What is open-design? `nexu-io/open-design` is one of the largest single plugins in Flowy's index: 163 skills, one MCP server (`open-design`), and one command (`od-contribute`), 165 components total, indexed from a public GitHub repository with 89,242 stars. Its own summary describes a local-first desktop app that turns a coding agent into a design engine, producing real files such as HTML, PDF, PPTX, and MP4, and bills itself as an open-source alternative to Anthropic's Claude Design. Flowy indexes this repository; it does not own, bundle, or host any part of it, so use [the install card on the listing page](https://www.flowy.sh/listings/nexu-io-open-design#install) for the current install path. ## Which skills generate images, video, and audio? A dozen skills wrap fal.ai's hosted models: `fal-generate` for general image and video work, plus single-purpose ones such as `fal-upscale`, `fal-restore`, `fal-image-edit`, `fal-video-edit`, `fal-train` for LoRA fine-tuning, `fal-3d`, and `fal-lip-sync`. Five more do the same for Venice.ai: `venice-image-generate`, `venice-image-edit`, `venice-audio-speech`, `venice-audio-music`, and `venice-video`. Single-provider skills round out the rest: OpenAI's image API (`imagegen`), Google's Gemini image API (`imagen`), OpenAI's Sora video API (`sora`), OpenAI text-to-speech (`speech`), `replicate`, and `pixelbin-media` with more than 85 endpoints. `image-enhancer` sharpens existing screenshots, `ecommerce-image-workflow` turns real product photos into listing images rather than invented concepts, and `algorithmic-art`, `shader-dev`, and `threejs` cover generative art, GLSL shaders, and 3D scenes. ## Which open-design components handle frontend code, Figma handoff, and keeping design from looking generic? Seven Figma skills cover one workflow: `figma-use` runs Figma Plugin API scripts and is a prerequisite for the rest, `figma-generate-design` and `figma-implement-design` move a design between Figma and code either way, and `figma-generate-library`, `figma-create-design-system-rules`, and `figma-code-connect-components` build, document, and wire up a design-system library. `frontend-design`, `frontend-skill`, and `shadcn-ui` build interfaces directly in code, `stitch-loop` runs a critique-adjust-ship cycle against a brief, and `image-to-code-skill` and `web-clone` rebuild an existing image or site. `faq-page` and `login-flow` each generate one screen type, and `ui-ux-pro-max` is catalog-only, without its full upstream templates. A large cluster stops that output from reading as generic AI design: `taste-skill`, `gpt-tasteskill`, `soft-skill`, `minimalist-skill`, `brutalist-skill`, and `stitch-skill` each push one visual point of view; `taste-skill-v1` exists only for backward compatibility. `plan-design-review` scores each design dimension and flags AI-slop signals, `design-review` audits and fixes shipped UI with atomic commits, `review-animations` covers motion code the same way, and `impeccable-design-polish` preps a finished artifact for a live pass. Reference material backs both: `platform-design` distills more than 300 rules from Apple, Material Design 3, and WCAG 2.2, `apple-hig`, `wpds`, and `web-design-guidelines` apply Apple's, WordPress's, and Vercel's guidelines, and `color-expert` covers OKLCH color science and palette generation. ## Which open-design components cover animation, decks, and documents? Eight official GSAP skills split the library by concern: `gsap-core`, `gsap-react` and `gsap-frameworks` for React versus Vue and Svelte, `gsap-scrolltrigger`, `gsap-timeline`, `gsap-utils`, `gsap-plugins`, and `gsap-performance`. `flutter-animating-apps` covers motion outside the web, and `emil-design-eng` and `emilkowalski-motion` bring Emil Kowalski's micro-interaction judgment to the work. Presentation output splits between engines and fixed templates: `pptx`, `pptx-generator`, `slides`, and `nanobanana-ppt` generate a deck from a brief, `ppt-keynote` targets one visual language, and `pptx-html-fidelity-audit` checks an export against its source HTML. Several more, including `deck-guizang-editorial` and `digits-fintech-swiss-template`, are each locked to one named palette rather than general-purpose. Documents follow the same pattern: `doc`, `docx`, `minimax-docx`, `pdf`, and `minimax-pdf` create and edit Word files and PDFs, while `resume-modern`, `release-notes-one-pager`, `data-report`, and `article-magazine` each produce one document type. ## What else is in open-design: marketing, social templates, dev tooling, and the MCP server? Marketing skills cover copy and creative work: `copywriting` and `ad-creative` write it, `marketing-psychology` frames it, `competitive-ads-extractor` and `brand-extract` pull material from ad libraries and a live website, and `brandkit`, `paywall-upgrade-cro`, and `domain-name-brainstormer` cover brand boards, pricing screens, and naming. Six skills each recreate one app's UI as a card: `card-xiaohongshu`, `card-twitter`, `social-x-post-card`, `social-reddit-card`, `social-spotify-card`, and `frame-macos-notification`. `youtube-clipper`, `video-downloader`, `remotion`, and `video-hyperframes` cover source and programmatic video, plus smaller tools like `gif-sticker-maker` and `hatch-pet`. A dev-ops corner covers `agent-browser` for browser automation, `full-page-screenshot` and `screenshot` for capture, and `export-download-debugging` and `pr-feedback-quality-gate` for broken exports and review comments. The plugin's one MCP server, `open-design`, carries no description beyond its name, so treat it as the connection into the desktop app rather than a documented tool list. `od-contribute` appears as both a skill and a command: it walks a contributor, coder or not, through one of four paths (ship a skill or design system, translate documentation, fix a typo or write a post, or report a bug) and opens the pull request or issue for them. ## Who should use open-design? At 163 skills, treat this like a library rather than one tool: pick whichever skill matches the job in front of you, a Figma handoff, a GSAP animation, a Reddit-style card, rather than expecting to use all of it at once. Check [the install card on the listing page](https://www.flowy.sh/listings/nexu-io-open-design#install) for the current install path. Sources: [nexu-io/open-design on GitHub](https://github.com/nexu-io/open-design), [nexu-io/open-design README](https://github.com/nexu-io/open-design#readme) ## Common questions ### What is nexu-io/open-design? It is an open-source Claude Code plugin built around a local-first desktop app that turns a coding agent into a design tool. Flowy indexes 165 components from its GitHub repository: 163 skills, one MCP server, and one command, covering everything from Figma handoff to PowerPoint export to fal.ai image generation. ### Does nexu-io/open-design only work with Claude Code? No. The project's own summary names Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, DeepSeek Harness, and OpenCode among more than 20 compatible CLIs, reached through a bring-your-own-key setup. Flowy indexes it specifically as a Claude Code plugin, since that is what Flowy covers. ### What does the fal-generate skill do? `fal-generate` generates images and videos through fal.ai's hosted model catalogue, including models like Flux and SDXL. It sits alongside eleven other fal.ai skills in the plugin, each scoped to one job, such as upscaling, restoring, virtual try-on, or lip-syncing video. ### Is nexu-io/open-design an alternative to Claude Design? That is how the project describes itself: an open-source alternative to Anthropic's Claude Design, running locally through a desktop app instead of hosted. Flowy indexes the repository and reports that positioning; it does not build, host, or endorse the comparison. ### How many skills does nexu-io/open-design include, and do I need to install all of them? 163. Each is a separate, independently described skill, so installing the plugin does not require using every one. Most people reach for a single family, such as the GSAP animation skills or the Figma handoff skills, for one job at a time. ## Related - [The listing page](https://www.flowy.sh/listings/nexu-io-open-design): Install command, components and repository - [Alternatives to this plugin](https://www.flowy.sh/alternatives/nexu-io-open-design): Peers in its category, ranked by stars - [The Claude Code plugin marketplace](https://www.flowy.sh/marketplace/plugins): How plugins install, and every plugin in the index - [ui-ux-pro-max-skill for Claude Code: install and use](https://www.flowy.sh/plugins/nextlevelbuilder-ui-ux-pro-max-skill/guide): another plugin guide - [Impeccable for Claude Code: what it does and how to install it](https://www.flowy.sh/plugins/pbakaus-impeccable/guide): another plugin guide