Pencil.dev
Ranked 4 of 5 design tools by recommenders
Free design tool pitched as a local Figma alternative that connects to Claude Code and Cursor. Critics say the Vim plugin version is unnecessary bloat, since a small vimrc does the job.
Free design tool pitched as a local Figma alternative that connects to Claude Code and Cursor. Critics say the Vim plugin version is unnecessary bloat, since a small vimrc does the job.
15 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 9
- criticize it
- 6
- approval share
- 60%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 9 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 1.5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Positioned as a Figma alternative
“I'm impressed. It's like a local Figma that connects to Claude code or cursor”
Comment from 5 Feb 2026 in “The New Collabora Office for Desktop” “they just introduced animations and I was like they just kicked Figma”
Comment from 17 Apr 2026 in “Claude Design” “Another “Figma killer”. Free (for now).”
Comment from 20 Apr 2026 in “Figma's woes compound with Claude Design” Connects to Claude Code and Cursor
“I'm impressed. It's like a local Figma that connects to Claude code or cursor”
Comment from 5 Feb 2026 in “The New Collabora Office for Desktop” “Claude Code X Figma is exactly what I need”
Comment from 21 Jan 2026 in “Pencil”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Vim plugin seen as unnecessary
“ended up finding that a pretty tiny vimrc file was all I needed”
Comment from 18 Feb 2026 in “Vim-pencil: Rethinking Vim as a tool for writing” “Vim needs no plugins for writing prose.”
Comment from 16 Feb 2026 in “Vim-pencil: Rethinking Vim as a tool for writing” “Seems like bloat to me, too”
Comment from 16 Feb 2026 in “Vim-pencil: Rethinking Vim as a tool for writing” Solves no real problem
“solves no actual problem I have and not worth the security risk and extra complexity of a plugin by a random remote stranger”
Comment from 16 Feb 2026 in “Vim-pencil: Rethinking Vim as a tool for writing” “it might've been more useful of a plugin if it was targeted at specific problem”
Comment from 16 Feb 2026 in “Vim-pencil: Rethinking Vim as a tool for writing”
Other design tools people recommend
The four most recommended other design tools, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
See all 5 design tools, rankedWhat people said
12 of the 15 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Another “Figma killer”. Free (for now).”
“they just introduced animations and I was like they just kicked Figma”
“ended up finding that a pretty tiny vimrc file was all I needed”
“Seems like bloat to me, too”
“solves no actual problem I have and not worth the security risk and extra complexity of a plugin by a random remote stranger”
“Vim needs no plugins for writing prose.”
“I would avoid it given the speed with which I can make edits in Vim”
“I can't live without this plugin.”
“it might've been more useful of a plugin if it was targeted at specific problem”
“I'm impressed. It's like a local Figma that connects to Claude code or cursor”
“The workflow feels closer to writing code than pushing pixels”
“Claude Code X Figma is exactly what I need”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.