Gesso is a macOS design canvas built on real HTML and CSS, where you and your AI agents design together. Connect Claude Code, ChatGPT, Cursor, or any MCP agent through one address and ask it to build posts, posters, websites, or app screens. Every result lands as editable layers, not flat images, so you can tweak it by hand, share it by link, or export it as PNG, JPG, PDF, or React, Tailwind, and HTML code. It fits founders, marketers, and developers.

• Agent-Built Designs: Ask an AI agent to create social posts, carousels, posters, flyers, websites, or app screens, and watch it build them on the canvas. The agent checks its own work and leaves real layers you can edit.
• One MCP Address for Every Agent: Connect Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, ChatGPT, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot, Windsurf, OpenCode, or any MCP-compatible agent through a single address. The built-in terminal comes already connected.
• Real HTML and CSS Layers: Each frame is a real element with real CSS like flex, padding, and gaps. Agents edit in the same language you ship, and layouts reflow the way they would in a browser.
• Import Any Web Page: Point an agent at a website and its sections, images, and text become editable layers measured from the page itself. You can also paste SVGs, HTML, and pictures straight onto the canvas.
• Edit Existing Designs with AI: Agents read the actual structure of a design to revise it, so you can ask them to change the tone or translate the text without starting over.
• Full Hand-Design Toolkit: Work with frames, layout, text, shapes, a pen tool, vector point editing, gradients, and design tokens for named colors, sizes, and type values.
• 30 Live Shaders: Add mesh gradients, grain, halftone, liquid metal, and more as live effects inside the editor.
• Share and Export: Share any frame as a link that opens in a browser with no app or account needed. Export PNG, JPG, or PDF for one design or a set, or export frames as React, Tailwind, or HTML code.

• Works With the AI You Already Use: One MCP connection covers Claude Code, ChatGPT, Cursor, Codex, Gemini CLI, Copilot, Windsurf, and more, so you don't have to switch assistants.
• Editable Output, Not Flat Images: Agents leave real layers, so you can adjust any part by hand after the AI is done.
• Design-to-Code Path: Because frames are built on real HTML and CSS, you can export them as React, Tailwind, or HTML instead of rebuilding them from a mockup.
• Fast Canvas Performance: Gesso reports 117 fps when panning 14,000 layers and 120 fps with six live shaders on screen, which keeps large files responsive.
• Easy Undo for AI Changes: Each agent change is a single undo step, and agents can roll back changes in one step, so you can try ideas safely.

• macOS Only: Gesso is a Mac desktop app for Apple silicon, with a separate Intel build. Windows and Linux users, or teams on mixed platforms, can't run the editor. Many alternatives in this category run in the browser.
• Still in Beta: The product is labeled beta and features are still shipping weekly. That matters if you need a settled feature set for production work.
• No Documented Team Collaboration: The site covers sharing frames by view link, but it doesn't mention shared workspaces, real-time multiplayer editing, or admin controls. Design teams may need a separate tool for collaboration.
• Limited Trial Usage: The free trial caps you at 150 agent calls. Heavy AI-driven work requires the paid membership with unlimited calls.

• Social Media Content for Small Businesses: Ask ChatGPT or Claude to design a set of Instagram posts or a carousel for a product launch. Fine-tune the colors and copy by hand, then export the whole set as PNG or JPG.
• Website Redesign Starting Point: Point an agent at your current site to import its sections, images, and text as editable layers. Rework the layout on the canvas, then export the result as React, Tailwind, or HTML.
• App Screen Prototyping for Founders: Describe the screens you need and let your coding agent build them on the canvas. Share a link with cofounders or investors so they can view it in a browser without installing anything.
• Localizing Marketing Materials: Take an existing poster or flyer and ask the agent to translate the text or adjust the tone for a new market. The layout stays intact because the agent edits the real structure.
• Developer Handoff with Real CSS: Developers using Cursor or Claude Code can design a UI component in Gesso and export it as code. You skip translating a static mockup into markup.
• Event Posters and Flyers: Generate a poster with live shader effects like mesh gradients or halftone, then export it as a print-ready PDF.