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Guide · Open source

How to use Awesome-Design-Tools: browse, find and contribute

Updated · written with AI from the project's own documentation and checked against our catalogue data

Awesome-Design-Tools is a community-maintained GitHub list of design tools, grouped by category such as accessibility, prototyping, icons, fonts and wireframing. It is a reference you browse, not software you install. This guide shows you how to find a tool for a specific task, how to read the labels on each entry, and how to submit a new tool.

Awesome Design Toolsgoabstract/Awesome-Design-Tools · ★ 41.7k · MIT

Quick start

  1. 1Open the repository. Go to the Awesome-Design-Tools page on GitHub. No installation is needed.
  2. 2Pick a category. Use the Table of Content to find the category that matches your task, such as Accessibility Tools or Wireframing Tools.
  3. 3Search for a keyword. If you are unsure of the category, search the page for a term such as "animation" or "prototyping".
  4. 4Check the labels. Look for the free, open-source and Mac-only labels to narrow your choices.
  5. 5Visit the tool. Follow the entry's link and confirm current details on the tool's own site, since the README may be out of date.
  6. 6Contribute (optional). Send a Pull Request following the Contribution Guidelines to add a tool.

What Awesome-Design-Tools is and who it is for

The repository is a list of links. Each entry has a short description, a link to the tool, and labels for free, open-source and Mac-only tools. There is nothing to install and no prerequisites are listed.

It suits designers looking for a tool for a task such as color contrast checking or wireframing, developers looking for accessibility testing or design-to-code tools, and teams comparing free or open-source options.

Find a tool by category or keyword

Open the repository on GitHub and go through the Table of Content, which lists categories such as Accessibility Tools, Font Tools, Icons Tools, Prototyping Tools and Wireframing Tools. You can also search the page for a keyword, for example "animation" or "prototyping".

  • Pick the category closest to your task.
  • Scan the one-line description to see whether the tool fits.
  • Follow the link to the tool's own site or repository for current details.

Read the free, open-source and Mac-only labels

Entries carry small icon labels. A free label marks a free tool, an open-source label marks a tool with a linked source repository, and a Mac-only label marks a macOS app. The labels are added by contributors, so check the tool's own site before relying on them.

  • Free: the tool is labelled free.
  • Open source: the entry links to a source repository.
  • Mac only: the tool runs on macOS.

Use the separate plugins and related lists

The README says plugins are kept in a separate Awesome Design Plugins file, so look there if you need plugins. The README also links to Awesome Design Conferences and Awesome Design UI Kits.

Optionally clone the repository and contribute a tool

Browsing online is enough for most readers. If you want a local copy, the README gives this optional command. To suggest a tool, send a Pull Request following the Contribution Guidelines. Design tools go in this list and plugins go in the Awesome Design Plugins file.

git clone https://github.com/goabstract/Awesome-Design-Tools.git

What people use it for

  • Finding a WCAG contrast checker such as Colorable or Contrast Checker for a color palette.
  • Finding an automated accessibility testing engine for developers, such as Axe.
  • Comparing free or open-source options for a team's design stack.
  • Looking up wireframing or prototyping tools when starting a new project.

Frequently asked questions

Is Awesome-Design-Tools free to use?

The repository is an MIT-licensed list of links, and you can read it online at no cost. Each listed tool has its own licence and pricing, which the entry labels only partly indicate, so check the tool's site before you use it.

Do I need to install anything to use Awesome-Design-Tools?

No. The install method is read-online and no prerequisites are listed. Cloning the repository with git is optional.

How do I find a specific design tool in the list?

Use the Table of Content to jump to a category, or search the page for a keyword such as "animation" or "prototyping". Each entry gives a short description and a link.

Where are the design plugins?

The README says plugins are kept in a separate Awesome Design Plugins file, linked from the top of the README.

Is Awesome-Design-Tools up to date?

Not necessarily. The README is a partial, truncated snapshot, and the repository's last push was in July 2024. Confirm details such as pricing and platform support on each tool's own site.

How is Awesome-Design-Tools different from other awesome lists?

It is a design-focused list in the same style as sindresorhus/awesome, the Awesome UX Design lists and Awesome Figma resources lists. Choose whichever focuses on the design area you need.

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Our verdict

Awesome-Design-Tools suits designers, developers and teams who want a categorized starting point for finding design tools, especially free or open-source ones. It is not a single program, and it is not a reliable source for current details, so pick something else if you need up-to-date pricing or a tool you can install.

Install options & downloads