Summary and recommendation
Principle is a Mac desktop application for design prototyping, not a SaaS product. As a one-time purchase ($129) design tool that runs locally on macOS, Principle has no enterprise identity management features—no SCIM provisioning, no SSO, and no team management capabilities. This is a fundamentally different category of software that IT teams typically manage through device management solutions and software deployment tools rather than identity providers.
For organizations using Principle, the "provisioning" challenge is actually software distribution and license management across Mac devices, not user lifecycle automation. IT teams need to ensure designers have the application installed and licensed, but there's no user account creation or deprovisioning workflow since each copy runs independently on individual machines.
The strategic alternative
Principle has no native SCIM. Automate offboarding, user access reviews, and license workflows across every app, including the ones without APIs. We maintain the integration layer underneath. You focus on judgment, not plumbing.
Quick SCIM facts
| SCIM available? | No |
| SCIM tier required | N/A |
| SSO required first? | No |
| SSO available? | Yes |
| SSO protocol | N/A |
| Documentation | Not available |
Supported identity providers
| IdP | SSO | SCIM | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Okta | Via third-party | ❌ | No SCIM available |
| Microsoft Entra ID | Via third-party | ❌ | No SCIM available |
| Google Workspace | Via third-party | ❌ | No native support |
| OneLogin | Via third-party | ❌ | No native support |
The cost of not automating
Without SCIM (or an alternative like Stitchflow), your IT team manages Principle accounts manually. Here's what that costs:
The Principle pricing problem
Principle gates SCIM provisioning behind premium plans, forcing significant cost increases for basic user management.
Tier comparison
| Plan | Price | SSO | SCIM |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-time license | $129 per designer | N/A - Desktop app |
Pricing structure
| Plan | Price | SCIM Support |
|---|---|---|
| One-time license | $129 per designer | N/A - Desktop app |
What this means in practice
Since Principle is a standalone Mac application, your provisioning challenge shifts to software deployment and license management:
Additional constraints
Summary of challenges
- Principle does not provide native SCIM at any price tier
- Organizations must rely on third-party tools or manual provisioning
- Our research shows teams manually provisioning this app spend significant hidden costs annually
What Principle actually offers for identity
No Enterprise Identity Management
Principle is a Mac desktop application for design prototyping, not a SaaS product:
| Feature | Status |
|---|---|
| SAML SSO | ❌ Not applicable |
| SCIM provisioning | ❌ Not applicable |
| Team management | ❌ Not available |
| User accounts | ❌ Individual license only |
| Enterprise features | ❌ Desktop app |
Reality check: Principle is a $129 one-time purchase desktop tool for individual designers. There are no user accounts, team features, or enterprise identity management capabilities because it's not cloud-based software.
License Management Only
For organizations deploying Principle across multiple designers:
The bottom line: If you're looking for SCIM provisioning for Principle, you're looking at the wrong type of software. This is a traditional desktop application that requires license management, not identity management.
What IT admins are saying
Principle's desktop-only nature creates deployment challenges for IT teams managing design tool access:
- No centralized license management or user provisioning capabilities
- Individual Mac app installations required on each designer's machine
- No visibility into usage or license compliance across the organization
- Manual tracking needed for license assignments and renewals
We have to manually deploy Principle to each designer's Mac and track who has licenses in a spreadsheet. There's no way to centrally manage access or see who's actually using it.
Unlike our other design tools, Principle doesn't integrate with our identity systems at all. It's just a standalone app that we have to manage separately.
The recurring theme
Principle operates as a traditional desktop application with no enterprise management features, forcing IT teams to rely on manual processes for license tracking and deployment.
The decision
| Your Situation | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| Individual designer or small design team | Use Principle directly - no provisioning needed for desktop app |
| Enterprise design team needing prototyping tools | Consider web-based alternatives like Figma or Framer |
| IT admin asked to "provision" Principle | Clarify requirements - this is license deployment, not user provisioning |
| Mixed design toolchain with other SaaS apps | Use Stitchflow for your actual SaaS tools, manage Principle separately |
| Compliance-focused organization | Evaluate if desktop-only tools meet your access control requirements |
The bottom line
Principle is a Mac desktop application, not a SaaS product - there's no user provisioning to automate. If your design teams need enterprise-grade identity management, you'll want web-based design tools instead. For your actual SaaS applications that do need provisioning automation, Stitchflow handles the heavy lifting.
Make Principle workflows AI-native
Principle has no native SCIM. We build complete offboarding, user access reviews, and license workflows across every app, including the ones without APIs.
Technical specifications
SCIM Version
Not specifiedSupported Operations
Not specifiedSupported Attributes
Plan requirement
Not specifiedPrerequisites
Not specifiedKey limitations
- Desktop application, not SaaS
- No enterprise team features documented
- Individual designer tool
Documentation not available.
Unlock SCIM for
Principle
Principle has no native SCIM. We still automate end-to-end workflows across every app, including the ones without APIs.
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