excalidraw/excalidraw

Excalidraw is an open-source virtual whiteboard application written in TypeScript that enables users to create hand-drawn style diagrams, wireframes, and sketches on an infinite canvas-based interface. The project is released under the MIT license and serves both as a standalone web application at excalidraw.com and as an npm package that developers can integrate into their own applications.

The core editor provides a comprehensive set of drawing tools including rectangles, circles, diamonds, arrows, lines, free-draw capabilities, and erasers. Users can create labeled arrows with arrow-binding functionality, apply hand-drawn styling to their sketches, and access features like undo/redo, zoom, and panning. The application supports image insertion, shape libraries, dark mode, and localization through i18n support. Drawings can be exported to PNG, SVG, or clipboard formats, and the open format allows users to save their work as .excalidraw JSON files for future editing.

The hosted application at excalidraw.com extends the core editor with real-time collaboration capabilities and end-to-end encryption, ensuring that multiple users can work together securely. The application functions as a progressive web app with offline support, maintains local-first architecture with automatic browser-based autosaving, and provides shareable read-only links for distributing diagrams to others. The source code for this web application is included within the main repository.

The project maintains active development with significant community engagement. The repository shares contributors with major projects including Microsoft's VSCode and TypeScript repositories as well as the Rust language project.

Excalidraw has achieved significant adoption among major technology companies and platforms. Google Cloud, Meta, CodeSandbox, Obsidian, Replit, Slite, Notion, and HackerRank have all integrated Excalidraw into their services. The project offers a VSCode extension and maintains comprehensive documentation for developers looking to integrate the npm package into their applications. The community can contribute through the established contribution guide, participate in translations, or report issues and feature requests. The project is supported through Open Collective sponsorships and a commercial offering called Excalidraw Plus, allowing users to support development while accessing additional features.