Excalidraw
Open-source virtual whiteboard with AI-powered diagram generation.
About
Excalidraw is an open-source virtual whiteboard for creating diagrams with a distinctive hand-drawn aesthetic. Its infinite canvas supports real-time collaboration with end-to-end encryption, reusable component libraries, and a vibrant ecosystem of over 200 community extensions.
Excalidraw includes AI-powered diagram generation that turns natural language text prompts into structured diagrams, alongside Mermaid syntax support for flowcharts and sequence diagrams. The open-source codebase and a dedicated excalidraw-ai project with bring-your-own-key model support make it a favorite for developers documenting architectures.
What it can do
- Hand-drawn style diagrams on infinite canvas
- AI text-to-diagram generation
- Real-time encrypted collaboration
- Open-source with 200+ community extensions
Setup
Use free in the browser or self-host; npm package available for embedding.
Prerequisites
None for basic use; API key for AI generation features.
Use cases
Works with
Trust score — 8/10
Scored 8/10 (verified tier, metrics-v1). Evidence: Verified via vendor site/docs/GitHub and reputable coverage, wave 118; Trending score 80/100 from researcher assessment.
Sources
Every fact above was checked against these sources. Where a claim comes from the provider and couldn't be independently verified, the text says so.