#509 - CANVAS: Excalidraw whiteboard with live embeds/links to any calternal item (mail, transaction, event/log, task, contact, deep links) — grill - kayg/calternal

kayg commented

2026-09-30 09:54:51 +00:00

Owner

Request (owner, 2026-09-30)

"please file an issue for a canvas - feature, basically like obsidian-excalidraw (and we are using excalidraw) but we should be able to link embed/link any element from our cloud (mail, transaction, event/log, task, contact, even deeplinks etc)"

Idea

A Canvas (whiteboard) built on Excalidraw (MIT-licensed, AGPL-compatible), similar to the Obsidian Excalidraw plugin. The difference: any calternal item can be dropped onto the canvas as a live, linked card.

Scope to grill (do not build until answered and recorded in DESIGN)

C1 Storage: plaintext files are the source of truth. Options: Excalidraw JSON (.excalidraw), or Obsidian-compatible .excalidraw.md (Markdown with an embedded JSON block and a text section, so text is searchable and portable to Obsidian). Recommendation to evaluate: the .excalidraw.md format, for Obsidian compatibility.
C2 Embeds and links: any item, by its stable identity (calternal-id / item ID / block ID, per §33 deep links, never paths):
- a Mail message or thread;
- a Money transaction, account or category;
- a Calendar event or Log entry;
- a Task;
- a Contact;
- a Note, heading or block;
- a File, folder or photo;
- a saved search, a Settings section, or any calternal deep link;
- external URLs.
  Each embed is either a live card (title, key fields, thumbnail, updating when the item changes) or a plain link. Click opens the item or the anchored inspector; broken or deleted items show a clear placeholder.
C3 Adding items: drag from any calternal list, sidebar or search result onto the canvas; paste a calternal link; a "+" picker that searches every plugin; drop files and photos.
C4 Backlinks: items embedded in a canvas show "On canvas X" in their backlinks / inspector (Notes backlink model).
C5 Canvas as a Tab or inside Notes/Files: its own Tab, or files opened from Files and Notes (like .base). The owner's Tab list does not include Canvas yet.
C6 Collaboration: live co-editing (Yjs, like Notes) and Share / Collaborate (#479).
C7 Parity (#484): API, CLI, MCP and WebMCP can create a canvas, add or remove elements and embeds, and export (PNG/SVG); agents can draw diagrams.
C8 Performance: large canvases (thousands of elements, hundreds of live embeds): virtualise embed rendering and batch live updates (bench profile per the performance rule).
C9 Isolation: an embed never leaks another User's data. A shared canvas shows a recipient only the embeds they can already read (#472 matrix).
C10 Mobile and touch: pinch, pan and Pencil drawing on iPad; the tooltip and keyboard rules still apply.
C11 Import: open existing Obsidian .excalidraw.md files from a synced vault losslessly.

## Request (owner, 2026-09-30) "please file an issue for a canvas - feature, basically like obsidian-excalidraw (and we are using excalidraw) but we should be able to link embed/link any element from our cloud (mail, transaction, event/log, task, contact, even deeplinks etc)" ## Idea A **Canvas** (whiteboard) built on **Excalidraw** (MIT-licensed, AGPL-compatible), similar to the Obsidian Excalidraw plugin. The difference: any calternal item can be dropped onto the canvas as a live, linked card. ## Scope to grill (do not build until answered and recorded in DESIGN) - **C1 Storage:** plaintext files are the source of truth. Options: Excalidraw JSON (`.excalidraw`), or Obsidian-compatible `.excalidraw.md` (Markdown with an embedded JSON block and a text section, so text is searchable and portable to Obsidian). Recommendation to evaluate: the `.excalidraw.md` format, for Obsidian compatibility. - **C2 Embeds and links:** any item, by its stable identity (calternal-id / item ID / block ID, per §33 deep links, never paths): - a Mail message or thread; - a Money transaction, account or category; - a Calendar event or Log entry; - a Task; - a Contact; - a Note, heading or block; - a File, folder or photo; - a saved search, a Settings section, or any calternal deep link; - external URLs. Each embed is either a **live card** (title, key fields, thumbnail, updating when the item changes) or a plain **link**. Click opens the item or the anchored inspector; broken or deleted items show a clear placeholder. - **C3 Adding items:** drag from any calternal list, sidebar or search result onto the canvas; paste a calternal link; a "+" picker that searches every plugin; drop files and photos. - **C4 Backlinks:** items embedded in a canvas show "On canvas X" in their backlinks / inspector (Notes backlink model). - **C5 Canvas as a Tab or inside Notes/Files:** its own Tab, or files opened from Files and Notes (like `.base`). The owner's Tab list does not include Canvas yet. - **C6 Collaboration:** live co-editing (Yjs, like Notes) and Share / Collaborate (#479). - **C7 Parity (#484):** API, CLI, MCP and WebMCP can create a canvas, add or remove elements and embeds, and export (PNG/SVG); agents can draw diagrams. - **C8 Performance:** large canvases (thousands of elements, hundreds of live embeds): virtualise embed rendering and batch live updates (bench profile per the performance rule). - **C9 Isolation:** an embed never leaks another User's data. A shared canvas shows a recipient only the embeds they can already read (#472 matrix). - **C10 Mobile and touch:** pinch, pan and Pencil drawing on iPad; the tooltip and keyboard rules still apply. - **C11 Import:** open existing Obsidian `.excalidraw.md` files from a synced vault losslessly.

kayg referenced this issue

2026-10-03 06:30:09 +00:00

Analytics: move out of the Tab Bar into an overlay (like Settings and Search) #973

kayg referenced this issue from a commit

2026-10-03 06:38:00 +00:00

docs(design): record Canvas (§60) and live document history (§61); drop FUSE from §10

kayg referenced this issue

2026-10-03 06:38:49 +00:00

COLLAB: live document history — benchmark the cheapest footprint, then build (§61) #975

kayg referenced this issue

2026-10-03 06:38:51 +00:00

CANVAS core: Excalidraw canvas as a Note, live co-editing, one event path, chrome, element links, export (§60) #976