Excalidraw
Excalidraw exported as a component to directly embed in your projects.
Installation
You can use npm
npm install react react-dom @excalidraw/excalidraw
or via yarn
yarn add react react-dom @excalidraw/excalidraw
After installation you will see a folder excalidraw-assets
and excalidraw-assets-dev
in dist
directory which contains the assets needed for this app in prod and dev mode respectively.
Move the folder excalidraw-assets
and excalidraw-assets-dev
to the path where your assets are served.
By default it will try to load the files from https://unpkg.com/@excalidraw/excalidraw/dist/
If you want to load assets from a different path you can set a variable window.EXCALIDRAW_ASSET_PATH
depending on environment (for example if you have different URL's for dev and prod) to the url from where you want to load the assets.
Note
If you don't want to wait for the next stable release and try out the unreleased changes you can use @excalidraw/excalidraw-next.
Demo
Try here.
Usage
Using Web Bundler
If you are using a Web bundler (for instance, Webpack), you can import it as an ES6 module as shown below
View Example
import React, { useEffect, useState, useRef } from "react";
import Excalidraw from "@excalidraw/excalidraw";
import InitialData from "./initialData";
import "./styles.scss";
export default function App() {
const excalidrawRef = useRef(null);
const [viewModeEnabled, setViewModeEnabled] = useState(false);
const [zenModeEnabled, setZenModeEnabled] = useState(false);
const [gridModeEnabled, setGridModeEnabled] = useState(false);
const updateScene = () => {
const sceneData = {
elements: [
{
type: "rectangle",
version: 141,
versionNonce: 361174001,
isDeleted: false,
id: "oDVXy8D6rom3H1-LLH2-f",
fillStyle: "hachure",
strokeWidth: 1,
strokeStyle: "solid",
roughness: 1,
opacity: 100,
angle: 0,
x: 100.50390625,
y: 93.67578125,
strokeColor: "#c92a2a",
backgroundColor: "transparent",
width: 186.47265625,
height: 141.9765625,
seed: 1968410350,
groupIds: [],
},
],
appState: {
viewBackgroundColor: "#edf2ff",
},
};
excalidrawRef.current.updateScene(sceneData);
};
return (
<div className="App">
<h1> Excalidraw Example</h1>
<div className="button-wrapper">
<button className="update-scene" onClick={updateScene}>
Update Scene
</button>
<button
className="reset-scene"
onClick={() => {
excalidrawRef.current.resetScene();
}}
>
Reset Scene
</button>
<label>
<input
type="checkbox"
checked={viewModeEnabled}
onChange={() => setViewModeEnabled(!viewModeEnabled)}
/>
View mode
</label>
<label>
<input
type="checkbox"
checked={zenModeEnabled}
onChange={() => setZenModeEnabled(!zenModeEnabled)}
/>
Zen mode
</label>
<label>
<input
type="checkbox"
checked={gridModeEnabled}
onChange={() => setGridModeEnabled(!gridModeEnabled)}
/>
Grid mode
</label>
</div>
<div className="excalidraw-wrapper">
<Excalidraw
ref={excalidrawRef}
initialData={InitialData}
onChange={(elements, state) =>
console.log("Elements :", elements, "State : ", state)
}
onPointerUpdate={(payload) => console.log(payload)}
onCollabButtonClick={() =>
window.alert("You clicked on collab button")
}
viewModeEnabled={viewModeEnabled}
zenModeEnabled={zenModeEnabled}
gridModeEnabled={gridModeEnabled}
/>
</div>
</div>
);
}
To view the full example visit :point_down:
Since Excalidraw doesn't support server side rendering yet, you should render the component once the host is mounted.
import { useState, useEffect } from "react";
export default function IndexPage() {
const [Comp, setComp] = useState(null);
useEffect(() => {
import("@excalidraw/excalidraw").then((comp) => setComp(comp.default));
}, []);
return <>{Comp && <Comp />}</>;
}
The types
are available at @excalidraw/excalidraw/types
, you can view example for typescript
In Browser
To use it in a browser directly:
For development use :point_down:
<script
type="text/javascript"
src="https://unpkg.com/@excalidraw/excalidraw/dist/excalidraw.development.js"
></script>
For production use :point_down:
<script
type="text/javascript"
src="https://unpkg.com/@excalidraw/excalidraw/dist/excalidraw.production.min.js"
></script>
You will need to make sure react
, react-dom
is available as shown in the below example. For prod please use the production versions of react
, react-dom
.
View Example
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>Excalidraw in browser</title>
<meta charset="UTF-8" />
<script src="https://unpkg.com/react@16.14.0/umd/react.development.js"></script>
<script src="https://unpkg.com/react-dom@16.13.1/umd/react-dom.development.js"></script>
<script
type="text/javascript"
src="https://unpkg.com/@excalidraw/excalidraw/dist/excalidraw.development.js"
></script>
</head>
<body>
<div class="container">
<h1>Excalidraw Embed Example</h1>
<div id="app"></div>
</div>
<script type="text/javascript" src="src/index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>
import "./styles.css";
import InitialData from "./initialData";
const App = () => {
const excalidrawRef = React.useRef(null);
const [viewModeEnabled, setViewModeEnabled] = React.useState(false);
const [zenModeEnabled, setZenModeEnabled] = React.useState(false);
const [gridModeEnabled, setGridModeEnabled] = React.useState(false);
const updateScene = () => {
const sceneData = {
elements: [
{
type: "rectangle",
version: 141,
versionNonce: 361174001,
isDeleted: false,
id: "oDVXy8D6rom3H1-LLH2-f",
fillStyle: "hachure",
strokeWidth: 1,
strokeStyle: "solid",
roughness: 1,
opacity: 100,
angle: 0,
x: 100.50390625,
y: 93.67578125,
strokeColor: "#c92a2a",
backgroundColor: "transparent",
width: 186.47265625,
height: 141.9765625,
seed: 1968410350,
groupIds: [],
},
],
appState: {
viewBackgroundColor: "#edf2ff",
},
};
excalidrawRef.current.updateScene(sceneData);
};
return React.createElement(
React.Fragment,
null,
React.createElement(
"div",
{ className: "button-wrapper" },
React.createElement(
"button",
{
className: "update-scene",
onClick: updateScene,
},
"Update Scene",
),
React.createElement(
"button",
{
className: "reset-scene",
onClick: () => excalidrawRef.current.resetScene(),
},
"Reset Scene",
),
React.createElement(
"label",
null,
React.createElement("input", {
type: "checkbox",
checked: viewModeEnabled,
onChange: () => setViewModeEnabled(!viewModeEnabled),
}),
"View mode",
),
React.createElement(
"label",
null,
React.createElement("input", {
type: "checkbox",
checked: zenModeEnabled,
onChange: () => setZenModeEnabled(!zenModeEnabled),
}),
"Zen mode",
),
React.createElement(
"label",
null,
React.createElement("input", {
type: "checkbox",
checked: gridModeEnabled,
onChange: () => setGridModeEnabled(!gridModeEnabled),
}),
"Grid mode",
),
),
React.createElement(
"div",
{
className: "excalidraw-wrapper",
ref: excalidrawWrapperRef,
},
React.createElement(Excalidraw.default, {
initialData: InitialData,
onChange: (elements, state) =>
console.log("Elements :", elements, "State : ", state),
onPointerUpdate: (payload) => console.log(payload),
onCollabButtonClick: () => window.alert("You clicked on collab button"),
viewModeEnabled: viewModeEnabled,
zenModeEnabled: zenModeEnabled,
gridModeEnabled: gridModeEnabled,
}),
),
);
};
const excalidrawWrapper = document.getElementById("app");
ReactDOM.render(React.createElement(App), excalidrawWrapper);
To view the full example visit :point_down:
Props
Dimensions of Excalidraw
Excalidraw takes 100%
of width
and height
of the containing block so make sure the container in which you render Excalidraw has non zero dimensions.
onChange
Every time component updates, this callback if passed will get triggered and has the below signature.
(excalidrawElements, appState) => void;
1.excalidrawElements
: Array of excalidrawElements in the scene.
2.appState
: AppState of the scene
Here you can try saving the data to your backend or local storage for example.
initialData
This helps to load Excalidraw with initialData
. It must be an object or a promise which resolves to an object containing the below optional fields.
Name | Type | Descrption |
---|
elements | ExcalidrawElement[] | The elements with which Excalidraw should be mounted. |
appState | AppState | The App state with which Excalidraw should be mounted. |
scrollToContent | boolean | This attribute implies whether to scroll to the nearest element to center once Excalidraw is mounted. By default, it will not scroll the nearest element to the center. Make sure you pass initialData.appState.scrollX and initialData.appState.scrollY when scrollToContent is false so that scroll positions are retained |
libraryItems | LibraryItems | This library items with which Excalidraw should be mounted. |
{
"elements": [
{
"type": "rectangle",
"version": 141,
"versionNonce": 361174001,
"isDeleted": false,
"id": "oDVXy8D6rom3H1-LLH2-f",
"fillStyle": "hachure",
"strokeWidth": 1,
"strokeStyle": "solid",
"roughness": 1,
"opacity": 100,
"angle": 0,
"x": 100.50390625,
"y": 93.67578125,
"strokeColor": "#000000",
"backgroundColor": "transparent",
"width": 186.47265625,
"height": 141.9765625,
"seed": 1968410350,
"groupIds": []
}
],
"appState": { "zenModeEnabled": true, "viewBackgroundColor": "#AFEEEE" }
}
You might want to use this when you want to load excalidraw with some initial elements and app state.
ref
You can pass a ref
when you want to access some excalidraw APIs. We expose the below APIs:
API | signature | Usage |
---|
ready | boolean | This is set to true once Excalidraw is rendered |
readyPromise | resolvablePromise | This promise will be resolved with the api once excalidraw has rendered. This will be helpful when you want do some action on the host app once this promise resolves. For this to work you will have to pass ref as shown here |
updateScene | (sceneData)) => void | updates the scene with the sceneData |
resetScene | ({ resetLoadingState: boolean }) => void | Resets the scene. If resetLoadingState is passed as true then it will also force set the loading state to false. |
getSceneElementsIncludingDeleted | () => ExcalidrawElement[] | Returns all the elements including the deleted in the scene |
getSceneElements | () => ExcalidrawElement[] | Returns all the elements excluding the deleted in the scene |
getAppState | () => AppState | Returns current appState |
history | { clear: () => void } | This is the history API. history.clear() will clear the history |
scrollToContent | (target?: ExcalidrawElement | ExcalidrawElement[]) => void | Scroll the nearest element out of the elements supplied to the center. Defaults to the elements on the scene. |
refresh | () => void | Updates the offsets for the Excalidraw component so that the coordinates are computed correctly (for example the cursor position). You don't have to call this when the position is changed on page scroll or when the excalidraw container resizes (we handle that ourselves). For any other cases if the position of excalidraw is updated (example due to scroll on parent container and not page scroll) you should call this API. |
importLibrary | (url: string, token?: string) => void | Imports library from given URL |
setToastMessage | (message: string) => void | This API can be used to show the toast with custom message. |
id | string | Unique ID for the excalidraw component. |
readyPromise
const excalidrawRef = { current: { readyPromise: resolvablePromise}}
Since plain object is passed as a ref
, the readyPromise
is resolved as soon as the component is mounted. Most of the time you will not need this unless you have a specific use case where you can't pass the ref
in the react way and want to do some action on the host when this promise resolves. You can check the example for the usage.
updateScene
(sceneData)) => void
You can use this function to update the scene with the sceneData. It accepts the below attributes.
Name | Type | Description |
---|
elements | ImportedDataState["elements"] | The elements to be updated in the scene |
appState | ImportedDataState["appState"] | The appState to be updated in the scene. |
collaborators | Map<string, Collaborator> | The list of collaborators to be updated in the scene. |
commitToHistory | boolean | Implies if the history (undo/redo) should be recorded. Defaults to false . |
onCollabButtonClick
This callback is triggered when clicked on the collab button in excalidraw. If not supplied, the collab dialog button is not rendered.
isCollaborating
This prop indicates if the app is in collaboration mode.
onPointerUpdate
This callback is triggered when mouse pointer is updated.
({ x, y }, button, pointersMap}) => void;
1.{x, y}
: Pointer coordinates
2.button
: The position of the button. This will be one of ["down", "up"]
3.pointersMap
: pointers map
of the scene
(exportedElements, appState, canvas) => void
exportedElements
: An array of non deleted elements which needs to be exported.appState
: AppState of the scene.canvas
: The HTMLCanvasElement
of the scene.
langCode
Determines the language of the UI. It should be one of the available language codes. Defaults to en
(English). We also export default language and supported languages which you can import as shown below.
import { defaultLang, languages } from "@excalidraw/excalidraw";
renderTopRightUI
(isMobile: boolean, appState: AppState) => JSX
A function returning JSX to render custom UI in the top right corner of the app.
(isMobile: boolean, appState: AppState) => JSX
A function returning JSX to render custom UI footer. For example, you can use this to render a language picker that was previously being rendered by Excalidraw itself (for now, you'll need to implement your own language picker).
renderCustomStats
A function that can be used to render custom stats (returns JSX) in the nerd stats dialog. For example you can use this prop to render the size of the elements in the storage.
viewModeEnabled
This prop indicates whether the app is in view mode
. When supplied, the value takes precedence over intialData.appState.viewModeEnabled
, the view mode
will be fully controlled by the host app, and users won't be able to toggle it from within the app.
zenModeEnabled
This prop indicates whether the app is in zen mode
. When supplied, the value takes precedence over intialData.appState.zenModeEnabled
, the zen mode
will be fully controlled by the host app, and users won't be able to toggle it from within the app.
gridModeEnabled
This prop indicates whether the shows the grid. When supplied, the value takes precedence over intialData.appState.gridModeEnabled
, the grid will be fully controlled by the host app, and users won't be able to toggle it from within the app.
libraryReturnUrl
If supplied, this URL will be used when user tries to install a library from libraries.excalidraw.com. Defaults to window.location.origin + window.location.pathname
. To install the libraries in the same tab from which it was opened, you need to set window.name
(to any alphanumeric string) — if it's not set it will open in a new tab.
theme
This prop controls Excalidraw's theme. When supplied, the value takes precedence over intialData.appState.theme
, the theme will be fully controlled by the host app, and users won't be able to toggle it from within the app.
name
This prop sets the name of the drawing which will be used when exporting the drawing. When supplied, the value takes precedence over intialData.appState.name
, the name
will be fully controlled by host app and the users won't be able to edit from within Excalidraw.
UIOptions
This prop can be used to customise UI of Excalidraw. Currently we support customising only canvasActions
. It accepts the below parameters
{ canvasActions: CanvasActions }
canvasActions
Attribute | Type | Default | Description |
---|
changeViewBackgroundColor | boolean | true | Implies whether to show Background color picker |
clearCanvas | boolean | true | Implies whether to show Clear canvas button |
export | false | exportOpts | { saveFileToDisk: true } | This prop allows to customize the UI inside the export dialog. By default it shows the "saveFileToDisk". If this prop is false the export button will not be rendered. For more details visit exportOpts . |
loadScene | boolean | true | Implies whether to show Load button |
saveToActiveFile | boolean | true | Implies whether to show Save button to save to current file |
theme | boolean | true | Implies whether to show Theme toggle |
saveAsImage | boolean | true | Implies whether to show Save as image button |
exportOpts
The below attributes can be set in UIOptions.canvasActions.export
to customize the export dialog. If UIOptions.canvasActions.export
is false
the export button will not be rendered.
Attribute | Type | Default | Description |
---|
saveFileToDisk | boolean | true | Implies if save file to disk button should be shown |
onExportToBackend | (exportedElements: readonly NonDeletedExcalidrawElement[],appState: AppState,canvas: HTMLCanvasElement | null) => void | | This callback is triggered when the shareable-link button is clicked in the export dialog. The link button will only be shown if this callback is passed. |
renderCustomUI | (exportedElements: readonly NonDeletedExcalidrawElement[],appState: AppState,canvas: HTMLCanvasElement | null) => void | | This callback should be supplied if you want to render custom UI in the export dialog. |
onPaste
This callback is triggered if passed when something is pasted into the scene. You can use this callback in case you want to do something additional when the paste event occurs.
(data: ClipboardData, event: ClipboardEvent | null) => boolean
This callback must return a boolean
value or a promise which resolves to a boolean value.
In case you want to prevent the excalidraw paste action you must return false
, it will stop the native excalidraw clipboard management flow (nothing will be pasted into the scene).
Does it support collaboration ?
No, Excalidraw package doesn't come with collaboration built in, since the implementation is specific to each host app. We expose APIs which you can use to communicate with Excalidraw which you can use to implement it. You can check our own implementation here.
importLibrary
Imports library from given URL. You should call this on hashchange
, passing the addLibrary
value if you detect it as shown below. Optionally pass a CSRF token
to skip prompting during installation (retrievable via token
key from the url coming from https://libraries.excalidraw.com).
useEffect(() => {
const onHashChange = () => {
const hash = new URLSearchParams(window.location.hash.slice(1));
const libraryUrl = hash.get("addLibrary");
if (libraryUrl) {
excalidrawRef.current.importLibrary(libraryUrl, hash.get("token"));
}
};
window.addEventListener("hashchange", onHashChange, false);
return () => {
window.removeEventListener("hashchange", onHashChange);
};
}, []);
Try out the Demo to see it in action.
detectScroll
Indicates whether Excalidraw should listen for scroll
event on the nearest scrollable container in the DOM tree and recompute the coordinates (e.g. to correctly handle the cursor) when the component's position changes. You can disable this when you either know this doesn't affect your app or you want to take care of it yourself (calling the refresh()
method).
handleKeyboardGlobally
Indicates whether to bind keyboard events to document
. Disabled by default, meaning the keyboard events are bound to the Excalidraw component. This allows for multiple Excalidraw components to live on the same page, and ensures that Excalidraw keyboard handling doesn't collide with your app's (or the browser) when the component isn't focused.
Enable this if you want Excalidraw to handle keyboard even if the component isn't focused (e.g. a user is interacting with the navbar, sidebar, or similar).
onLibraryChange
Ths callback if supplied will get triggered when the library is updated and has the below signature.
(items: LibraryItems) => void | Promise
It is invoked with empty items when user clears the library. You can use this callback when you want to do something additional when library is updated for example persisting it to local storage.
id
The unique id of the excalidraw component. This can be used to identify the excalidraw component, for example importing the library items to the excalidraw component from where it was initiated when you have multiple excalidraw components rendered on the same page as shown in multiple excalidraw demo.
autoFocus
This prop implies whether to focus the Excalidraw component on page load. Defaults to false.
getSceneVersion
How to use
import { getSceneVersion } from "@excalidraw/excalidraw";
getSceneVersion(elements: ExcalidrawElement[])
This function returns the current scene version.
isInvisiblySmallElement
Signature
isInvisiblySmallElement(element: ExcalidrawElement): boolean
How to use
import { isInvisiblySmallElement } from "@excalidraw/excalidraw";
Returns true
if element is invisibly small (e.g. width & height are zero).
getElementMap
Signature
getElementsMap(elements: ExcalidrawElement[]): {[id: string]: ExcalidrawElement}
How to use
import { getElementsMap } from "@excalidraw/excalidraw";
This function returns an object where each element is mapped to its id.
Restore utilities
restoreAppState
Signature
restoreAppState(appState: ImportedDataState["appState"], localAppState: Partial<AppState> | null): AppState
How to use
import { restoreAppState } from "@excalidraw/excalidraw";
This function will make sure all the keys have appropriate values in appState and if any key is missing, it will be set to default value.
When localAppState
is supplied, it's used in place of values that are missing (undefined
) in appState
instead of defaults. Use this as a way to not override user's defaults if you persist them. Required: supply null
/undefined
if not applicable.
restoreElements
Signature
restoreElements(elements: ImportedDataState["elements"], localElements: ExcalidrawElement[] | null | undefined): ExcalidrawElement[]
How to use
import { restoreElements } from "@excalidraw/excalidraw";
This function will make sure all properties of element is correctly set and if any attribute is missing, it will be set to default value.
When localElements
are supplied, they are used to ensure that existing restored elements reuse version
(and increment it), and regenerate versionNonce
. Use this when you import elements which may already be present in the scene to ensure that you do not disregard the newly imported elements if you're using element version to detect the updates.
restore
Signature
restoreElements(data: ImportedDataState, localAppState: Partial<AppState> | null | undefined, localElements: ExcalidrawElement[] | null | undefined): DataState
See restoreAppState()
about localAppState
, and restoreElements()
about localElements
.
How to use
import { restore } from "@excalidraw/excalidraw";
This function makes sure elements and state is set to appropriate values and set to default value if not present. It is a combination of restoreElements and restoreAppState.
serializeAsJSON
Signature
serializeAsJSON({
elements: ExcalidrawElement[],
appState: AppState,
}): string
Takes the scene elements and state and returns a JSON string. Deleted elements
as well as most properties from AppState
are removed from the resulting JSON. (see serializeAsJSON()
source for details).
Export utilities
exportToCanvas
Signature
exportToCanvas({
elements,
appState
getDimensions,
}: ExportOpts
Name | Type | Default | Description |
---|
elements | Excalidraw Element [] | | The elements to be exported to canvas |
appState | AppState | defaultAppState | The app state of the scene |
getDimensions | (width: number, height: number) => {width: number, height: number, scale: number) | (width, height) => ({ width, height, scale: 1 }) | A function which returns the width, height and scale with which canvas is to be exported. |
How to use
import { exportToCanvas } from "@excalidraw/excalidraw";
This function returns the canvas with the exported elements, appState and dimensions.
exportToBlob
Signature
exportToBlob(
opts: ExportOpts & {
mimeType?: string,
quality?: number;
})
Name | Type | Default | Description |
---|
opts | | | This param is passed to exportToCanvas . You can refer to exportToCanvas |
mimeType | string | "image/png" | Indicates the image format |
quality | number | 0.92 | A value between 0 and 1 indicating the image quality. Applies only to image/jpeg /image/webp MIME types. |
How to use
import { exportToBlob } from "@excalidraw/excalidraw";
Returns a promise which resolves with a blob. It internally uses canvas.ToBlob.
Note: appState.exportBackground
is always set to true
if exporting to image/jpeg
to ensure the alpha channel isn't compressed to black.
exportToSvg
Signature
exportToSvg({
elements: ExcalidrawElement[],
appState: AppState,
exportPadding?: number,
metadata?: string,
})
This function returns a promise which resolves to svg of the exported drawing.
Additional attributes of appState for export\*
APIs
Name | Type | Default | Description |
---|
exportBackground | boolean | true | Indicates whether background should be exported |
viewBackgroundColor | string | #fff | The default background color |
exportWithDarkMode | boolean | false | Indicates whether to export with dark mode |
exportEmbedScene | boolean | false | Indicates whether scene data should be embedded in svg. This will increase the svg size. |
FONT_FAMILY
How to use
import { FONT_FAMILY } from "@excalidraw/excalidraw";
FONT_FAMILY
contains all the font families used in Excalidraw
as explained below
Font Family | Description |
---|
Virgil | The handwritten font |
Helvetica | The Normal Font |
Cascadia | The Code Font |
Defaults to FONT_FAMILY.Virgil
unless passed in initialData.appState.currentItemFontFamily
.
loadLibraryFromBlob
import { loadLibraryFromBlob } from "@excalidraw/excalidraw";
Signature
loadLibraryFromBlob(blob: Blob)
This function loads the library from the blob.
loadFromBlob
How to use
import { loadFromBlob } from "@excalidraw/excalidraw";
Signature
loadFromBlob(blob: Blob, localAppState: AppState | null)
This function loads the scene data from the blob. If you pass localAppState
, localAppState
value will be preferred over the appState
derived from blob
getFreeDrawSvgPath
How to use
import { getFreeDrawSvgPath } from "@excalidraw/excalidraw";
Signature
getFreeDrawSvgPath(element: ExcalidrawFreeDrawElement
This function returns the free draw svg path for the element.
Need help?
Check out the existing Q&A. If you have any queries or need help, ask us here.