Prepare the server locally
Run this once before adding it to Claude Code.
git clone https://github.com/antonpk1/excalidraw-mcp-app.git
cd excalidraw-mcp-app
npm install
npm run buildRegister it in Claude Code
claude mcp add excalidraw-mcp-c5dc -- node /path/to/excalidraw-mcp-app/dist/index.js --stdioReplace any placeholder paths in the command with the real path on your machine.
Make your agent remember this setup
excalidraw-mcp-c5dc's config, env vars, and the gotchas you hit — recalled in every future Claude Code, Cursor, and Codex session.
npx conare@latestFree · one command · indexes the sessions already on disk. Set up in the browser instead →
What it does
- Interactive fullscreen whiteboard editing
- Smooth viewport camera control
- Native rendering within MCP-supported chat interfaces
- Collaborative virtual whiteboard capabilities
Try it
Original README from 2gavy/excalidraw-mcp1
Excalidraw MCP App Server
MCP server that streams hand-drawn Excalidraw diagrams with smooth viewport camera control and interactive fullscreen editing.
Install
Works with any client that supports MCP Apps — Claude, ChatGPT, VS Code, Goose, and others. If something doesn't work, please open an issue.
Remote (recommended)
`https://excalidraw-mcp-app.vercel.app/mcp`
Add as a remote MCP server in your client. For example, in claude.ai: Settings → Connectors → Add custom connector → paste the URL above.
Local
Option A: Download Extension
- Download
excalidraw-mcp-app.mcpbfrom Releases - Double-click to install in Claude Desktop
Option B: Build from Source
git clone https://github.com/antonpk1/excalidraw-mcp-app.git
cd excalidraw-mcp-app
npm install && npm run build
Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:
{
"mcpServers": {
"excalidraw": {
"command": "node",
"args": ["/path/to/excalidraw-mcp-app/dist/index.js", "--stdio"]
}
}
}
Restart Claude Desktop.
Usage
Example prompts:
- "Draw a cute cat using excalidraw"
- "Draw an architecture diagram showing a user connecting to an API server which talks to a database"
What are MCP Apps and how can I build one?
Text responses can only go so far. Sometimes users need to interact with data, not just read about it. MCP Apps is an official Model Context Protocol extension that lets servers return interactive HTML interfaces (data visualizations, forms, dashboards) that render directly in the chat.
- Getting started for humans: documentation
- Getting started for AIs: skill
Contributing
PRs welcome! See Local above for build instructions.
Deploy your own instance
You can deploy your own copy to Vercel in a few clicks:
- Fork this repo
- Go to vercel.com/new and import your fork
- No environment variables needed — just deploy
- Your server will be at
https://your-project.vercel.app/mcp
Release checklist
<details> <summary>For maintainers</summary># 1. Bump version in manifest.json and package.json
# 2. Build and pack
npm run build && mcpb pack .
# 3. Create GitHub release
gh release create v0.3.0 excalidraw-mcp-app.mcpb --title "v0.3.0" --notes "What changed"
# 4. Deploy to Vercel
vercel --prod
Credits
Built with Excalidraw — a virtual whiteboard for sketching hand-drawn like diagrams.
License
MIT