Drawspace

A desktop app for managing Excalidraw drawings in workspace-based projects. Think of it as a local-first alternative to Excalidraw+ with a file tree and project structure.

Features

• Workspace-based file management -- Open any folder as a workspace and browse .excalidraw files in a sidebar file tree.
• Full Excalidraw editor -- Draw, sketch, and diagram with the complete Excalidraw toolset.
• Auto-save -- Changes are saved automatically as you draw. The file tree shows an unsaved indicator when a file has pending changes.
• File operations -- Create, rename, duplicate, and delete drawings and folders directly from the sidebar. Reveal files in Finder or copy their path.
• Command palette -- Quick access to actions and file navigation via keyboard shortcut.
• Export -- Export drawings from the app.
• .excalidraw file association -- Double-click .excalidraw files in Finder to open them in Drawspace.
• Recent workspaces -- Quickly reopen previously used workspaces from the welcome screen.
• Resizable sidebar -- Drag the sidebar edge to resize or collapse it.
• Dark mode -- Follows your system theme.

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v18+)
• npm

Install dependencies

npm install

Run in development

npm run dev

Build for distribution

# macOS
npm run build:mac

# Windows
npm run build:win

# Linux
npm run build:linux

Built artifacts are output to the dist/ directory.

Installing on macOS (ad-hoc signed builds)

Since the app is not notarized, macOS Gatekeeper will block it on first launch. To open it:

1. Right-click the app and select Open, then click Open in the dialog, or
2. Run xattr -cr /Applications/Drawspace.app after copying it to Applications.

This only needs to be done once.

Tech Stack

• Electron + electron-vite
• React + TypeScript
• Excalidraw
• Zustand for state management
• Tailwind CSS + Radix UI
• electron-builder for packaging

License

MIT