gabrielmoreira tldraw — draw on a live canvas
The tldraw MCP server exposes a live canvas at http://localhost:3030.
You draw into it; the user watches it fill in. Worthwhile drawings can
be snapshotted to disk and recalled in future sessions via this skill's
local store (store.py).
When this skill loads
Any time the user asks to visualize, diagram, sketch, lay out, or map something graphically. If they are clearly asking for prose, do not draw.
Before drawing, once per session
Tell the user:
Open
http://localhost:3030to see the canvas.
If any tool returns No tldraw browser connected, repeat the hint and
stop until they confirm.
Opt-in MCP setup
This beta does not install MCP wiring during default adapter setup. After the
user enables tldraw in .agent/memory/.features.json, they must add the
server to their harness MCP config. Use this local block as the source of truth:
{
"mcpServers": {
"tldraw": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@tldraw-mcp/server"]
}
}
}
For Claude Code and Antigravity this usually lives in .mcp.json; for Cursor
it usually lives in .cursor/mcp.json. If a config already exists, merge the
tldraw server entry rather than overwriting the file.
Tools
| tool | purpose |
|---|---|
create_shape({ shapes: [...] }) |
add new shapes |
update_shape({ updates: [{ id, props }] }) |
change shapes by id |
delete_shape({ ids: [...] }) |
remove shapes |
get_canvas() |
return all current shapes |
Always get_canvas first when the user says "add to", "next to",
"modify", or refers to something already drawn — you need the real ids.
Coordinate system
- Origin
(0, 0)top-left.+xright,+ydown. - Stay inside
0 <= x <= 1600,0 <= y <= 900unless told otherwise. - Default sizes: boxes ~160x80, icons ~60x60.
Shape vocabulary
| type | required | optional |
|---|---|---|
geo |
x, y, w, h |
geo (rectangle/ellipse/triangle/diamond/star/...), color, fill, text |
text |
x, y, text |
color, size (s/m/l/xl) |
arrow |
x, y, end:{x,y} |
color, text (label) |
line |
x, y, end:{x,y} |
color |
draw |
x, y, points:[{x,y}] |
color (freehand, at least 2 points) |
note |
x, y, text |
color (sticky note) |
Colors: black, grey, light-violet, violet, blue, light-blue, yellow, orange, green, light-green, red.
Fills: none, semi, solid, pattern.
Persisting drawings
When a drawing is worth keeping across sessions (architecture decisions, recurring diagrams, reference material), snapshot it:
# fetch current shapes via MCP get_canvas and pipe the JSON in
python3 .agent/skills/tldraw/store.py snapshot \
--label "auth-flow-v1" --tags architecture,auth \
--note "login + refresh token flow agreed 2026-04-21"
The store reads canvas JSON on stdin, writes a snapshot file under
snapshots/, appends metadata to snapshots.jsonl, and re-renders
INDEX.md — all within a single file lock. Later sessions recover a
drawing with list / load. Use archive to retire a snapshot; the
JSONL is append-only semantic, so archived records move to
snapshots/archive/ rather than being deleted.
Pitfalls
textshapes need non-emptytext.arrow.endis an absolute point, not a delta.- Split large scenes into multiple
create_shapecalls (<= 200 each). - Always
get_canvasbefore an edit; never assume ids.
Self-rewrite hook
After any failure, or every 5 uses:
- Read the last N tldraw-tagged entries from
memory/episodic/AGENT_LEARNINGS.jsonl. - If a constraint was violated (shape cap, id-before-edit rule), escalate
a candidate lesson to
semantic/LESSONS.mdviatools/learn.py. - Commit:
skill-update: tldraw, <one-line reason>.