JSON Canvas

JSON Canvas Skill

Mindset

JSON Canvas is a minimal open standard: nodes positioned on an infinite grid, connected by edges. The entire spec fits in two arrays. Design with this simplicity in mind — when a layout feels complex, it is usually a positioning or ID-management problem, not a schema problem.

When to apply: Creating or editing .canvas files, building visual mind maps or flowcharts in Obsidian, or generating canvas files programmatically. When NOT to apply: The user wants a Markdown note, a database view (use Bases), or a diagram format that outputs to image/PDF — JSON Canvas is a live interactive format, not a rendering target.

File Structure

A canvas file (.canvas) contains two top-level arrays following the JSON Canvas Spec 1.0:

{
  "nodes": [],
  "edges": []
}

• nodes (optional): Array of node objects
• edges (optional): Array of edge objects connecting nodes

Common Workflows

1. Create a New Canvas

1. Create a .canvas file with the base structure {"nodes": [], "edges": []}
2. Generate unique 16-character hex IDs for each node (e.g., "6f0ad84f44ce9c17")
3. Add nodes with required fields: id, type, x, y, width, height
4. Add edges referencing valid node IDs via fromNode and toNode
5. Validate: Parse the JSON to confirm it is valid. Verify all fromNode/toNode values exist in the nodes array

2. Add a Node to an Existing Canvas

1. Read and parse the existing .canvas file
2. Generate a unique ID that does not collide with existing node or edge IDs
3. Choose position (x, y) that avoids overlapping existing nodes (leave 50-100px spacing)
4. Append the new node object to the nodes array
5. Optionally add edges connecting the new node to existing nodes
6. Validate: Confirm all IDs are unique and all edge references resolve to existing nodes

3. Connect Two Nodes

1. Identify the source and target node IDs
2. Generate a unique edge ID
3. Set fromNode and toNode to the source and target IDs
4. Optionally set fromSide/toSide (top, right, bottom, left) for anchor points
5. Optionally set label for descriptive text on the edge
6. Append the edge to the edges array
7. Validate: Confirm both fromNode and toNode reference existing node IDs

4. Edit an Existing Canvas

1. Read and parse the .canvas file as JSON
2. Locate the target node or edge by id
3. Modify the desired attributes (text, position, color, etc.)
4. Write the updated JSON back to the file
5. Validate: Re-check all ID uniqueness and edge reference integrity after editing

Nodes

Nodes are objects placed on the canvas. Array order determines z-index: first node = bottom layer, last node = top layer.

Generic Node Attributes

See NODE-REFERENCE.md for full attribute tables and JSON examples for each type.

Edges

Edges connect nodes via fromNode and toNode IDs.

{
  "id": "0123456789abcdef",
  "fromNode": "6f0ad84f44ce9c17",
  "fromSide": "right",
  "toNode": "a1b2c3d4e5f67890",
  "toSide": "left",
  "toEnd": "arrow",
  "label": "leads to"
}

Colors

The canvasColor type accepts either a hex string or a preset number:

Preset color values are intentionally undefined -- applications use their own brand colors.

ID Generation

Generate 16-character lowercase hexadecimal strings (64-bit random value):

"6f0ad84f44ce9c17"
"a3b2c1d0e9f8a7b6"

Layout Guidelines

• Coordinates can be negative (canvas extends infinitely)
• x increases right, y increases down; position is the top-left corner
• Space nodes 50-100px apart; leave 20-50px padding inside groups
• Align to grid (multiples of 10 or 20) for cleaner layouts

Validation Checklist

After creating or editing a canvas file, verify:

1. All id values are unique across both nodes and edges
2. Every fromNode and toNode references an existing node ID
3. Required fields are present for each node type (text for text nodes, file for file nodes, url for link nodes)
4. type is one of: text, file, link, group
5. fromSide/toSide values are one of: top, right, bottom, left
6. fromEnd/toEnd values are one of: none, arrow
7. Color presets are "1" through "6" or valid hex (e.g., "#FF0000")
8. JSON is valid and parseable

If validation fails, check for duplicate IDs, dangling edge references, or malformed JSON strings (especially unescaped newlines in text content).

Complete Examples

See references/EXAMPLES.md for full canvas examples including mind maps, project boards, research canvases, and flowcharts.

Common Mistakes

NEVER embed literal newlines in JSON string values — use \n. NEVER use \\n — it renders as literal backslash-n on screen. NEVER reuse the same id across nodes or edges — duplicates silently overwrite each other with no error. NEVER reference a fromNode/toNode ID that does not exist in nodes — the edge renders invisibly. NEVER place child nodes outside the group's coordinate bounds — they appear as free-floating items. NEVER set fromEnd/toEnd to anything other than "none" or "arrow" — other values are silently discarded. NEVER supply a bare integer for color — the canvasColor type requires a quoted string ("1", not 1).

WHY: JSON Canvas validation errors are silent — corrupted files and dangling references produce no error messages, making bad state invisible until the canvas is manually inspected.

See COMMON-MISTAKES.md for full Bad/Good JSON examples.

References

• JSON Canvas Spec 1.0
• JSON Canvas GitHub