Drawnix
plait-board · Design
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What is Drawnix?
Drawnix gives you one place to draw mind maps, flowcharts and quick sketches without switching tools. It runs in the browser and keeps your board in local browser storage. Teams that already write in Markdown or Mermaid can turn that text straight into diagrams.
Drawnix is an all-in-one whiteboard that runs in the browser. It combines mind maps, flowcharts, freehand drawing and images on an infinite canvas, and can turn Mermaid syntax into a flowchart or Markdown text into a mind map. Boards save automatically in browser storage and export to PNG, JPG, SVG or a .drawnix JSON file.
Core capabilities
- Puts mind maps, flowcharts, freehand drawing and images on one infinite canvas.
- Converts Mermaid syntax to flowcharts and Markdown text to mind maps.
- Saves boards in browser storage and exports PNG, JPG, SVG or JSON.
Mind maps, flowcharts and freehand on one board
Drawnix places mind maps, flowcharts, freehand drawing and images on the same infinite canvas, which you can zoom and pan. Standard editing such as undo, redo, copy and paste is built in. The interface supports themes and adapts to phones and tablets. Text can be converted into diagrams, with Mermaid syntax becoming a flowchart and Markdown becoming a mind map.
- Whiteboard
- Mind maps
- Flowcharts
- Mermaid
- Markdown
Saving and export
Boards save automatically to the browser's storage, so work stays on your device rather than on a server. You can export a board as PNG or JPG, and SVG export was added in version 0.4.0. Boards can also be saved as a .drawnix JSON file for backup or to move them between browsers. The project does not describe real-time multi-user editing, so plan on sharing exported files.
- Auto-save
- PNG
- SVG
- JSON export
Run it yourself under MIT
The public app at drawnix.com is a minimal hosted version of the project. To run your own copy, pull the pubuzhixing/drawnix Docker image, which serves the built web app as a static site on port 80. Developers can also clone the repository and start it locally with npm install and npm run start. Drawnix is built on Plait, an open-source drawing framework from the same team, and uses a plugin architecture. The project is released under the MIT licence.
- Self-hosted
- Docker
- Static site
- MIT
Where it fits
Use cases
- 01
Turn meeting notes into a mind map
Paste a Markdown outline into Drawnix and convert it into a mind map. Add or edit branches on the canvas, then export the result as a PNG or JPG to share in a document or chat.
- 02
Draw a process flowchart from Mermaid code
Write or copy a process in Mermaid syntax and let Drawnix convert it into a flowchart. The chart appears on the same infinite canvas as your other work. Export the finished chart as an SVG or image.
- 03
Sketch and keep ideas on one canvas
Use the pen for freehand sketches, insert images and zoom or pan across the infinite canvas as the board grows. Work is saved automatically in the browser, and undo, redo, copy and paste work as expected. Save the board as a .drawnix file to back it up or open it on another machine.