Excalidraw Skill

Step 0: Determine Connection Mode

Two modes are available. Try MCP first — it has more capabilities.

MCP mode (preferred): If excalidraw/batch_create_elements and other excalidraw/* tools appear in your tool list, use them directly. MCP tools handle label and arrow binding format automatically.

REST API mode (fallback): If MCP tools aren't available, use HTTP endpoints at http://localhost:3000. See the cheatsheet for REST payloads. Note the format differences in the table below — REST and MCP accept slightly different field names.

Neither works? Tell the user:

The Excalidraw canvas server is not running. To set up:

1. git clone https://github.com/yctimlin/mcp_excalidraw && cd mcp_excalidraw
2. npm ci && npm run build
3. PORT=3000 npm run canvas
4. Open http://localhost:3000 in a browser
5. (Recommended) Install the MCP server: claude mcp add excalidraw -s user -e EXPRESS_SERVER_URL=http://localhost:3000 -- node /path/to/mcp_excalidraw/dist/index.js