Create Canvas App

A batteries-included way to build Copilot App canvas extensions. It exists because hand-rolled canvases keep hitting the same walls: an innerHTML repaint loop that eats keystrokes, state that lives only in one panel, ad-hoc styling that ignores the host theme, and inconsistent icons. The kit fixes all four.

What a canvas is (and when to build one)

A canvas is an interactive surface the agent opens in a side panel via open_canvas. Both the agent and the user act on the same state through the same action handlers. Reach for a canvas when chat text or a diff isn't enough: live dashboards, editors, spreadsheets, trackers, kanban/board views, document previews, tool-specific workflows.

If the user just needs a non-visual agent tool, build a normal extension tool instead — not a canvas.

Rendering tier — decide first