# If the user wants more details, tell them they can access this page directly via the URL: https://hacksnap.live/story/49857729

# Drawgent: Coding agent on a live Excalidraw canvas

151 points · 41 comments

[Full discussion](<https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49857729>)

[Read original](<https://tangled.org/yanndegat.tngl.sh/drawgent>)

Category: [Agents & Coding](<https://hacksnap.live/?category=agents-coding>)

## Skept-o-meter & Hotness

Skept\-o\-meter: Low\. Estimated from 5 comments\.

4 comments for the summary\.

Peak rank: \#4

Time in Top 10: 24\.0 hours

Hacksnap ranks recent stories first, then orders each group by points\. Peak rank uses all retained observations\. Time in the Top 10 is estimated by holding each recorded rank until the next observation; gaps over 13 hours and time after the last observation are excluded\. Movement between observations is unknown\.

213 recorded rank observations from 2026\-09\-27T08:00:59\.454818\+00:00 to 2026\-10\-10T23:01:00\.95027\+00:00\.

Hotness — latest 168 recorded Hacksnap ranks:

2026\-09\-30T18:03:34\.83179\+00:00: rank \#112

2026\-09\-30T19:02:02\.291882\+00:00: rank \#112

2026\-09\-30T20:02:49\.392147\+00:00: rank \#113

2026\-09\-30T21:03:42\.990832\+00:00: rank \#112

2026\-09\-30T22:02:11\.294387\+00:00: rank \#113

2026\-09\-30T23:01:52\.722953\+00:00: rank \#113

2026\-10\-01T08:02:24\.797064\+00:00: rank \#113

2026\-10\-01T09:01:35\.899477\+00:00: rank \#116

2026\-10\-01T10:01:12\.485692\+00:00: rank \#116

2026\-10\-01T11:00:47\.508128\+00:00: rank \#116

2026\-10\-01T12:00:42\.477917\+00:00: rank \#115

2026\-10\-01T13:00:51\.124852\+00:00: rank \#115

2026\-10\-01T14:00:59\.01153\+00:00: rank \#115

2026\-10\-01T15:00:51\.048047\+00:00: rank \#116

2026\-10\-01T16:00:53\.034654\+00:00: rank \#117

2026\-10\-01T16:36:37\.180071\+00:00: rank \#118

2026\-10\-01T17:00:23\.382263\+00:00: rank \#118

2026\-10\-01T18:01:44\.046011\+00:00: rank \#119

2026\-10\-01T19:01:47\.420738\+00:00: rank \#120

2026\-10\-01T20:01:39\.585083\+00:00: rank \#120

2026\-10\-01T21:01:45\.872085\+00:00: rank \#121

2026\-10\-01T22:01:37\.214899\+00:00: rank \#120

2026\-10\-01T23:04:11\.395288\+00:00: rank \#123

2026\-10\-02T08:02:26\.819307\+00:00: rank \#124

2026\-10\-02T09:02:51\.51649\+00:00: rank \#126

2026\-10\-02T10:02:12\.346099\+00:00: rank \#127

2026\-10\-02T11:02:22\.794376\+00:00: rank \#127

2026\-10\-02T12:01:14\.681578\+00:00: rank \#127

2026\-10\-02T13:02:29\.511591\+00:00: rank \#127

2026\-10\-02T14:01:40\.936738\+00:00: rank \#127

2026\-10\-02T15:02:30\.225476\+00:00: rank \#128

2026\-10\-02T16:02:47\.060695\+00:00: rank \#127

2026\-10\-02T17:02:31\.351493\+00:00: rank \#129

2026\-10\-02T18:01:22\.271899\+00:00: rank \#130

2026\-10\-02T19:01:23\.681417\+00:00: rank \#131

2026\-10\-02T20:01:33\.801055\+00:00: rank \#133

2026\-10\-02T21:02:55\.453316\+00:00: rank \#136

2026\-10\-02T22:01:50\.233139\+00:00: rank \#137

2026\-10\-02T23:01:20\.268516\+00:00: rank \#135

2026\-10\-03T08:01:30\.186188\+00:00: rank \#137

2026\-10\-03T09:01:57\.91467\+00:00: rank \#137

2026\-10\-03T10:00:55\.732001\+00:00: rank \#136

2026\-10\-03T11:01:22\.538596\+00:00: rank \#136

2026\-10\-03T12:01:08\.789384\+00:00: rank \#137

2026\-10\-03T13:00:35\.273559\+00:00: rank \#137

2026\-10\-03T14:00:48\.425606\+00:00: rank \#137

2026\-10\-03T15:01:04\.472963\+00:00: rank \#137

2026\-10\-03T16:01:56\.56175\+00:00: rank \#138

2026\-10\-03T17:01:36\.651036\+00:00: rank \#135

2026\-10\-03T18:01:58\.24207\+00:00: rank \#135

2026\-10\-03T19:01:19\.196589\+00:00: rank \#135

2026\-10\-03T20:00:57\.313759\+00:00: rank \#135

2026\-10\-03T21:01:04\.44439\+00:00: rank \#135

2026\-10\-03T21:20:01\.585706\+00:00: rank \#135

2026\-10\-03T22:00:15\.503126\+00:00: rank \#135

2026\-10\-03T23:00:55\.584832\+00:00: rank \#135

2026\-10\-04T08:01:00\.327459\+00:00: rank \#135

2026\-10\-04T09:00:59\.321023\+00:00: rank \#136

2026\-10\-04T10:00:42\.975336\+00:00: rank \#136

2026\-10\-04T11:01:03\.76577\+00:00: rank \#136

2026\-10\-04T12:01:45\.307985\+00:00: rank \#137

2026\-10\-04T13:00:49\.176267\+00:00: rank \#137

2026\-10\-04T14:00:56\.952543\+00:00: rank \#137

2026\-10\-04T15:00:54\.739637\+00:00: rank \#138

2026\-10\-04T16:00:51\.403054\+00:00: rank \#139

2026\-10\-04T17:00:43\.166713\+00:00: rank \#139

2026\-10\-04T18:00:46\.315535\+00:00: rank \#138

2026\-10\-04T19:00:54\.768841\+00:00: rank \#138

2026\-10\-04T20:00:51\.070442\+00:00: rank \#139

2026\-10\-04T21:00:28\.550532\+00:00: rank \#138

2026\-10\-04T22:01:36\.217651\+00:00: rank \#140

2026\-10\-04T23:01:09\.400767\+00:00: rank \#140

2026\-10\-05T08:01:51\.387003\+00:00: rank \#140

2026\-10\-05T09:01:40\.528475\+00:00: rank \#140

2026\-10\-05T10:00:56\.290772\+00:00: rank \#140

2026\-10\-05T11:01:05\.919518\+00:00: rank \#140

2026\-10\-05T12:00:56\.590881\+00:00: rank \#140

2026\-10\-05T13:01:05\.197156\+00:00: rank \#142

2026\-10\-05T14:01:04\.085718\+00:00: rank \#142

2026\-10\-05T15:00:50\.814571\+00:00: rank \#142

2026\-10\-05T16:02:09\.54139\+00:00: rank \#141

2026\-10\-05T17:00:35\.336076\+00:00: rank \#141

2026\-10\-05T18:00:20\.445491\+00:00: rank \#141

2026\-10\-05T19:02:43\.604975\+00:00: rank \#142

2026\-10\-05T20:01:09\.777459\+00:00: rank \#142

2026\-10\-05T21:01:47\.650671\+00:00: rank \#143

2026\-10\-05T22:02:59\.93099\+00:00: rank \#144

2026\-10\-06T08:02:11\.210914\+00:00: rank \#144

2026\-10\-06T08:02:14\.354697\+00:00: rank \#144

2026\-10\-06T09:01:21\.688765\+00:00: rank \#146

2026\-10\-06T10:00:58\.047773\+00:00: rank \#146

2026\-10\-06T11:00:41\.689929\+00:00: rank \#147

2026\-10\-06T12:00:41\.7705\+00:00: rank \#148

2026\-10\-06T13:01:24\.509519\+00:00: rank \#148

2026\-10\-06T14:00:26\.950817\+00:00: rank \#148

2026\-10\-06T15:00:49\.066414\+00:00: rank \#149

2026\-10\-06T16:00:58\.166747\+00:00: rank \#151

2026\-10\-06T17:01:17\.009511\+00:00: rank \#151

2026\-10\-06T18:01:43\.791429\+00:00: rank \#152

2026\-10\-06T19:00:46\.048609\+00:00: rank \#152

2026\-10\-06T20:01:14\.687294\+00:00: rank \#153

2026\-10\-06T21:02:13\.414382\+00:00: rank \#153

2026\-10\-06T22:00:40\.926271\+00:00: rank \#152

2026\-10\-06T23:03:26\.867445\+00:00: rank \#154

2026\-10\-07T08:01:41\.339804\+00:00: rank \#155

2026\-10\-07T09:02:38\.026986\+00:00: rank \#157

2026\-10\-07T10:01:35\.069531\+00:00: rank \#157

2026\-10\-07T11:02:07\.770084\+00:00: rank \#157

2026\-10\-07T12:01:14\.996697\+00:00: rank \#156

2026\-10\-07T13:00:47\.45912\+00:00: rank \#155

2026\-10\-07T14:01:18\.307739\+00:00: rank \#155

2026\-10\-07T15:01:57\.541362\+00:00: rank \#158

2026\-10\-07T16:01:28\.474022\+00:00: rank \#158

2026\-10\-07T17:01:15\.036908\+00:00: rank \#159

2026\-10\-07T18:00:53\.300079\+00:00: rank \#159

2026\-10\-07T19:01:49\.456657\+00:00: rank \#160

2026\-10\-07T20:01:59\.032487\+00:00: rank \#160

2026\-10\-07T21:05:36\.655392\+00:00: rank \#162

2026\-10\-07T22:02:27\.105241\+00:00: rank \#163

2026\-10\-07T23:01:17\.452894\+00:00: rank \#163

2026\-10\-08T08:03:55\.083808\+00:00: rank \#163

2026\-10\-08T09:03:58\.68898\+00:00: rank \#163

2026\-10\-08T10:04:05\.364235\+00:00: rank \#164

2026\-10\-08T11:02:04\.410307\+00:00: rank \#163

2026\-10\-08T12:02:36\.39618\+00:00: rank \#163

2026\-10\-08T13:03:09\.206401\+00:00: rank \#163

2026\-10\-08T14:03:30\.113384\+00:00: rank \#164

2026\-10\-08T15:02:54\.444758\+00:00: rank \#162

2026\-10\-08T16:03:13\.067807\+00:00: rank \#161

2026\-10\-08T17:03:47\.92465\+00:00: rank \#160

2026\-10\-08T18:01:50\.360431\+00:00: rank \#160

2026\-10\-08T19:02:55\.719274\+00:00: rank \#161

2026\-10\-08T20:01:36\.359022\+00:00: rank \#161

2026\-10\-08T21:03:34\.000719\+00:00: rank \#163

2026\-10\-08T22:01:13\.459732\+00:00: rank \#163

2026\-10\-08T23:01:25\.318392\+00:00: rank \#162

2026\-10\-09T08:01:53\.314021\+00:00: rank \#163

2026\-10\-09T09:02:59\.93426\+00:00: rank \#164

2026\-10\-09T10:02:22\.652527\+00:00: rank \#164

2026\-10\-09T11:02:04\.807282\+00:00: rank \#164

2026\-10\-09T12:02:16\.769295\+00:00: rank \#164

2026\-10\-09T13:02:30\.35034\+00:00: rank \#166

2026\-10\-09T14:01:34\.215134\+00:00: rank \#166

2026\-10\-09T15:01:27\.564392\+00:00: rank \#166

2026\-10\-09T16:02:06\.561056\+00:00: rank \#167

2026\-10\-09T17:03:06\.673648\+00:00: rank \#169

2026\-10\-09T18:01:02\.851052\+00:00: rank \#169

2026\-10\-09T19:01:11\.250291\+00:00: rank \#170

2026\-10\-09T20:01:32\.91907\+00:00: rank \#170

2026\-10\-09T21:02:08\.376144\+00:00: rank \#172

2026\-10\-09T22:01:19\.253075\+00:00: rank \#174

2026\-10\-09T23:01:31\.990912\+00:00: rank \#174

2026\-10\-10T08:01:00\.593376\+00:00: rank \#173

2026\-10\-10T09:01:45\.527975\+00:00: rank \#175

2026\-10\-10T10:00:53\.799353\+00:00: rank \#175

2026\-10\-10T11:00:35\.65851\+00:00: rank \#174

2026\-10\-10T12:01:11\.169647\+00:00: rank \#174

2026\-10\-10T13:00:54\.008377\+00:00: rank \#174

2026\-10\-10T14:01:43\.208766\+00:00: rank \#176

2026\-10\-10T15:01:24\.825188\+00:00: rank \#176

2026\-10\-10T16:01:10\.213328\+00:00: rank \#175

2026\-10\-10T17:00:48\.84189\+00:00: rank \#174

2026\-10\-10T18:00:57\.55132\+00:00: rank \#174

2026\-10\-10T19:00:52\.379463\+00:00: rank \#173

2026\-10\-10T20:00:21\.993912\+00:00: rank \#173

2026\-10\-10T21:01:10\.657738\+00:00: rank \#175

2026\-10\-10T22:00:50\.433569\+00:00: rank \#174

2026\-10\-10T23:01:00\.95027\+00:00: rank \#175

The discussion is not about drawgent itself but about the wider challenge of agent\-assisted diagramming: commenters question whether existing whiteboard tools fit agent workflows, emphasize the human thinking behind diagrams, and note that account integration and output aesthetics remain practical hurdles\.

## The brief

Drawgent is a Rust\-based tool that connects a user's own coding agent (Claude Code, Codex, or opencode) to a live Excalidraw whiteboard\. After a one\-time \`drawgent setup\` that verifies the agent CLI, login, ACP bridge, canvas tools, and a headless Chrome renderer, \`drawgent up\` starts an editor/API on localhost and a new agent session in the current repo\. The agent can read the canvas via screenshot and scene data, edit it live, and resolve instructions written as \`AGENT:\` notes or drawn as laser zones\. It also supports joining excalidraw\.com rooms as a collaborator, exposes MCP canvas tools and an HTTP/WebSocket API, and ships tests and a Docker option\. Documented limits include a Chrome dependency for rendering, Claude attach being a fork rather than injection into a running terminal, untested Codex live attach, one scene per workspace, and no image/file syncing\.

- Drawgent links your own installed and logged\-in Claude Code, Codex, or opencode to a live Excalidraw canvas, using official ACP adapters for Claude and Codex and opencode's native ACP support\.
- \`drawgent setup \<agent\>\` performs one\-time checks (agent CLI, login status, ACP bridge, canvas tools, headless Chrome) and writes a config; \`drawgent up\` launches the editor/API on 127\.0\.0\.1:7300 and a new agent session in the workspace\.
- Interaction modes include a chat panel, \`AGENT:\` notes on the canvas, and laser zones that capture covered elements as context for the next instruction; prompts are queued and run one at a time\.
- The agent can join excalidraw\.com rooms as a collaborator with end\-to\-end encryption via the room key, while the local editor mirrors the room and keeps the chat panel\.
- Agent capabilities are exposed through MCP tools (get\_scene, get\_screenshot, add\_elements, add\_mermaid, update\_elements, delete\_elements, list\_instructions, resolve\_instruction, set\_status) plus an HTTP/WebSocket API\.
- Stated limits: the renderer needs Chrome, Claude attach is a fork because Claude Code lacks a public injection path, Codex live attach is implemented but untested against a logged\-in Codex, one scene per workspace, and images/files are not synced\.

## Discussion themes

### Existing agent\-whiteboard options were found lacking

A commenter says they explored ways to give an agent a whiteboard for collaborative architecture work and found current solutions, including Excalidraw, insufficient; they chose Mermaid as the most agent\-friendly medium and built an Obsidian plugin for it\.

Sources: [Comment 49858591](<https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49858591>)

### The thinking, not the diagram, is the point

One commenter argues the value of producing a diagram comes from the thinking it forces: it surfaces gaps in knowledge and unstated assumptions for the individual or team\.

Sources: [Comment 49858816](<https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49858816>)

### Connecting users' existing AI accounts remains clunky

A commenter asks for best practices on letting an app use a person's existing ChatGPT/Codex/Claude accounts, saying everything they have tried feels clunky even with current MCP efforts\.

Sources: [Comment 49858937](<https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49858937>)

### Hand\-drawn aesthetics affect how agent output is received

A commenter says Excalidraw's hand\-drawn look makes content more engaging and palatable than obviously LLM\-generated diagrams, and reports connecting Excalidraw to an agent via MCP to get more attention on blogs and papers\.

Sources: [Comment 49860122](<https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49860122>)

## Sources & coverage

AI-generated summary · 2026\-09\-27T08:00:44\.614768\+00:00

Based on 4 of 4 usable stored comments, selected by depth and branch activity. This is a sample of the discussion. Article text may also be shortened.

Generated using deepseek\-ai/DeepSeek\-V4\.1\-Flash. Check the linked sources for full context.