- Opening Excalidraw for the first time
- Excalidraw keyboard shortcuts from the vendor's guide
- A first Excalidraw session in seven moves
- Snap, grid and shape properties
- Libraries and wireframe templates
- Sharing a board with other people
- Presenting straight from the canvas
- The AI features, in plain words
- Free editor or Excalidraw+
- Other diagram and whiteboard tools to compare
- Excalidraw in short
- Frequently asked questions
To use Excalidraw, open excalidraw.com in your browser and start drawing; the vendor says the editor needs no account. Press R for a rectangle, A for an arrow and T for text, press the question mark key to see every shortcut, then send a link when you want others to join in.
Excalidraw's vendor site calls it an online whiteboard for creating and collaborating, with an infinite canvas. It lists meetings, brainstorming, diagrams, interviews and quick wireframing as common uses.
The vendor's page says the free, open source editor needs no account. This guide covers the keys the vendor's wireframing guide lists, the options for lining things up, where ready-made shapes live, and how sharing and presenting work.
Opening Excalidraw for the first time
Go to excalidraw.com and start drawing. The editor there is a JavaScript app, so it needs JavaScript enabled in your browser to run.
You'll also come across Excalidraw+, the team product that sits alongside the open source editor. Everything in this guide works in the free editor except MCP, which the vendor lists for Excalidraw+.
Excalidraw keyboard shortcuts from the vendor's guide
You can use the toolbar, or these keys, which come from the vendor's wireframing guide.
| Press | What you get |
|---|---|
| R or 2 | A rectangle |
| A or 5 | An arrow |
| T or 8 | A text box |
| N | A sticky note |
| ? (question mark) | The full list of keyboard shortcuts |
Each shape has a letter and a number, so either works. Press the question mark key whenever you want to see the rest.
A first Excalidraw session in seven moves
- Open excalidraw.com and start drawing, with no account needed.
- Use R or 2 for rectangles, A or 5 for arrows, T or 8 for text and N for sticky notes.
- Press the question mark key whenever you want to see the rest of the shortcuts.
- Browse Excalidraw libraries for ready-made buttons, icons and boxes.
- Right-click the canvas and turn on Snap to objects or Toggle grid to line things up.
- Send a link for real-time collaboration, or a read-only link if people only need to see the content.
- If you're presenting, use frames to turn parts of your canvas into slides.
Snap, grid and shape properties
Right-click the whiteboard and you'll see options such as Snap to objects, Toggle grid and Canvas and Shape properties. The vendor's wireframing guide describes these as the way to place and resize elements accurately.
Libraries and wireframe templates
The vendor's page lists ready-to-use libraries of sketches. Its wireframing guide says you can browse Excalidraw libraries for buttons, icons and boxes, or open a new scene from an editable wireframe template, so you don't have to draw those parts yourself.
Sharing a board with other people
The vendor says collaboration works by sending a link so others can give feedback and finish the idea together. There are two kinds of link.
- A real-time collaboration link: people work on the board with you live.
- A read-only link: shares the content but not access to the scene, for people who only need to see it.
Presenting straight from the canvas
The vendor's page says frames can be used to create slides so you can present ideas from the canvas.
The AI features, in plain words
The vendor lists two generative features as available in the free editor: Text to diagram and Wireframe to code. Wireframe to code has no prompt field. Instead, you write your instructions directly on the wireframe canvas inside an AI frame.
MCP is listed for Excalidraw+ rather than the free editor. The documentation also covers the Excalidraw+ MCP server, API and CLI, self-hosting, the open source SDK and Mermaid to Excalidraw conversion. The open source docs are aimed at developers and point everyone else to excalidraw.com to start sketching.
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Free editor or Excalidraw+
Here's how the vendor's page splits the features covered in this guide.
| Feature | Where the vendor lists it |
|---|---|
| Drawing with no account | Free, open source editor |
| Real-time and read-only links | Listed on the vendor's page as how collaboration works |
| Libraries of sketches | Listed as ready to use |
| Text to diagram, Wireframe to code | Free editor |
| MCP | Excalidraw+ |
| SDK, self-hosting, API and CLI | Covered in the documentation, aimed at developers |
Other diagram and whiteboard tools to compare
If your team is comparing whiteboards, my guide to online whiteboard tools for teams covers the main options. For flowcharts and org charts, see free diagram software, and if you'd like to type a description and get a diagram back, try these AI diagram generators.
Excalidraw in short
Open excalidraw.com, with no account needed and JavaScript enabled. Use R, A, T and N for rectangles, arrows, text and sticky notes, and the question mark key for the rest. Right-click for Snap to objects and Toggle grid, browse libraries for buttons, icons and boxes, use frames for slides, and share a real-time or read-only link.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need an account to use Excalidraw?
No. The vendor's page says the open source editor needs no account: you just start drawing at excalidraw.com.
How do I see all Excalidraw shortcuts?
Press the question mark key and the full list of keyboard shortcuts appears.
How do I share an Excalidraw drawing?
Send a link for real-time collaboration, or a read-only link that shares the content but not access to the scene.
Why won't Excalidraw load in my browser?
The editor at excalidraw.com is a JavaScript app, so it needs JavaScript enabled in your browser to run.
Can I present slides from Excalidraw?
Yes. The vendor says frames can be used to create slides so you can present ideas from the canvas.
Is Text to diagram available in the free editor?
The vendor's page lists Text to diagram and Wireframe to code as available in the free editor, while MCP is listed for Excalidraw+.
How do I line up shapes in Excalidraw?
Right-click the whiteboard and turn on Snap to objects or Toggle grid. The vendor's guide also lists Canvas and Shape properties for placing and resizing elements accurately.
