Drawnix: The Open-Source Infinite Whiteboard You Didn’t Know You Needed
Whiteboarding tools are everywhere, but most come with limitations—closed-source, paywalls, or a narrow focus on just flowcharts or mind maps. Enter Drawnix, an MIT-licensed, all-in-one whiteboard that’s free, extensible, and built for developers who hate compromises.
What It Does
Drawnix is an open-source SaaS whiteboard that combines mind maps, flowcharts, freehand drawing, and more into a single infinite canvas. It’s plugin-based (so you can extend it), supports real-time collaboration (browser caching for now), and exports to PNG or its own .drawnix format. Oh, and it’s mobile-friendly.
Why It’s Cool
- All-in-one, but not bloated: Sketch wireframes, map out a sprint retrospective, or draft a system diagram—all in the same tool.
- Plugin architecture: Built on the Plait framework, it supports multiple UI frameworks (React, Angular) and text editors (Slate).
- Markdown to mind maps: Paste markdown and watch it auto-convert into a mind map (🔥 new feature).
- Mermaid integration: Write flowchart syntax and render it directly on the board.
- Self-hostable: Docker support means you can run it anywhere.
How to Try It
- Live demo: drawnix.com (minimalist version, but fully functional).
- Self-host: Clone the GitHub repo, run
npm install && npm start, or pull the Docker image:docker pull pubuzhixing/drawnix:latest
Final Thoughts
Drawnix feels like Excalidraw meets Miro, but with a developer-first ethos. The plugin system is the standout—imagine hooking it into your internal docs or CI/CD pipeline for visual workflows. It’s still evolving (look for the "Dawn" release soon), but for an MIT-licensed project with 3.2k GitHub stars, it’s already punching above its weight.
Found this useful? Follow @githubprojects for more open-source gems.