canvas

# Project Canvas A `.canvas` file is a board: an infinite canvas whose cards can be sticky notes, text, images, frames, or **live editors mounted on real workspace files and shared documents**. A mockup card renders the mockup. A spreadsheet card renders the grid. A mindmap card renders the mindmap. The editor is built into Nimbalyst, so any workspace can open a `.canvas` file you write. Write the JSON directly with the Write tool; there is no MCP tool for boards. ## When to use a canvas - Laying out several existing files spatially — screens of a flow, docs in a workstream, a review board - A workspace or project overview that mixes documents, mockups, data, and notes - Anything where the point is the *arrangement* of real artifacts, not a drawing Use Excalidraw for freeform drawings and architecture sketches. Use MockupLM for a single UI screen. A canvas is the thing that holds several of those at once. ## File format JSON Canvas 1.0 superset. Every spec field keeps its spec meaning, Nimbalyst data lives under `x-nimbalyst`, and unknown keys at any level are preserved verbatim so a board written by another tool survives a round-trip. ```json { "nodes": [], "edges": [], "x-nimbalyst": { "version": 1, "meta": { "name": "Onboarding flow", "description": "Sign-up through first document", "viewport": { "x": 0, "y": 0, "zoom": 1 } } } } ``` `meta.viewport` is the board's deliberate **home view** — where a reader lands on open. Each u...