In today’s fast-paced creative world, tools like Excalidraw shine for quick sketching and diagramming. But what if you could supercharge it with a personal dashboard, live teamwork, and seamless organization all without relying on cloud services? Enter ExcaliDash, the open-source powerhouse that’s transforming how teams and solo creators manage their Excalidraw drawings. For even more advanced diagramming with AI smarts, explore our guide on Next AI Drawio, a perfect complement to your ExcaliDash setup.
What is ExcaliDash?
ExcaliDash is a lightweight, self-hosted web application designed as the ultimate organizer and dashboard for Excalidraw. Built by developer Zimeng Xiong, it turns the standalone Excalidraw editor into a collaborative hub with persistent storage and smart search capabilities. Whether you’re brainstorming in a remote team, teaching a class, or just keeping your ideas tidy, ExcaliDash keeps everything in one searchable spot.
Forget scattered files or clunky sharing links ExcaliDash brings it all together in a clean, intuitive interface. It’s currently at version 0.1.0, an experimental gem perfect for tinkerers and early adopters.
Why Choose ExcaliDash? Key Features That Stand Out
ExcaliDash isn’t just another wrapper; it’s packed with features that make Excalidraw exponentially more powerful:
- Live Collaboration: Jump into real-time editing sessions with teammates. No more emailing drafts—co-create diagrams on the fly, just like Google Docs but tailored for sketches.
- Smart Organization & Search: Drag drawings into customizable collections and search by metadata. Find that flowchart from last week’s meeting in seconds.
- Persistent Storage: Powered by SQLite via Prisma ORM, your drawings stay safe and backed up. Export/import the entire database for easy migrations.
- Self-Hosted Simplicity: Deploy via Docker in minutes. No vendor lock-in, no subscription fees just pure control over your data.
These perks make ExcaliDash ideal for developers, educators, and designers who value privacy and efficiency. Plus, its open CORS setup (for now) keeps things flexible during testing. Pair it with AI-driven tools like Next AI Drawio for natural language diagram generation that takes your workflows to the next level.
Get Started with ExcaliDash in Under 5 Minutes
Setting up ExcaliDash is a breeze, thanks to Docker Compose. Here’s the quick guide:
- Grab the config:
curl -OL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ZimengXiong/ExcaliDash/main/docker-compose.prod.yml- Pull and launch:
docker compose -f docker-compose.prod.yml pull
docker compose -f docker-compose.prod.yml up -d- Access at
http://localhost:6767and start sketching!
For a taste of the magic, check out this live collaboration demo GIF. It’s raw, responsive, and ridiculously fun.
Tech stack? Frontend runs on React + TypeScript + Vite for snappy performance; backend leverages Node.js + Express. Images are available on Docker Hub for hassle-free pulls.
Why ExcaliDash is Your Next Must-Try Tool
In a sea of SaaS distractions, ExcaliDash stands out by empowering you to own your workflow. It’s not production-hardened yet (expect some beta quirks), but that’s the charm—dive in, contribute on GitHub, and shape its future.
Ready to level up your Excalidraw game? Head to the ExcaliDash GitHub repo today. Star it, fork it, deploy it. Your diagrams (and team) will thank you. And if you’re into AI-boosted diagramming, don’t miss Next AI Drawio for seamless integration with tools like Draw.io.
