[OS] ExcalidrawZ 2.2 - MCP support and better Math tools
I built ExcalidrawZ, a native Mac/iOS client for Excalidraw. I posted an early version here about a year ago, when it was mostly a native wrapper + file manager. I just released v2.2.0, so I wanted to share the update and also summarize what the app has grown into since then. App Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/excalidrawz/id6636493997 GitHub: https://github.com/chocoford/ExcalidrawZ Problem Excalidraw is great, but I wanted a more native document-based workflow around it: local files, iCloud files, folders, App Store distribution, system integration, and AI/MCP workflows. Comparison Compared with the Excalidraw web app, ExcalidrawZ is focused on native document management rather than browser-based collaboration. It is for people who want Excalidraw files to behave more like regular Mac/iPad/iPhone documents. Compared with Obsidian Excalidraw, ExcalidrawZ is not tied to a note-taking vault. It is a standalone app focused on managing and editing Excalidraw drawings directly. Compared with Apple Freeform, ExcalidrawZ keeps the Excalidraw drawing format and ecosystem, while adding native file management, local/iCloud storage, and AI/MCP integration. Pricing ExcalidrawZ is free to download. Core drawing, file-management features and basic MCP are free. Advanced features require a paid plan: Starter: $2.99 / month or $29.99 / year — optimized MCP usage Pro: $9.99 / month or $99.99 / year - AI usage Max: $29.99 / month or $299.99 / year - more credits and access to more powerful AI models What’s new in 2.2.0 MCP support: connect ExcalidrawZ to Claude Desktop, VS Code, or other MCP clients to create/update the current canvas Better Math tool: LaTeX formulas and function plots for whiteboard-style math notes Custom toolbar item order Bigger changes since my last post iOS/iPadOS support Safer AI workflow: file locking, AI visibility controls, and proposal canvas before applying AI changes Improved iCloud/local file workflows Better file covers and smoother open/close transitions Mouse/trackpad canvas scroll and zoom support on iPadOS I attached a short video showing the new MCP + Math workflow in v2.2.0.
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The MCP integration is the part that actually makes this stand out compared to the usual “Excalidraw wrapper” category. Everything else (native files, iCloud, App Store) is expected, but bidirectional canvas control from external tools is where it becomes interesting. One thing I’m curious about is conflict resolution between human edits and MCP/AI edits. If the canvas is modified in parallel (user drawing vs MCP updates), how do you prevent overwriting or partial state corruption? Whiteboard formats tend to get messy fast when multiple mutation sources exist.
The current basic MCP version integrates the official excalidraw-mcp for content generation. With this setup, the AI modifies canvas content by performing a full overwrite of all existing canvas data, which does indeed lead to the simultaneous editing data conflict issue you brought up earlier. To resolve this problem, ExcalidrawZ has introduced an Optimized MCP version, which enables the AI to make incremental modifications to canvas data. This greatly reduces the probability of such conflicts occurring. As for the issue of canvases becoming increasingly disorganized, I believe this ultimately comes down to how users manage the content on their canvases, and there is very limited scope for MCP to intervene in this process.
Thanks! I wonder if you can use Apple Foundational Models with it to automatically create diagrams from notes. Not a excalidraw user, so pardon any ignorance.
The proposal canvas is the right safety boundary for AI edits. A full before/after canvas is useful, but object-level changes would make review much faster. I would show added, modified, moved, and deleted objects separately, allow selective apply, and keep a restore snapshot for the whole operation. For MCP tools, the activity history should also record which client requested the change and which file was active.
This is neat - have you thought about selling this as an enterprise solution to companies?
I'm lost as to what one is paying for. A subscription to unlock it's MCP capabilities and a tier that adds that including some backend model? Max 10x made me laugh as did "buy me 10 coffees". I think you need to unpack what someone is getting for these sky high prices?