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canvist canvist

canvist is a rich-text editor you build from plugins. Start with plain paragraphs. Add bold, then headings, lists, links, and live collaboration. Stop wherever your app needs to stop, or keep going until you have your own Google Docs.

A canvist document with a heading, formatted text, a bullet list, a quote, a task, and a code block

Why canvist

  • You choose every feature. Each feature is an extension: bold, headings, lists, tasks, links, and more. Register the ones you want and nothing else gets in. A comment box can be paragraphs and bold. A notes app can be the full StarterKit.
  • It draws every pixel itself. canvist doesn’t use contenteditable or the platform’s text view. A Rust core lays the text out and paints it to a canvas, the way Google Docs and Figma do. So the editor looks and behaves the same everywhere.
  • One core, every platform. The same engine runs on servers (Rust, TypeScript, Dart) and in Flutter today. Web, React, Vue, iOS, Android, desktop, React Native, and Lynx are on the way. Check the status of your platform.
  • Collaboration is built in. Documents are Yjs-compatible. Connect them to y-websocket, Hocuspocus, or canvist Cloud.
  • Typed, headless APIs. canvist ships no toolbar. You call typed commands and build your own UI on top. If you call a command from an extension you didn’t register, your code doesn’t compile. That catches the mistakes people and AI agents make most.
  • Free forever. The code is released into the public domain under the Unlicense.

See it in ten lines

This TypeScript runs on a server, in a script, or in a test. It registers two extensions, loads Markdown, makes a word bold, and exports HTML:

import { bold, createEngine, heading } from "@canvist/headless";

const engine = await createEngine([bold, heading]);
const doc = engine.parse("markdown", "# Notes\n\nShip it today");

doc.select({ path: [1], offset: 8 }, { path: [1], offset: 13 });
doc.commands.toggleBold();

console.log(doc.export("html"));
// <h1>Notes</h1><p>Ship it <strong>today</strong></p>

doc.commands.toggleItalic() would be a type error here, because italic isn’t registered.

Where to go next

Docs