sources
every source cited in the tldraw history, with its date and type.
the catalog
every claim on this site carries source ids that resolve here. type marks the evidence role; dates keep the precision the source gave.
- 2025company page correcting llm misinformation about the licensetldraw.devcompany page correcting llm misinformation about the license
- 2023-11-2980 level on draw fast80.lv80 level on draw fast
- undatedagent starter kit docs — cursor-style agent on canvastldraw.devagent starter kit docs — cursor-style agent on canvas
- 2026ruiz talk: make real quaint in 2026ai.engineerruiz talk: make real "quaint in 2026"; stitch "not built with our canvas"
- 2026-01-19alternativeto news writeupalternativeto.netalternativeto news writeup
- 2023-11-16benj edwards, ars technica — flagship make real coveragearstechnica.combenj edwards, ars technica — flagship make real coverage
- 2024-12essay on natural-language node graphs non-determinismatharvaraykar.comessay on natural-language node graphs' non-determinism
- undatedclickup whiteboards-on-tldraw case study with pm quotetldraw.devclickup whiteboards-on-tldraw case study with pm quote
- 2024-12tldraw computer — natural-language workflows on canvascomputer.tldraw.comtldraw computer — natural-language workflows on canvas
- undatedfunding history inclapp.dealroom.cofunding history incl. unverified mar 2024 row
- 2023-12-02the decoder on make real + ecosystem (nickson demo, screenshot-to-code)the-decoder.comthe decoder on make real + ecosystem (nickson demo, screenshot-to-code)
- 2023-11-07original draw-a-ui repo, ~13githuboriginal draw-a-ui repo, ~13.5k stars, mit
- 2025-12-19multi-agent coordination lessonslinkedinmulti-agent coordination lessons; agents "working blind"
- 2025-12-01launch post: $25 one-time, december-only timed experimentlinkedinlaunch post: $25 one-time, december-only timed experiment
- 2024-12-19google gemini api showcase of tldraw computer (via vuink mirror)vuink.comgoogle gemini api showcase of tldraw computer (via vuink mirror)
- 2023lightspeeds generative now with michael mignanoapple podcastslightspeed's generative now with michael mignano
- 2026-01-24gigazine (english) writeupgigazine.netgigazine (english) writeup
- 2024ruiz conf talk: miro… could not because their canvas wasnt webgitnation.comruiz conf talk: "miro… could not because their canvas wasn't web"
- 2026-07-06show hn agent-drawing demo on tldraw, 53 ptshacker newsshow hn agent-drawing demo on tldraw, 53 pts
- 2026-01-15192 pts, 107 commentshacker news192 pts, 107 comments; mostly sympathetic
- 2024-12-20biggest tldraw hn thread — 553 pts, 120 commentshacker newsbiggest tldraw hn thread — 553 pts, 120 comments; ruiz "marketing, r&d, and fun" quote
- 2023-11-08sawyer hoods show hn — 43 pts, 5 commentshacker newssawyer hood's show hn — 43 pts, 5 comments
- 2024-01-05hn post of latent space episode, 10 ptshacker newshn post of latent space episode, 10 pts
- 2024-02-05tldraw license change — 1 pthacker news"tldraw license change" — 1 pt; hn mostly missed it
- 2022-03-01macpaint-themed tldraw interface, 59 pts — early sdk hackinghacker newsmacpaint-themed tldraw interface, 59 pts — early sdk hacking
- 2023-11-18hn submission of the story-so-far post — 6 pts (virality was off-hn)hacker newshn submission of the story-so-far post — 6 pts (virality was off-hn)
- 2025-09-18most contested thread — 98 pts, 50 commentshacker newsmost contested thread — 98 pts, 50 comments; pricing/centralization criticism; ruiz engagement
- 2026-05-08tldraw sdk 5hacker news"tldraw sdk 5.0" — 1 pt
- 2025-04-14series a hn submission — 3 ptshacker newsseries a hn submission — 3 pts
- 2021-10-13first hn post of tldraw as sponsorware (3 pts)hacker newsfirst hn post of tldraw as sponsorware (3 pts)
- undatedtotal funding $14indexed.vctotal funding $14.7m across 3 rounds
- undatedzui/infinite-canvas re-emergence in genai appsinterfacestudies.substack.comzui/infinite-canvas re-emergence in genai apps
- undatedits not foss… changed in december 2023isitreallyfoss.com"it's not foss… changed in december 2023"
- undatedlicense-ambiguity example (standalone-product clause)githublicense-ambiguity example (standalone-product clause)
- 2026-01-15contributions policy — auto-closing external prs over ai slopgithubcontributions policy — auto-closing external prs over ai slop
- undatedprotest issue: get a license for production are you joking?githubprotest issue: "get a license for production are you joking?"
- undatedkosmik sunset announcementlaunchpad.kosmik.appkosmik sunset announcement
- undatedlicense-key mechanics: trial/commercial/hobby, client-side validationtldraw.devlicense-key mechanics: trial/commercial/hobby, client-side validation
- undatedcompany page: 28 employeeslinkedincompany page: 28 employees; funding table incl. disputed $9.4m/2024 row
- 2025-04-09linkedin announcement naming autodesklinkedinlinkedin announcement naming autodesk
- 2026-02analysis: sqlite precedent, tests-as-moat discourse, the action hasnt followedmediumanalysis: sqlite precedent, tests-as-moat discourse, "the action hasn't followed"
- undatedquietly stopped being a fair open source pick… late 2025meetrix.io"quietly stopped being a fair 'open source' pick… late 2025"
- 2024-11canvas-as-ai-interface paradigm: artifacts→chatgpt canvas→mistralpatmcguinness.substack.comcanvas-as-ai-interface paradigm: artifacts→chatgpt canvas→mistral
- 2024-10wiggins muse post-mortem — canvas thinking-tool business failureadamwiggins.comwiggins' muse post-mortem — canvas thinking-tool business failure; fall-2023 wind-down
- 2026excalidraw-vs-tldraw evergreen comparisonossalt.comexcalidraw-vs-tldraw evergreen comparison
- 2023-11-27product hunt: #2 of the day, 418 upvoteswebmail.hunted.spaceproduct hunt: #2 of the day, 418 upvotes
- 2023-12-19license-change prgithublicense-change pr; agpl-then-scratch-license deliberation, kachkaev exchange
- undatedreadme corrected from open source to source availablegithubreadme corrected from "open source" to "source available"
- 2024-07-11watermark/licensing mechanisms prgithubwatermark/licensing mechanisms pr
- 2023-03-20v2 exits beta apr 4 2023tldraw.devv2 exits beta apr 4 2023; v1 parked under mit
- undatedtool review noting demo-vs-production caveats for make realthe rundowntool review noting demo-vs-production caveats for make real
- undatedself-hosting lens: excalidraw mit vs tldraw non-commercialselfhosting.shself-hosting lens: excalidraw mit vs tldraw non-commercial
- 2025aiewf talk: agent-canvas category (paper, replit agent 4, stitch)nextjs-conf-scheduler.sentry.devaiewf talk: agent-canvas category (paper, replit agent 4, stitch)
- 2019-08-30john palmer, spatial interfaces (reprint of darkblueheaven)balajis.comjohn palmer, "spatial interfaces" (reprint of darkblueheaven)
- 2020-04-09john palmer, spatial software — a world within its interfacebalajis.comjohn palmer, "spatial software" — "a world within its interface"
- undatedthree-way comparison inclstartupik.comthree-way comparison incl. miro
- 2023-11-22funding table corroborating nov 22 2023 $2m round datestartup introsfunding table corroborating nov 22 2023 $2m round date
- 2026-01-17ruizs follow-uptldraw.devruiz's follow-up; notes own claude code /issue command caused bad prs; excalidraw pr-volume comparison
- 2026-02-25willison link postsimonwillison.netwillison link post; later updated — the "move tests" issue was a joke
- 2023-12-21kosmik profile naming the infinite-canvas cohorttechcrunchkosmik profile naming the infinite-canvas cohort
- 2023-12this week in startups e1863 — ruiz on viral week + business modelthisweekinstartups.comthis week in startups e1863 — ruiz on viral week + business model
- 2024-09-13githubgithubv3.0.0 — watermark-permitted commercial use; business license
- 2023-11-30andy baio link post on draw fastwaxy.organdy baio link post on draw fast
- undatedkays dynabook — lineage anchorwikipediakay's dynabook — lineage anchor
- undatedhypercard 1987 — lineage anchorwikipediahypercard 1987 — lineage anchor
- undatedsutherland 1963 — lineage anchorwikipediasutherland 1963 — lineage anchor
- 2023-11-22$2m insider extension (amplify, lux, preston-werner ventures)tldraw.dev$2m insider extension (amplify, lux, preston-werner ventures); team list; london office
- 2026agents on the canvasyoutube"agents on the canvas"; summer-2024 team = ruiz+wilson+orion reed; teach details
- 2025-07-21worlds fair talkai.engineerworld's fair talk; excalidraw ink origin; computer internals; google collab story; liquid layers/observable shoutouts
- 2025bio: mfa uai.engineerbio: mfa u. chicago 2013, painter → clearscore → framer → play
- 2026-06agents-on-canvas talk, ai native devconyoutubeagents-on-canvas talk, ai native devcon
- 2026-09dytrych making a very good whiteboard, jan 2023–linkedindytrych "making a very good whiteboard," jan 2023–
- 2026-09alex.dytry.chalex.dytry.chbio; erase all kittens
- 2025-09100-day trial licensealternativeto.net100-day trial license; year-end discount detail; sarah fossheim a11y
- 2023-11-16ars coverage of viralitytechnewstube.comars coverage of virality
- 2026-09verbatim ruiz x posts on designers shippingbarnsworthburning.netverbatim ruiz x posts on designers shipping
- 2026-09-16full dated post index nov 2022–sep 2026tldraw.devfull dated post index nov 2022–sep 2026; bylines reveal team
- 2021-11-29released ~two weeks agobram.us"released ~two weeks ago"; source on github; vs code extension
- 2026-09full current team roster + rolestldraw.devfull current team roster + roles; founded 2022; backers
- 2024-12-19google/gemini partnership showcaseai.google.devgoogle/gemini partnership showcase; gemini 1.5 flash launch, 2.0 prototyping
- 2024-12-15team: computer stays closed-sourcegithubteam: computer stays closed-source; workflow starter kit teased
- 2024-12-18launch post text: connected components, natural-language instructions, branch/loopcouchsky.applaunch post text: connected components, natural-language instructions, branch/loop
- 2024-12-13waitlist phaselinkedinwaitlist phase; "collaboration with google deepmind"
- 2023-12-15$2m + make real recaptldraw.dev$2m + make real recap; "upcoming 2.0 release"
- 2024-12-20natural language computer mechanicsthe-decoder.com"natural language computer" mechanics; auto-built workflows
- 20253 years and $5m building the perfect canvasapple podcasts"3 years and $5m building the perfect canvas"; fairies; tool-design principles; state-designer→arrows lineage
- 2023-11-20githubgithubfal.ai real-time generation demo
- 2024-01-14shutdown notice datedrawfast.tldraw.comshutdown notice date
- 2026-09sheldrick at tldraw jun 2022–linkedinsheldrick at tldraw jun 2022–; also shows aggregate "$24.1m" figure (flagged)
- 2025-12-01lu wilson: weirdest and most ambitious projectlinkedinlu wilson: "weirdest and most ambitious project"; timed event
- 2025githubgithubinternal fairy agent: @tldraw/fairy-shared, cloudflare fairy-worker, settool/removetool apis
- 2025-12fairies landing pagefairies.tldraw.comfairies landing page
- 2026-09-10flash launchtldraw.devflash launch; authors drake, leo, knudsen; lo-fi animation
- 2026-09-02margiotta joined ~jul 2026linkedinmargiotta joined ~jul 2026
- 2026-09-02waitlist postlinkedinwaitlist post; record-and-drag motion
- 2021-05-09monorepo metadata, ~50k stars, contributor list, license=other, trusted-by listgithubmonorepo metadata, ~50k stars, contributor list, license="other", trusted-by list
- 2024full make real story talkgitnation.comfull make real story talk
- 2026max drake on agent history inclgitnation.commax drake on agent history incl. teach, agent starter kit, fairies
- 2025react advanced 2025 hit-testing talkgitnation.comreact advanced 2025 hit-testing talk
- 2021-03-12globs-based vector editorgithubglobs-based vector editor
- 2021-11-18launch hn threadhacker newslaunch hn thread; ruiz comments: mit, sponsors-gated until now, liveblocks multiplayer, vs code ext, monorepo layout
- 2022-12-01name origin (tlhacker newsname origin ("tl;dr aw"); ruiz on excalidraw/perfect-freehand, globs origin
- 2021-11-21nov 2021 monorepo snapshot: packages/tldraw, core, apps/www, vscode, electronwayback machinenov 2021 monorepo snapshot: packages/tldraw, core, apps/www, vscode, electron
- 2026-09blair frontend dev sep 2022–jun 2023linkedinblair frontend dev sep 2022–jun 2023
- 2024-01-05accidental ai canvaslatent spaceaccidental ai canvas; figma/adobe offers spring 2021; deferral & quitting play; arrows taste quote
- 2026-09current model: dev-only freetldraw.devcurrent model: dev-only free; trial/commercial/hobby keys; client-side key validation
- 2024license text, tldraw, incgithublicense text, "tldraw, inc." copyright
- 2023-12-20bespoke license w/ sdk 2tldraw.devbespoke license w/ sdk 2.0 beta; non-commercial default; v1 mit forever; 2.x pre-releases apache-2.0
- 2025-12-19departure postlinkedindeparture post; 3 yrs at tldraw; wikimedia from jan
- 2026-07-2716k+ downloads claimlinkedin16k+ downloads claim; first update
- 2023-11-13fork of draw-a-uigithubfork of draw-a-ui; archived; 5.4k stars
- 2023-11-18full make real chronologytldraw.substack.comfull make real chronology; sawyer hood fork; drawmyui.com; starter template fri; quotes
- 2022-07-07backstory: art school → broke at 30 → design → codemuseapp.combackstory: art school → broke at 30 → design → code; "released nov 2021… full time since july"
- 2026-09čuvalo head of engineering 2024–presentnightlight.rocksčuvalo head of engineering 2024–present
- 2026-09bezenšek arrow bender, jan 2023–, slovenialinkedinbezenšek "arrow bender," jan 2023–, slovenia
- 2026-07-16offline desktop launchtldraw.devoffline desktop launch; local .tldraw files; scripting/agents
- 2024-12-28desktop app repogithubdesktop app repo; mac/win/linux builds
- 2024cites dennis hansens holograph propagator nets in tldraworionreed.comcites dennis hansen's holograph propagator nets in tldraw
- undated3d underlay experiment on tldrawgithub3d underlay experiment on tldraw
- 2024reed: engineer-in-residence at tldraw, block scienceblog.vaporware.networkreed: "engineer-in-residence at tldraw," block science
- 2024make real discussionpodrocket.logrocket.commake real discussion; links makereal/teach/computer subdomains
- 2023-03-20apr 4 2023 switchover plantldraw.substack.comapr 4 2023 switchover plan; old.tldraw.com; v1 repo move; footer "tldraw gb ltd"
- 2025-09-18tldraw.devtldraw.dev4.0 details; mit starter kits; @tldraw/ai removed
- 2025-09-18cli, 5 starter kits, license-key enforcement, wcag 2tldraw.devcli, 5 starter kits, license-key enforcement, wcag 2.2 aa
- 2026-05-07sdk 5tldraw.devsdk 5.0 "all about features"; shipped-the-backlog quote
- 2022-11-30tldraw.devtldraw.dev$2.7m seed investor list; "new tldraw" beta; team roster; early sdk adopters
- 2022-11-30substack mirror of seed posttldraw.substack.comsubstack mirror of seed post
- 2025-04-09$10m series a (lux + definition)tldraw.dev$10m series a (lux + definition); ~$1m first-year license revenue; customers; team ~20; digital-ink origin
- 2025-11-10sdk state, local data, business model, fairies, futureshoptalkshow.comsdk state, local data, business model, fairies, future
- 2023-03-02signia reactive state library, mit, ruiz+sheldricktldraw.substack.comsignia reactive state library, mit, ruiz+sheldrick
- 2023-11-16willison on draw-a-ui/make real mechanicssimonwillison.netwillison on draw-a-ui/make real mechanics
- 2026-09sponsor pagegithubsponsor page; project list incl. state-designer, globs
- 2026-09starter kit catalog (agent, workflow, branching chat, chat, multiplayer)tldraw.devstarter kit catalog (agent, workflow, branching chat, chat, multiplayer)
- undatedstatecharts state management + visual idegithubstatecharts state management + visual ide
- 2026-09self-biosteveruiz.meself-bio; play/framer; ~500k mau claim; series a backers; finsbury park
- 2026-09profile: founder & ceo, londongithubprofile: founder & ceo, london; repo list w/ stars
- 2026-09dated blog post index (essays aug 2021–nov 2023)steveruiz.medated blog post index (essays aug 2021–nov 2023)
- 2026-09founder feb 2022–linkedinfounder feb 2022–; play; framer design educator mar 2019–may 2020; inviqa; clearscore
- 2025-11caution: different steve ruiz (workos gtm) — not tldraws foundersteveruiz.substack.comcaution: different steve ruiz (workos gtm) — not tldraw's founder
- 2026-09pai: react/cloudflare workers/partykit backgroundsunilpai.devpai: react/cloudflare workers/partykit background
- 2024-08-05tldraw sync launchtldraw.devtldraw sync launch; 400k users/200k projects claim; self-hosted; license included
- 2026-09@tldraw/sync-core internals, tlsyncclient push/pull/rebasegithub@tldraw/sync-core internals, tlsyncclient push/pull/rebase
- 2026-09sync architecture: rooms, tlsocketroom, cloudflare template, demo servertldraw.devsync architecture: rooms, tlsocketroom, cloudflare template, demo server
- 2022how tldraw builtsyntax.fmhow tldraw built; no-canvas-element rendering; globs/excalidraw lineage
- 2026-09hassan aug 2023–nov 2024linkedinhassan aug 2023–nov 2024; make real, carry on, llama3 autocomplete, a11y
- 2022-12-16origins quote, $2techcrunchorigins quote, $2.7m seed, five fte, sponsors-only revenue
- 2026-09lu: previously tldraw, now prototyping at wikipediatodepond.comlu: "previously tldraw", now prototyping at wikipedia
- 2024twist demo episodeglasp.cotwist demo episode; state-chart→ui generation
- 2026-03-22html-vs-rendering bet quotestwosetai.comhtml-vs-rendering bet quotes
- 2026-03-28canvas-vs-chat multi-agent quotestwosetai.comcanvas-vs-chat multi-agent quotes
- 2026-03-16adobe turndown on a fridayuxtools.coadobe turndown "on a friday"; product-maker-fit; "just ask for money"
- undatedoriginal 2021-2022 version, released under mitgithub"original 2021-2022 version, released under mit"
- 2024-02-29sdk 2githubsdk 2.0 stable, "initial public release"
- 2023-12-20first 2githubfirst 2.0 beta w/ new license
AI-drafted at Ben Guo's direct request and credited to Hraness; every claim links to its cataloged source.