excalocal 🎨

> Local Excalidraw server with custom handwritten font and advanced instance management

A self-hosted Excalidraw server that runs locally with a beautiful handwritten font (Excalifont) and powerful instance management features. Perfect for offline sketching, diagramming, and visual brainstorming.

📚 Table of Contents

- ✨ Features
- 📦 Installation
- 🚀 Usage
- 📁 Directory Structure
- 🛠️ Configuration
- 🐛 Troubleshooting
- 🙏 Acknowledgments
- 📝 License
- 🚀 Uninstall

✨ Features

- 🖋️ Custom Excalifont - Beautiful handwritten font that enhances the sketchy feel
- 🔄 Instance Management - Run multiple named instances with state tracking
- 🌙 Dark Theme - Default dark mode for comfortable use
- 💾 Auto-Save - Automatic save/restore of drawings using localStorage
- 🚀 Background Mode - Daemon support for persistent instances
- 📱 Responsive - Works on desktop and mobile browsers
- 🔒 Privacy-First - Everything runs locally, no data sent to external servers

📦 Installation

Install excalocal globally using npm:

``bash
npm install -g excalocal
`

That's it! The package will automatically:
- Install all required dependencies
- Download the custom Excalifont
- Set up the necessary directory structure
- Make the excalocal command available globally

$3

`bash
excalocal --version
`

🚀 Usage

$3

`bash


Start excalocal (opens at http://localhost:3030)


excalocal
`

$3

| Command | Description |
|---------|-------------|
| excalocal | Start server on default port (3030) |
| excalocal -p 8080 | Start on specific port |
| excalocal -b -n work | Start named instance in background |
| excalocal -l | List all running instances |
| excalocal -o work | Open existing instance in browser |
| excalocal -k work | Kill specific instance |
| excalocal -c | Cleanup inactive instances |
| excalocal -h | Show help |
| excalocal -V | Show version |

$3

Start a simple server:
`bash
excalocal


Opens http://localhost:3030 in your browser


`

Create named instances for different projects:
`bash


Start work-related sketches

excalocal -b -n work -p 3031

Start personal projects

excalocal -b -n personal -p 3032

Start presentation prep

excalocal -b -n presentation -p 3033
`

Manage multiple instances:
`bash


List all running instances

excalocal -l

Open specific project

excalocal -o work

Kill specific instance

excalocal -k presentation

Clean up dead instances

excalocal -c
`

$3

- Local: http://localhost:3030
- Network: http://YOUR_IP:3030 (accessible from other devices on your network)
- Custom Port: http://localhost:YOUR_PORT

🛠️ Configuration

$3

- PORT - Default port (default: 3030)
- XDG_STATE_HOME - Instance state directory (default: ~/.local/state)

$3

Instance information is stored in:
- Linux: ~/.local/state/excalocal/instances.json
- macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/excalocal/instances.json
- Windows: %APPDATA%\excalocal\instances.json

🐛 Troubleshooting

$3

Port already in use:
`bash


excalocal automatically finds the next available port


excalocal # Will use 3031 if 3030 is busy
`

Command not found:
`bash


Make sure excalocal is installed globally

npm list -g excalocal

If not installed, install it:

npm install -g excalocal
`

Permission issues on Linux/macOS:
`bash


If you get permission errors, you may need to use sudo


sudo npm install -g excalocal
`

🙏 Acknowledgments

Special thanks to:

- Dawid Wraga for the brilliant solution on implementing custom fonts in Excalidraw. His article "How to use a custom font on Excalidraw.com" was the foundation that made the Excalifont integration possible.

- The Excalidraw Team for creating this amazing virtual whiteboard tool that makes sketching and diagramming so intuitive and enjoyable.

📝 License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.

🚀 Uninstall

`bash
npm uninstall -g excalocal
``