Maintainer of this skill?
by hyscaler
Open-source Canva alternative you can self-host: graphics, slides, video, whiteboards and docs. AGPL-3.0.
# Add to your Claude Code skills
git clone https://github.com/hyscaler/HyCanvasGuides for using mcp servers skills like HyCanvas.
Last scanned: 10/26/2026
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}See how HyCanvas compares with popular alternatives.
HyCanvas is an open-source mcp servers skill for AI coding assistants such as Claude Code, Codex CLI, and ChatGPT, built by hyscaler. Open-source Canva alternative you can self-host: graphics, slides, video, whiteboards and docs. AGPL-3.0. It has 253 GitHub stars.
HyCanvas returned warnings in SkillsLLM's automated security scan. It has no critical vulnerabilities, but review the flagged issues in the Security Report section before adding it to your workflow.
Clone the repository with "git clone https://github.com/hyscaler/HyCanvas" and add it to your Claude Code skills directory (see the Installation section above).
HyCanvas is primarily written in TypeScript. It is open-source under hyscaler on GitHub, so you can review or fork the full source.
Yes. SkillsLLM lists many other MCP Servers skills you can browse and compare side by side. Open the MCP Servers category from the badge at the top of this page, or use the Related Skills and comparison links further down to weigh HyCanvas against similar tools.
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HyCanvas is a design editor that runs in the browser: social posts, posters, presentations, videos, whiteboards, docs and sheets, all in one app. Start from one of 140 templates or a blank page, edit everything on it, and export PNG, JPG, PDF, SVG, PPTX, MP4 or GIF with no watermark. Every feature is free, and you can run the whole thing on your own server with one Docker command.
It is pre-1.0 and moves fast, with a new release every week or two. Bug reports are very welcome.
| Design | Shapes, frames, tables, 9 chart types, QR codes, icons and illustrations, text effects, font pairings and your own fonts, image filters, crop and masks, background removal, Magic Resize |
| Video | Multi-track timeline with trims, transitions, keyframes, captions (SRT/VTT), green-screen keying, screen and webcam recording |
| Docs and sheets | A block editor with DOCX and PDF export, and spreadsheets with a formula engine |
| Together | Realtime co-editing with presence cursors, comments with mentions, version history, approvals, and share links that view, comment or edit |
| Brand | Brand kits with your colours, fonts, logos and voice, and a brand lock that warns or blocks off-brand edits |
| AI, your key | Bring your own provider key (13 presets including OpenAI, Anthropic, DeepSeek, Azure OpenAI and Amazon Bedrock, or any compatible endpoint), stored encrypted per workspace. Generate decks, docs, images and charts from a prompt. The Assist tools need no key. |
| Export | PNG, JPG, PDF, SVG, PPTX, APNG, GIF, Lottie, MP4 and WebM, with no watermark. Every design also downloads as a portable .hyc file in an open JSON format. |
| Accounts | Workspaces with roles, OIDC single sign-on, TOTP two-factor sign-in, dark mode |
The full checklist of what ships, and what is still on the roadmap, is on docs.hycanvas.com.
You need Docker. This runs HyCanvas and its own Postgres on your machine:
mkdir hycanvas && cd hycanvas
curl -fsSLO https://raw.githubusercontent.com/hyscaler/HyCanvas/development/docker/docker-compose.yml
echo "JWT_SECRET=$(openssl rand -hex 32)" > .env
docker compose up -d
Open http://localhost:8005 and create the first account. One Go binary serves the web app, the API and realtime collaboration on that port, and it applies its database migrations on boot. Update later with docker compose pull && docker compose up -d.
Other ways to run it:
./hycanvas service start, and a setup wizard asks for your Postgres and storage. See Install a prebuilt binary.Every instance serves a Model Context Protocol endpoint at /mcp, so an AI assistant can make decks, docs, posters and social sets in your workspace, grounded in your notes and your brand kit. Generation runs on the AI provider key connected to the workspace. A workspace admin creates a scoped API key (Dashboard > Members > API keys), then connects a client. For example, in Claude Code:
claude mcp add --transport http hycanvas https://your-instance.example.com/mcp \
--header "Authorization: Bearer hyk_your_key"
Then ask for what you need:
The tools are generate_presentation, get_job, list_templates, list_themes, get_design_file, export_design and create_share_link, with the same scopes, rate budgets and audit trail as the REST API. The REST reference is served by every instance at /api/docs (OpenAPI at /api/docs/openapi.json), and scripts/api-demo.sh goes from prompt to PDF to share link with plain curl.
Yes. Every feature works on every plan, cloud or self-hosted, with no watermarks and nothing to unlock. Self-hosting costs nothing. Paid cloud plans price hosting capacity and support, not features.
Yes. On hycanvas.art you sign up for free; on your own instance you create the first account once it starts. Workspaces, sharing and collaboration are built on accounts.
Yes. Internal use and hosting an unmodified or AGPL-compliant instance need no extra license. To keep modifications private or embed HyCanvas in a proprietary product, see the commercial license.
The AGPL keeps HyCanvas and every hosted modification of it open. The CLA lets HyScaler also offer commercial licenses, which only works if every contributor grants that right. You keep ownership of your contribution, and code released under the AGPL stays available under the AGPL. The details are in CONTRIBUTING.md.
On hycanvas.art, with HyCanvas. When you self-host, in your own Postgres database and your chosen storage (local disk or any S3-compatible bucket).
You connect your own provider key and pay the provider directly; HyCanvas adds no markup. Keys are stored encrypted per workspace.
TypeScript, React and Next.js in the browser, with a scene-graph rendering engine on Canvas2D; one Go binary on the server for the REST API, realtime collaboration and export; PostgreSQL, and local disk or any S3-compatible storage.
docs/roadmap/: specs for work that is not built yet.Contributions are welcome: code, translations, templates and docs. Start with CONTRIBUTING.md and the issues labelled good first issue. Please read the code of conduct, and report vulnerabilities as described in SECURITY.md.
From v0.3.17 onwards, HyCanvas is open source under