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Excalidraw: a virtual napkin for engineers

· 2 min read
CAD AutoScript
CAD AutoScript
SolidWorks automation toolkit

Why you can forget about Visio for quick diagrams.

In engineering and office work, "heavy software" is a recurring drag. To draw a simple flowchart or script logic, we reach for Visio, Lucidchart, or even CAD. That is slow, costly, and overkill when ideas just need to land somewhere. Excalidraw fixes this with a fast, open-source, hand-drawn canvas that runs in the browser.

Below is how to integrate it into your workflow if you are an engineer or script developer.

1) "Drawn on a napkin" effect (lo-fi prototyping)​

  • The intentionally rough, hand-drawn line style is a feature, not a bug.
  • Polished diagrams make people think the solution is "final" and nitpick fonts and alignment.
  • Draft-looking diagrams keep focus on logic and structure.
  • Use case: early requirements for automation scripts or plugin architecture. People suggest changes more freely to a draft.

2) Libraries for everything (engineering and IT)​

You do not draw components from scratch. Excalidraw ships with community libraries:

  • Software design patterns: DBs, servers, queues for architecture sketches.
  • Arduino and Raspberry Pi: electronics pieces for IoT diagrams.
  • UI icons and blocks: for CAD plugin UI mockups.

How: Click Library → Browse libraries → add what you need once and reuse.

3) Mermaid support (text-to-diagram)​

Prefer code over mouse? Excalidraw imports Mermaid.

  • Write pseudocode/logic with branches.
  • Paste Mermaid text into Excalidraw.
  • It generates an editable, hand-drawn diagram automatically.

Result: zero time on manual alignment.

4) Integrates with your docs (Obsidian, Notion, VS Code)​

Excalidraw files are JSON, not flat images.

  • VS Code: official extension stores diagrams alongside code in the repo.
  • Obsidian: plugin embeds diagrams; text is indexed for search.

Practical tip: export as .svg so diagrams scale without losing quality when embedded in docs or sites.

5) Instant collaboration without registration​

Need a quick remote review? No accounts required.

Steps: open excalidraw.com → Live Collaboration → share the link. Data is end-to-end encrypted; the server cannot read your drawing.

Summary​

Do not launch heavy tools for quick thinking. Excalidraw covers ~90% of everyday needs for processes, network topologies, and script logic:

  • Speed: starts in about 1 second.
  • Focus: discussion is about logic, not visual polish.
  • Integration: works where you write code and documentation.

Try sketching your next algorithm here: https://excalidraw.com/

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