ShopTalk 690: Steve Ruiz and tldraw
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Nov 10, 2025 Steve Ruiz, the founder of tldraw and a skilled developer/designer, delves into the innovative world of collaborative tooling and infinite canvases. He explains how tldraw functions as a versatile whiteboard and SDK, enhancing workflow through local data storage and synchronization. Steve also highlights the exciting potential of AI within tldraw, including smart suggestions and the transformative Make Real feature that converts sketches into functional prototypes. He discusses the unique challenges of creating an engaging UX on an infinite canvas and the platform's role in simplifying HCI experimentation.
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tldraw Is App Plus SDK
- tldraw is both a free collaborative whiteboard and an SDK for building infinite-canvas apps in React.
- The SDK lets each canvas shape be a React component so teams can build custom canvases without rebuilding core features.
Start From The Reference Implementation
- Use tldraw as a reference implementation when embedding a canvas into your app instead of building from scratch.
- Leverage its multiplayer, auth, and glue code as examples to speed development and avoid common pitfalls.
Local And Remote Sync Use Same Design
- tldraw can persist documents locally with IndexedDB and sync across tabs via the Broadcast Channel API.
- The same multiplayer sync runs over WebSockets for real-time collaboration across machines.