Whiteboard is an open-source desktop application that provides a shared workspace for humans and AI coding agents to architect software. The tool functions by integrating with existing coding agents, such as Claude Code or Codex, allowing them to use an SDK to draw on an in-app canvas. This visual representation is intended to help developers understand the architectural impact of changes proposed by AI, addressing the difficulty of interpreting large, autonomous code modifications. A central feature of Whiteboard is its ability to link visual elements—such as sequence diagrams or entity-relationship diagrams—directly to the corresponding code. When a user interacts with a visualization, the application allows them to jump to the underlying code, which is supported by VSCode-style keybindings and Language Server Protocol (LSP) integration. To manage the noise inherent in AI-generated code, Whiteboard includes a semantic, AST-aware diff viewer written in Rust. This viewer is designed to summarize large additions as pseudocode and collapse less critical changes, such as unit tests or documentation updates, with the ability to customize these behaviors via a WASM-based plugin system. The application also provides a decision log, enabling users to visualize the requirements set for an agent and track the autonomous decisions made during the implementation process. Whiteboard is built on a vendored fork of Code OSS, which the developers chose to maintain control over the editor environment and avoid unnecessary features found in standard distributions. While the current version does not support direct file editing, it is MIT-licensed and designed to run against local code checkouts, with plans for a hosted team product in the future.
Whiteboard is an open-source desktop application that provides a shared workspace for humans and AI coding agents to architect software, as represented by its project branding.