Getting Started

Prerequisites

1. An Excalidraw Plus workspace
2. A public API key from workspace settings
3. An MCP client that supports Streamable HTTP

If you want the open source MCP server instead, see excalidraw/excalidraw-mcp. We may merge the open source and Excalidraw+ MCP efforts more closely later.

1. Create an API key

Create a key in Excalidraw Plus with only the permissions you need. MCP tools are filtered by the same route permissions as the public API.

Learn more in API Authentication.

2. Configure your MCP client

Set the MCP server URL:

https://api.excalidraw.com/api/v1/mcp

And send your key in the Authorization header:

Authorization: Bearer <API_KEY>

Many clients support a config object like this:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "excalidraw": {
      "url": "https://api.excalidraw.com/api/v1/mcp",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer <API_KEY>"
      }
    }
  }
}

3. Verify tool access

After connecting, ask your client to list available tools. The list depends on the permissions assigned to your API key.

If a tool is missing, update key permissions first, then reconnect.

Troubleshooting

• 401 Unauthorized: missing or invalid Authorization header
• Tool not visible: API key lacks permission for the underlying route
• 405 Method Not Allowed: use POST /mcp only (stateless mode)