Whiteboard Open-Sources Visual Design Integrated Development Environment for Coding Agents
Whiteboard released an open-source desktop application that bridges visual software architecture and code review for agents like Claude Code and Codex. It includes a Rust AST diff viewer and an agent canvas Software Development Kit.
Impact: Medium
Why it matters
You can connect your local Claude Code or Codex agent to visually inspect sequence diagrams, query autonomous execution traces, and review semantic AST diffs.
TL;DR
- 01Whiteboard pairs Claude Code and Codex with a visual canvas for sequence diagrams and system architecture.
- 02Built-in Rust semantic diff engine collapses boilerplate docs and tests into AST-level pseudocode.
- 03Strictly designed for architectural review; in-app direct code editing is disabled.
Key facts
- License
- MIT License (vendored Code OSS)
- AST Diff Engine
- Implemented in Rust with WASM plugin support
- Recommended Models
- GPT-6 Luna and Claude Opus 5.5 (self-reported)
Human-Agent Architecture Interface
Whiteboard provides an open-source visual desktop environment where developers and autonomous agents review and specify system design together. The workspace connects directly to agents like Claude Code and Codex, providing them with an SDK to render sequence diagrams, entity-relationship diagrams, and trace explanations directly onto an interactive canvas.
Clicking visual elements, sequence diagrams, or agent trace quotes jumps directly to the underlying code, backed by native VS Code keybindings and Language Server Protocol (LSP) indexing.
Rust-Powered Abstract Syntax Tree Diffing
To manage noisy diffs generated by high-velocity agents, Whiteboard implements an AST-aware semantic diff viewer written in Rust. By default, the engine summarizes expansive function additions as pseudocode while automatically collapsing repetitive unit tests and documentation adjustments. This filtering pipeline is fully configurable using a WebAssembly (WASM) plugin interface.
Current Platform Constraints
Whiteboard is vendored from Code OSS to bypass brittle patch management while stripping Microsoft Copilot components. Key limitations in the current build include:
- File editing is disabled; the tool is strictly an architectural inspection and review workspace.
- Multi-repository browsing within a single review session is not supported.
- Shared visual reviews are snapshots; subsequent updates require re-sharing.
Try it in 2 minutes
git clone https://github.com/devdotfast/whiteboard.git
cd whiteboardbash
✓ When to use
- Reviewing large agent-generated pull requests where git line diffs are unreadable.
- Pairing with Claude Code to diagram architecture and debug autonomous agent traces.
✕ When NOT to use
- Standard software editing sessions where you need to write and commit code directly.
- Multi-repository monorepo review workflows spanning separate project checkouts.
What to do today
- Clone the devdotfast/whiteboard repository to test local code review against Claude Code.
- Configure WASM diff filters if your codebase has custom test directory patterns.
- Link your agent's autonomous review prompt to inspect branch diffs against main.
Sources