Xcalidraw - Support
Questions, bugs, or ideas. Mail me and I read every one.
You can reach the same address from inside the app: Settings → About and Feedback. That screen also shows your exact version and build number, which is the single most useful thing to include when reporting a bug.
Before you write
Include your version and build. Settings → About and Feedback shows it. Bugs are often specific to one build.
Tell me what you were doing. Which tool was selected, what you drew, what you expected, what happened instead. A screenshot or a screen recording is worth a lot.
Common questions
Where are my files?
Canvases live in Xcalidraw’s own library rather than in the Files app. That is deliberate. Xcalidraw is a canvas tool, not a document browser. To get them out as ordinary files, use Settings → Export All Data.
How do I get my drawings out?
Settings → Export All Data gives you a zip of every canvas as a standard .excalidraw file. This is free, on every tier, and it always will be. Those files open in Excalidraw and anything else that reads the format.
Individual canvases can also be exported as PNG. On Pro you get SVG, PDF, high-resolution and transparent PNG, and per-file .excalidraw export.
I bought Pro but it isn’t showing up
Go to Settings → Restore Purchases. Pro is a one-time purchase tied to your Apple Account, so it restores on any device signed into the same account, and it works for your Family Sharing group.
If it still doesn’t appear, mail me with the Apple Account email used for the purchase.
Is my sync working?
iCloud sync is a Pro feature. Check that you’re signed into iCloud and that iCloud Drive is on, in iOS Settings → [Your Name] → iCloud. Sync state is shown in the library.
Without Pro, your files stay on the one device. Back them up with Export All Data.
Which Mermaid diagrams can I import?
Flowchart and sequence diagrams. Other diagram types are not supported. Parsing and preview are free so you can see the result before deciding; inserting onto the canvas is Pro.
There is no Mermaid export. Once a diagram is on the canvas it’s a set of editable hand-drawn elements, and it does not convert back to text.
My .excalidraw file looks different than it did elsewhere
Xcalidraw preserves fields it doesn’t recognise, so files round-trip without damage. But the format evolves independently of this app, so a file from a much newer version of another tool may not render identically. If you hit one of these, send me the file. That’s exactly the kind of report that improves compatibility.
Why is the iPhone version so limited?
On purpose. iPad is the full editor and where the Apple Pencil work happens. iPhone is for opening a canvas, panning around, fixing a label, and exporting it. A companion, not a second drawing surface.