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ascdraw: Editor for ASCII/UTF-8 diagrams (in 144FPS)

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Why This Matters

ascdraw introduces a high-performance, keyboard-centric ASCII/UTF-8 diagram editor that supports layered, exportable, and richly connected visualizations. Its rapid rendering and flexible document format make it a valuable tool for developers and designers who prefer text-based workflows, enhancing productivity and creativity in technical diagramming. As an open-source project, it also encourages community-driven development and customization, impacting the broader tech ecosystem.

Key Takeaways

ascdraw

I value ascdraw at $9.99 or €9.99 for a personal license. It is GPLv3 software, so payment is entirely optional. If it is useful to you, please fund its development.

Native, keyboard-first diagramming for people who think in text.

ascdraw is an effectively infinite Unicode canvas for connected lines, symbols, shapes, text, rectangular editing, layers, and TXT/JSON/PNG export. It is usable today, but its interfaces and document format are still evolving. The canvas renders at 120+ FPS, which matters more than you might think in a keyboard-first editor.

Get it

Download a current nightly from GitHub Releases, or build it yourself with the Rust toolchain managed by mise:

cargo build --release --locked ./target/release/ascdraw

Install from a checkout instead:

cargo install --path . --locked

Use it

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