OpenClaw Live Canvas & A2UI: Turn Chat into Visual Workspaces

Live Canvas with A2UI (#6 with 860 stars) transforms chat conversations into interactive visual workspaces, eliminating the friction of switching between messaging apps and design tools. As your team discusses workflows, product requirements, or UI designs, OpenClaw generates live-updating visual representations that everyone can see and edit. The A2UI (Agent-to-UI) component enables rapid UI prototyping by describing interfaces in natural language.

This guide covers canvas creation, workflow mapping, UI mockup generation, and collaborative features.

What Live Canvas Does

Live Canvas is a real-time visual workspace embedded in your chat platform that turns text descriptions into structured diagrams, workflows, and UI mockups. Unlike static screenshots or separate whiteboarding tools, Live Canvas updates dynamically as the conversation evolves.

Key capabilities:

• Visual workflow mapping from text descriptions (user journeys, process flows, system architecture)
• UI/UX mockup generation (A2UI) from natural language requirements
• Process flowcharts with decision nodes, loops, and branching
• Org charts and relationship diagrams for team structure and responsibilities
• Real-time collaborative editing synchronized across WhatsApp, Telegram, Discord, and Slack

The canvas persists alongside the conversation, serving as both a collaboration tool during discussions and permanent documentation afterward.

A2UI Technology Explained

A2UI (Agent-to-UI) is the natural language interface design component of Live Canvas. Instead of drag-and-drop wireframing, you describe what you want and A2UI generates the visual structure.

How it works:

1. You describe a UI in natural language (“design a login page with email and password fields”)
2. OpenClaw’s LLM parses the description and identifies components (text inputs, buttons, labels)
3. A2UI renders these components with proper layout, hierarchy, and semantic structure
4. The result is an interactive mockup you can refine through conversation

Supported UI elements:

• Input fields (text, email, password, number, date)
• Buttons (primary, secondary, danger, disabled states)
• Navigation (headers, footers, sidebars, breadcrumbs)
• Content (cards, lists, tables, grids)
• Feedback (alerts, modals, tooltips, loading states)
• Layout containers (grid, flex, stack, responsive breakpoints)

A2UI understands design systems and can apply consistent styling across mockups.

Installation

Install Live Canvas:

openclaw skill install live-canvas-a2ui

Platform support:

• Telegram: Full support with inline canvas updates
• Discord: Canvas rendered as embed with edit buttons
• WhatsApp: Canvas shared as image with edit link
• Slack: Canvas in thread with interactive components

Configuration:

skills:
  live-canvas-a2ui:
    # Canvas storage (local or cloud)
    storage: "cloud"  # Enables sharing across devices

    # Default export format
    export_format: "png"  # png, pdf, svg, json

    # Collaboration settings
    collaboration:
      max_editors: 10
      edit_timeout: 3600  # Seconds of inactivity before releasing edit lock

Creating Your First Canvas

Basic Canvas Creation

"Create a live canvas for our user onboarding workflow"

# OpenClaw response:
# ✅ Canvas created: Onboarding Workflow
# 🔗 Link: https://canvas.openclaw.ai/abc123
# 👥 Editors: You
#
# Say "add [element]" to start building the canvas.

Adding Elements

"Add a start node labeled 'New User Signup'"
→ Creates start node

"Add decision node: Email verified?"
→ Creates decision diamond

"Add process node: Send welcome email"
→ Creates process rectangle

"Connect 'Email verified?' to 'Send welcome email' with Yes branch"
→ Draws connector with label

Live Canvas updates in real-time as you add elements. Everyone in the chat sees the same canvas.

Workflow Mapping

User Journey Example

"Create a canvas for e-commerce checkout flow"

"Add these steps:
1. Cart review
2. Shipping address
3. Payment method
4. Order confirmation

Connect them sequentially."

# OpenClaw creates 4 nodes with sequential connectors

Add decision points:

"After shipping address, add decision: User has saved addresses?"
"If yes, go to select address. If no, go to enter new address."

# OpenClaw adds decision node with two branches

System Architecture Diagram

"Create canvas for microservices architecture"

"Add these services:
- API Gateway (entry point)
- Auth Service
- User Service
- Payment Service
- Notification Service
- Database (shared resource)"

"Connect API Gateway to all services except Database.
Connect Payment Service to Database.
Connect Notification Service to Database."

# OpenClaw creates architecture diagram with proper connections

UI Mockup Generation (A2UI)

Login Page Example

"Design a login page with:
- Company logo at top
- Email input field
- Password input field with show/hide toggle
- Remember me checkbox
- Login button (primary)
- Forgot password link
- Sign up link"

# A2UI generates:
# - Centered layout
# - Proper field hierarchy
# - Accessible labels
# - Mobile-responsive grid

Refine the design:

"Move logo to left, make it smaller"
→ Adjusts logo placement and size

"Change login button color to blue, make it full-width"
→ Updates button styling

"Add social login buttons for Google and GitHub below"
→ Inserts social auth section

Dashboard Mockup

"Design an analytics dashboard with:
- Top nav with user menu
- Sidebar with navigation links
- Main area with 4 metric cards (Revenue, Users, Conversion, Traffic)
- Below that, a line chart showing revenue over time
- Right sidebar with recent activity feed"

# A2UI generates:
# - App shell layout
# - Metric cards in grid
# - Placeholder chart
# - Scrollable activity feed

Form Builder

"Create a contact form with:
- Name (required)
- Email (required, with validation)
- Phone (optional)
- Message (textarea, 500 char limit)
- Submit button"

# A2UI generates:
# - Form with proper labels
# - Required field indicators
# - Character counter on textarea
# - Disabled submit state

Process Flow Diagrams

Decision Tree

"Create a support ticket triage flowchart:

Start → Check ticket type
If bug: Assign to engineering
If feature request: Add to product backlog
If question: Check if FAQ exists
  - If FAQ exists: Send FAQ link, close ticket
  - If FAQ doesn't exist: Assign to support
End"

# OpenClaw creates flowchart with:
# - Start/end nodes
# - Decision diamonds
# - Process rectangles
# - Labeled connectors

Swimlane Diagram

"Create swimlane diagram for order processing with 3 lanes:
- Customer
- System
- Warehouse

Customer: Place order
System: Validate payment → Generate packing slip
Warehouse: Pick items → Pack box → Ship"

# OpenClaw creates:
# - 3 horizontal lanes
# - Activities in correct lanes
# - Cross-lane connections

Collaborative Features

Multi-User Editing

When multiple team members are in the same chat:

Alice: "Add a node for email confirmation"
→ Canvas updates with Alice's addition

Bob: "Connect that to the welcome screen"
→ Canvas updates with Bob's connector

Carol: "Change the welcome screen color to blue"
→ Canvas updates with Carol's styling

Everyone sees changes in real-time. Edit conflicts are resolved automatically (last edit wins).

Version History

"Show canvas history"
→ Lists all changes with timestamps and authors

"Revert to version from 2 hours ago"
→ Rolls back canvas to previous state

"Compare current version with yesterday's version"
→ Shows diff highlighting changes

Comments and Annotations

"Add comment to payment node: Need to add Stripe integration here"
→ Adds sticky note to node

"Highlight the checkout flow in red"
→ Applies visual emphasis

"Add annotation: This is the critical path"
→ Adds text label

Integration with Other Skills

Calendar → Timeline Visualization

"Create timeline canvas from my calendar this week"

# OpenClaw:
# 1. Fetches calendar events via Calendar Scheduler skill
# 2. Generates timeline with events as nodes
# 3. Highlights conflicts and gaps

Task Tracker → Kanban Board

"Create kanban canvas from my Linear tasks"

# OpenClaw:
# 1. Fetches tasks via Linear Project Manager skill
# 2. Creates columns: Todo, In Progress, In Review, Done
# 3. Populates cards from tasks
# 4. Syncs status changes back to Linear

Notion → Canvas Export

"Export this canvas to Notion as a project brief"

# OpenClaw:
# 1. Converts canvas to structured content
# 2. Creates Notion page via Notion Sync skill
# 3. Embeds canvas as image
# 4. Adds editable copy as text

Exporting Canvases

Image Export

"Export canvas as PNG"
→ Returns high-res image file

"Export as PDF for printing"
→ Returns print-optimized PDF

Code Export (A2UI)

For UI mockups, export to code:

"Export this login page as React code"
→ Returns JSX component with proper structure

"Export as HTML/CSS"
→ Returns semantic HTML with inline styles

"Export as Figma import JSON"
→ Returns Figma-compatible JSON

Data Export

"Export workflow as JSON"
→ Returns structured data representation

"Export as Mermaid diagram code"
→ Returns Mermaid.js syntax for documentation

FAQ

Can I export canvases to Figma or Sketch?

A2UI mockups can be exported as JSON that Figma can import. For Sketch, export as SVG and import manually. Full design tool integration is on the roadmap.

For now, the best workflow is:

1. Create mockup in Live Canvas
2. Export as SVG or PNG
3. Import into design tool as reference
4. Rebuild with full fidelity in design tool

Is there a limit to canvas size?

Free tier: 100 nodes per canvas Paid tier (OpenClaw Pro): 1000 nodes per canvas

For very large diagrams (architecture maps, org charts), consider splitting into multiple canvases and linking them.

Can I use custom design systems?

Yes. Configure a design system in your OpenClaw settings:

skills:
  live-canvas-a2ui:
    design_system:
      colors:
        primary: "#007AFF"
        secondary: "#5856D6"
        danger: "#FF3B30"
      fonts:
        heading: "Inter"
        body: "Inter"
      spacing_unit: 8  # pixels

A2UI will apply these styles to all generated mockups.

Next Steps

Once Live Canvas is configured, explore these workflows:

• Combine with Notion Sync to save canvases as project documentation
• Use with Linear Project Manager for visual sprint planning
• Integrate with GitHub Issue Triage for development workflow mapping
• Review the Top 10 Skills guide for complete skills overview
• Check the Live Canvas skill details for updates and community templates

Live Canvas turns chat from a text-only medium into a rich visual collaboration space. Once your team gets comfortable describing ideas verbally and seeing them rendered instantly, you will find whiteboarding tools feel slow by comparison.