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Productivitydocker-readypermissive-license100% FOSS🟢 Lightweight · ~256MB

Excalidraw: Open Source alternative to Miro in 2026

Excalidraw is a collaborative whiteboard with a deliberately hand-drawn look, great for quick diagrams, wireframes and explaining ideas as a team — self-hostable instead of relying on Miro.

Alternative to Miro
License MIT134.1k starsWebsite GitHub Repository

Audit Snapshot

View notes →

  • License — Matches GitHub

  • GitHub — Active

  • Latest release — v0.18.1 · 6 months ago

  • Docker Compose — Not verified

  • Production — Not production-tested by AltFreeStack

Excalidraw vs. Miro

Pros

  • One of the most popular and beloved open source projects out there
  • Integrates as a plugin into Obsidian, VS Code and other apps

Things to consider

  • Full real-time collaboration (shared rooms) requires setting up the collaboration server separately

Quick Docker installation guide

Copy this docker-compose.yml, adjust the example passwords and run docker compose up -d on your server. See the full step-by-step guide →

💡 Official SaaS or self-hosted with AltFreeStack?

  • On the official cloud: a recurring monthly fee and usage limits on Miro.
  • On your own VPS: 100% free software on your own server, with no artificial row, project or user limits.
docker-compose.yml
services:
  excalidraw:
    image: excalidraw/excalidraw:latest
    ports:
      - "8081:80"
    restart: unless-stopped

🚀 Deploy in 1 command

Recommended for beginners

Copy this single command and paste it into your freshly created VPS's console (Vultr, DigitalOcean...). It downloads the script, prints it to your screen so you can see exactly what it's about to do (never a blind direct pipe), and only then installs Docker if needed, writes the files with secrets already generated, and starts everything — no nano, no pasting code blocks.

curl -sSL ".../api/deploy?stack=excalidraw" -o deploy.sh && cat deploy.sh && bash deploy.sh
See what this script does →

This docker-compose corresponds to an actively maintained project — last commit today.

This docker-compose not working for you? Report it on GitHub →

Technical profile

License
MIT
Category
Productivity
Replaces
Miro
Tech stack
TypeScriptReact

Under the hood

Database

None / File-based

Language

TypeScript (React)

Platforms

Web

Key features

  • Distinctive hand-drawn style, widely used for technical diagrams
  • Exports to PNG/SVG with transparent background
  • Real-time collaboration mode

Preview

Excalidraw interface preview

Public image provided by Excalidraw on its own website.

💾 Backups in 3 steps (Day 2)

As long as the ./data folder (the "volume" mapped into the container) exists on your server, your data survives any restart or container update — that's the only thing you need to back up.

1. Create a compressed backup on the server

tar -czvf backup-$(date +%F).tar.gz ./data

2. Download it to your computer

From your computer's terminal (not your server's):

scp root@YOUR_IP:~/app/backup-*.tar.gz ./

3. Restore in case of emergency

tar -xzvf backup-file.tar.gz
🌐 Connect your domain with free SSL

Step 1 — Set up the DNS

In your domain registrar's dashboard (Cloudflare, Namecheap, GoDaddy...), create a record:

Type
A
Name/Host
@ (root domain) or a subdomain, e.g. app
Content/Value
Your server's public IP

Wait 5 to 15 minutes for the record to propagate across the internet.

Step 2 — Automatic reverse proxy with Caddy

One single file, no Nginx config or manual certificates — Caddy issues and renews Let's Encrypt HTTPS on its own.

Create a file called Caddyfile:

yourdomain.com {
    reverse_proxy localhost:8081
}

Start Caddy with this command (pulls the image and runs it in the background):

docker run -d -p 80:80 -p 443:443 --name caddy --restart always -v $PWD/Caddyfile:/etc/caddy/Caddyfile -v caddy_data:/data caddy