Pencil 4.0

Pencil released version 4.0.0, adding Model Context Protocol (MCP) support that lets AI coding assistants including Claude Desktop, Cursor, Antigravity and VS Code design and edit vector wireframes on the canvas through natural language. The release runs an MCP server at http://localhost:1919/mcp with tools such as insert_shapes, update_shapes, align_shapes, distribute_shapes, list_pages, create_page, search_resources and render_preview, and adds @group auto-layout containers for horizontal or vertical stacks. Pencil 4.0 also adds a declarative 4-tier style resolution engine, 90-degree connector support and an image editor tool, plus fixes for shape resizing and SVG transform handling in update_shapes and insert_shapes.

Repository navigation Pencil 4.0.0 Pencil 4.0 transforms Pencil into an AI-ready visual design studio You can now pair your favorite AI coding assistants directly with Pencil to build, refine, and iterate on vector wireframes in real time. Key Highlights - Design Wireframes with AI : Connect assistants like Claude Desktop, Cursor, Antigravity, and VS Code to design, arrange, and edit wireframes on your canvas using natural language. - Instant, Zero-Lag Canvas Updates : AI operations happen in memory in real time, with no waiting on disk polling, reloads, or file saving. - Smart Auto-Layout Containers @group : Group UI components into automatic horizontal row or vertical column stacks with automatic bounding boxes; say goodbye to manual pixel math and tedious coordinate nudging - AI "Sees" What You See : Connected assistants can request live canvas snapshots and cropped previews render preview to visually inspect layout, typography, and contrast just like a human designer. - Watch Your AI Work Live : See active edits in real time with live canvas animation overlays and a floating status pill AgentStatusPill . Model Context Protocol MCP Features & Tools - Draw, Style & Rearrange : Full control to add, update, reposition, group, align, and delete canvas elements insert shapes , update shapes , align shapes , distribute shapes . - Full Document & Multi-Page Control : Assistants can navigate and structure projects autonomously list pages , create page , rename page , switch page . - Icon & Stencil Discovery : Assistants can search installed icon libraries Tabler, Lucide, FontAwesome and discover UI components across all installed collections search resources , list collections . - Privacy & Collection Governance : Decide which stencil libraries and assets the AI can see, with complete toggle control in application preferences. - 1-Click Assistant Setup : Built-in configuration generator in Settings MCP with one-click copying for popular assistants, plus server lifecycle controls start/stop/restart on http://localhost:1919/mcp . Canvas, Stencils & UI Enhancements - Declarative 4-tier style resolution engine with type-scoped defaults and single-inheritance custom styles. - Support for right-angle 90° connectors 380 https://github.com/evolus/pencil/issues/380 . - New image editor tool with expand and shrink support for image data ImageEditDialog . - Support copying and pasting images across different Pencil documents 393 https://github.com/evolus/pencil/issues/393 . - Batch selection in Font Management Dialog. - Configurable handle color for canvas editors. - On-screen editing for blank plain text shapes. - Create collection files directly in Stencil Generator 645 https://github.com/evolus/pencil/issues/645 . - Search and filter collections in Collection Management Dialog; view collection versions. - Non-blocking update notification dialogs for Pencil and installed stencil collections. Bug Fixes & Improvements - Fixed canvas shape dimension resizing in update shapes and hardened top-level box schema. - Fixed direct SVG transform manipulation in update shapes and insert shapes . - Fixed rotation handling when rasterizing selection. - Fixed HTML code colors not appearing in recently used colors 422 https://github.com/evolus/pencil/issues/422 . - Fixed menu positioning and implemented menu overflow mode for long menus 603 https://github.com/evolus/pencil/issues/603 . - Fixed image bounds invalidation on offscreen canvas. - Fixed fallback handling in font editor for missing fonts. - Fixed alignment options for Process shapes in Flowchart. - Fixed text alignment for List Box shape. - Fixed HTML entity rendering & in links. - Removed obsolete OpenClipart pane.