Fast Draft

A token-efficient file format and interactive canvas for drawing, design, and animation. Built in Rust + WASM.

What You Get

Install this extension and every .fd file lights up — syntax colors, instant error detection, and a visual canvas that renders your design in real time. Think Figma meets code.

| You write this... | ...and get this | | ---------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------ | | rect @box { w: 200 h: 100 } | A colored rectangle on canvas | | text @title "Hello" { font: "Inter" 600 24 } | Styled text, visually rendered | | anim :hover { fill: #5A4BD1 } | Hover animation metadata | | @card -> center_in: canvas | Constraint-based auto-layout |

Features

🎨 Syntax Highlighting

Rich TextMate-based syntax highlighting for .fd files:

• Node keywords — group, rect, ellipse, text, path
• Style blocks — style accent { fill: #6C5CE7 }
• Node IDs — @login_form, @button
• Hex colors — #FF5733, #1A1A2E
• Properties — w:, h:, fill:, font:, layout:
• Animations — anim :hover { ... }
• Comments — # This is a comment

✅ Live Parser Validation

Real-time error detection as you type:

• Mismatched braces → red squiggles + Problems panel
• Invalid hex colors like #GGG or #12345 → instant feedback
• Debounced — validates 300ms after you stop typing (no lag)

🖼️ Interactive Canvas

A live-rendering canvas powered by Rust/WASM:

• Bidirectional sync — change the text and the canvas updates; drag on canvas and the text updates
• Select tool (V) — click to select nodes, drag to move
• Rect tool (R) — click + drag to draw new rectangles
• Undo/Redo — Cmd+Z / Cmd+Shift+Z
• Resize-aware — canvas adapts to your panel size

🌳 Tree Preview

View the parsed scene graph as a structural tree:

• Open via Command Palette → FD: Show Tree Preview
• Shows node hierarchy: groups → children → properties
• Updates live as you edit

Interactive Usage Guide

1. Create a new .fd file

# FD v1
# My first design

rect @hero {
  w: 400 h: 300
  corner: 16
  fill: #6C5CE7
}

@hero -> center_in: canvas

Save as hello.fd — syntax highlighting activates automatically.

2. Open the Canvas Editor

• Right-click the file → Open With... → FD Canvas
• Or use Command Palette → FD: Open Canvas Editor

The canvas renders your design. Edit the text on the left; see changes on the right.

3. Draw on the Canvas

Switch tools with keyboard shortcuts:

| Key | Tool | Action | | ------------- | ------ | ------------------------------- | | V | Select | Click to select, drag to move | | R | Rect | Click + drag to draw rectangles | | Cmd+Z | Undo | Undo last action | | Cmd+Shift+Z | Redo | Redo last undone action |

When you draw a rectangle on canvas, the corresponding FD code is automatically generated in the text editor.

4. Inspect the Scene Graph

Open Command Palette → FD: Show Tree Preview to see:

Scene Graph
├── style accent
├── group @login_form
│   ├── text @title "Welcome Back"
│   ├── rect @email_field
│   │   └── text @email_hint "Email"
│   ├── rect @pass_field
│   │   └── text @pass_hint "Password"
│   └── rect @login_btn
│       └── text @btn_label "Sign In"
└── @login_form → center_in: canvas

5. Catch Errors Instantly

Try typing an invalid color:

rect @broken {
  fill: #GGG     # ← red squiggle: "Invalid hex color"
  w: 100 h: 50

↑ Missing } — the Problems panel shows: "1 unclosed brace(s)"

Example: Login Form

# FD v1
# A login form mockup

style base_text {
  font: "Inter" 14
  fill: #333333
}

style accent {
  fill: #6C5CE7
}

group @login_form {
  layout: column gap=16 pad=32

  text @title "Welcome Back" {
    use: base_text
    font: "Inter" 600 24
    fill: #1A1A2E
  }

  rect @email_field {
    w: 280 h: 44
    corner: 8
    stroke: #DDDDDD 1

    text @email_hint "Email" {
      use: base_text
      fill: #999999
    }
  }

  rect @login_btn {
    w: 280 h: 48
    corner: 10
    use: accent

    text @btn_label "Sign In" {
      font: "Inter" 600 16
      fill: #FFFFFF
    }

    anim :hover {
      fill: #5A4BD1
      scale: 1.02
      ease: spring 300ms
    }
  }
}

@login_form -> center_in: canvas

What this produces:

• A vertical card with 16px gap between elements
• A title, email input field, and a purple Sign In button
• The button has a hover animation (color shift + subtle scale)
• The entire form is centered on the canvas

Why FD?

| vs. SVG | vs. Figma | vs. HTML/CSS | | ----------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- | | 5× fewer tokens — AI can generate it faster | Code-first — version control, diffs, PRs | Semantic — center_in: canvas not margin: 0 auto | | Constraint-based — no absolute coords | Open format — no vendor lock-in | GPU-rendered — Vello/wgpu pipeline | | Bidirectional — edit code or canvas | Extensible — custom nodes, styles, animations | WASM — same renderer on web, desktop, mobile |

Requirements

• VS Code ≥ 1.85.0

Links

• GitHub Repository
• FD Format Specification
• VS Code Marketplace
• Open VSX Registry

License

MIT