Draughtsman by OverpassDraughtsman by OverpassDocumentation Draughtsman home Quick start

Using Draughtsman

History, compare and the bin

Three safety nets, in the order you will need them: undo for the last few seconds, version history for the last few days, and a bin for the diagram you deleted by mistake.

Version history

Open the History tab. It lists the stored versions of the open diagram, newest first, with the time, who made them (agents are marked as such) and the size.

The History tab listing versions: automatic checkpoints made by an agent, and a version named Approved layout made by Eric Wroolie, each with Compare and Restore buttons.
History. Each row has Compare and Restore. The named version is the one a person saved on purpose.

Where versions come from, and what is not a version:

  • Automatic checkpoints. When an agent edits a diagram (over MCP or from the AI panel), the server first stores the diagram as it was. An agent's change can always be undone from here. The server keeps the newest 50 per diagram (retention.checkpointsPerDocument).
  • Named versions. Choose Name this version, type a name, press Enter. Named versions are never pruned.
  • Restore points. Restoring stores a checkpoint of the current state first, so a restore can itself be restored.
  • Autosave is not history. It overwrites the current version every couple of seconds. There is no per-keystroke history; Cmd+Z covers that, in the open editor.

Compare

Choose Compare on any version. The panel lists what has been added, removed and changed since that version, and the canvas marks the same things: a dashed outline and a small + (added), ~ (changed) or − (removed) badge, drawn in outline style so it reads on any theme. Stop comparing clears the marks.

Compare mode: since the version Approved layout, 2 added, 1 removed and 1 changed. The panel lists Fraud check (a service) and a connector called screens as added, the connector images as removed, and the Basket cache label as changed; the canvas shows the new Fraud check shape with a red outline and a plus badge, and the changed shape with a dashed outline.
What changed since 'Approved layout': an agent added a Fraud check service and the connector to it, removed the images connector, and renamed the cache. Above the named version sits the automatic checkpoint the server took before the agent's patch.

Compare is the same function the MCP diff_documents tool uses, so an agent can ask the same question.

Restore

Choose Restore on a version. The current diagram is saved as a checkpoint, and the chosen version becomes the diagram. Nothing is lost either way.

The bin

Deleting is not permanent. A deleted diagram goes to the Bin (the switch beside Documents on the home page), with its versions, and stays for 30 days (retention.binDays; zero or less keeps it until someone deletes it for good). A daily pass then removes it permanently and records each removal in the security log. Restoring brings it back exactly as it was.

The Bin view of the home page: two deleted diagrams, an org chart and a state machine, each with who deleted it, when, days left (30), and Restore and Delete forever buttons.
The bin. 'Delete forever' is a separate, confirmed step.
WhoSees in the binCan restoreCan delete for good
Administratoreverythingeverythingeverything
Editorentries they created, or deletedthose entriesonly diagrams they created
API tokenwhat its owner may seewhat its owner may restorenever: a browser session is required

Moving a diagram to the bin, restoring it and deleting it for good are each recorded in the security log (the three events Document moved to the bin, restored from the bin and deleted for good). Delete is also recoverable from the toast that appears straight after it ("Moved … to the bin. Undo"). Backups include the bin.

The home list

Search (press /), filter by type, sort, rename inline, duplicate, delete. There are no thumbnails, folders, tags or favourites yet, and the list has no owner or last-editor column.

The home page: a Documents heading, Bin, Import SQL, Import Mermaid and New diagram buttons, a search box and type filter, and a table of eight diagrams with a type icon, title and last-modified age.
The home list with the demonstration diagrams used on this site.

Review

The Review tab runs a deterministic structural check over the diagram on the canvas: dangling connectors, isolated nodes, a decision with a single branch, an unreachable node, a database nothing uses, a table with no primary key, unbalanced activations in a sequence, and similar. It never gives an opinion of your content: same diagram, same findings. The MCP critique_document tool runs the same rules.

The Review tab reading: Structural checks on this diagram. No findings. The structure checks passed.
A clean review.

One organisation, one trust level

An Editor can open, change and delete any diagram, not just their own. The bin and version history are what make that survivable: an Editor who deletes a colleague's diagram can restore it, and so can the colleague. If you need per-document permissions, they are not built; see the FAQ.