This skill covers Slidev's built-in drawing and annotation features powered by drauu, allowing you to draw, highlight, and annotate slides in real-time during presentations.
When to Use This Skill
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Highlighting important content during presentations
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Drawing diagrams on the fly
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Annotating code or images
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Interactive teaching sessions
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Brainstorming visualizations
Enabling Drawings
In Frontmatter
---
drawings:
enabled: true
---
Full Configuration
---
drawings:
enabled: true
persist: false
presenterOnly: false
syncAll: true
---
Drawing Options
| enabled
| boolean/string
| true
| Enable drawings (true, false, 'dev')
| persist
| boolean
| false
| Save drawings to .slidev/drawings/
| presenterOnly
| boolean
| false
| Only presenter can draw
| syncAll
| boolean
| true
| Sync drawings across all clients
Accessing Drawing Tools
Via UI
-
Click the pen/pencil icon in the navigation bar
-
Drawing toolbar appears
Toolbar Options
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Pen: Freehand drawing
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Line: Straight lines
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Arrow: Lines with arrowheads
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Rectangle: Draw rectangles
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Ellipse: Draw circles/ellipses
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Eraser: Remove drawings
-
Clear: Remove all drawings
Drawing Tools Detailed
Pen Tool
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Freehand drawing
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Adjustable stroke width
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Color selection
Usage: Click and drag to draw
Good for: Underlining, circling, quick annotations
Line Tool
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Creates straight lines
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Hold Shift for horizontal/vertical lines
Usage: Click start point, drag to end
Good for: Connecting elements, pointing
Arrow Tool
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Lines with arrowheads
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Directional indicators
Usage: Click start, drag to arrow point
Good for: Showing flow, indicating direction
Rectangle Tool
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Draw rectangles/squares
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Hold Shift for perfect squares
Usage: Click corner, drag to opposite corner
Good for: Highlighting areas, boxing content
Ellipse Tool
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Draw circles/ellipses
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Hold Shift for perfect circles
Usage: Click center, drag to edge
Good for: Circling items, attention markers
Eraser
-
Remove specific drawings
-
Click on drawing to erase it
Usage: Click on drawn elements to remove
Good for: Correcting mistakes, cleaning up
Stylus/Pen Support
Automatic Detection
Slidev automatically detects stylus input:
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Pressure sensitivity (if supported)
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Palm rejection
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Natural drawing experience
iPad + Apple Pencil
Works great with:
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Safari on iPad
-
Chrome on iPad
-
Sidecar (iPad as second display)
Color and Style
Changing Colors
Click color selector in drawing toolbar:
-
Preset colors available
-
Some themes support custom colors
Stroke Width
Adjust stroke width for:
-
Thin lines (precision)
-
Thick lines (visibility)
Persisting Drawings
Enable Persistence
---
drawings:
persist: true
---
Storage Location
Drawings saved to:
.slidev/drawings/[slide-number].svg
Benefits
-
Drawings survive page reloads
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Include in exports (PDF, etc.)
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Version control friendly (SVG format)
Clearing Persisted Drawings
Delete files from .slidev/drawings/ or:
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Use "Clear" button in drawing mode
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Clear from presenter mode
Presenter-Only Mode
Configuration
---
drawings:
presenterOnly: true
---
Behavior
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Only presenter can draw
-
Drawings visible to all audiences
-
Audience cannot accidentally draw
Synchronization
Sync All Clients
---
drawings:
syncAll: true
---
All connected clients see drawings in real-time.
Disable Sync
---
drawings:
syncAll: false
---
Only presenter's drawings are synced to audience.
Best Practices
1. Prepare Key Annotations
Know in advance what you'll highlight:
<!--
ANNOTATIONS:
- Circle the error on line 5
- Arrow from input to output
- Underline the key term
-->
2. Use Appropriate Tools
| Highlight text | Pen (underline)
| Point to something | Arrow
| Group elements | Rectangle
| Mark important | Ellipse
3. Color Choices
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Red: Errors, warnings, important
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Green: Success, correct, good
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Blue: Information, notes
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Yellow: Highlights (if visible on theme)
4. Clean As You Go
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Erase unnecessary drawings before moving on
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Keep drawings minimal and meaningful
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Use "Clear" when starting fresh concept
5. Practice Drawing
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Test stylus pressure/speed
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Practice common shapes
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Know your drawing shortcuts
Keyboard Shortcuts
When drawing mode is active:
| 1
| Pen tool
| 2
| Line tool
| 3
| Arrow tool
| 4
| Rectangle tool
| 5
| Ellipse tool
| e
| Eraser
| c
| Clear all
| Esc
| Exit drawing mode
Integration with Slides
Drawing Over Code
# Code Review
```python
def calculate(x, y):
result = x + y # Circle this line
return result
Draw a circle around the important line during presentation.
### Drawing Over Diagrams
```markdown
```mermaid
graph LR
A --> B --> C
Use arrows to trace the flow during explanation.
### Drawing Over Images
```markdown

Annotate specific components during walkthrough.
Common Patterns
Highlight and Explain
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Show slide content
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Activate drawing mode
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Circle/underline key points
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Explain while pointing
Build Diagram Live
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Show empty/partial diagram
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Draw connections as you explain
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Add labels with rectangles
Code Walkthrough
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Display code block
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Draw arrows showing execution flow
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Circle variables being discussed
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Underline return values
Before/After
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Draw "X" over old approach
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Draw checkmark on new approach
Troubleshooting
Drawings Not Appearing
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Check
drawings.enabled: true -
Refresh browser
-
Check for CSS conflicts
Sync Issues
-
Verify
syncAllsetting -
Check network connection
-
Refresh all clients
Persistence Not Working
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Check
persist: true -
Verify
.slidev/directory exists -
Check file permissions
Stylus Not Working
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Check browser compatibility
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Verify stylus is connected
-
Try different browser
Output Format
When configuring drawings:
---
drawings:
enabled: true # Enable drawing feature
persist: true # Save drawings between sessions
presenterOnly: true # Only presenter can draw
syncAll: true # Sync to all viewers
---
DRAWING PLAN FOR SLIDE:
-
[What to draw/highlight]
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[Tool to use]
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[Color choice]
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[When in explanation]
CLEANUP:
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Clear before: [yes/no]
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Clear after: [yes/no]