Aitu

AI Image & Video Creation (SaaS) + All-in-One Whiteboard

Mind Maps · Flowcharts · Freehand · AI Image Generation · AI Video Generation

中文

Features

AI Creation Capabilities 🔥

• AI Image Generation - Multiple image generation models
  • gemini-2.5-flash-image (nano-banana) - Fast image generation
  • gemini-3-pro-image-preview (nano-banana-2) - High quality, supports HD/2K/4K resolution
  • Text-to-image, image reference generation, batch generation
• AI Video Generation - Multiple video generation models
  • Veo3 / Veo3 Pro - High quality video generation
  • Veo3.1 / Veo3.1 Pro - First/last frame control, multi-image reference
  • Sora-2 / Sora-2 Pro - OpenAI video model
  • Image-to-video, progress tracking, task management
• Model Switching - Instantly switch between AI models in generation dialogs
• Task Queue Management - Async task processing, batch generation, retry, history, media caching

Whiteboard & Visualization

• Mind Maps - Quick mind map creation with various layouts and styles
• Flowcharts - Professional flowchart drawing with Mermaid syntax support
• Freehand Drawing - Hand-drawn creations with multiple brush tools
• Image Support - Insert and edit image elements
• Markdown to Mind Map - Convert text to visual structures

Editing & Interaction

• Rich Editing Features - Undo, redo, copy, paste, multi-select, etc.
• Infinite Canvas - Free zoom, scroll, pan
• Auto-save - Local browser auto-save, no data loss
• Multi-format Export - Supports PNG, JSON(.drawnix) formats

Experience & Ecosystem

• Free & Open Source - MIT license, commercial use allowed
• Plugin Architecture - Flexible extensions with custom plugin development
• Theme Support - Light/dark theme switching
• Mobile-friendly - Perfect mobile device support

Product Showcase

Prompt + Image Integration

AI Image Generation - Creative Leap

Task Processing - Batch Generation

Results Display

AI Video Generation - Multi-model, Image-to-Video

Task Queue - Progress Tracking, Batch Management, Media Cache

All-in-One Whiteboard - Flowcharts, Freehand, Images and More

About the Name

Aitu is born from the love of creation and the pursuit of visual expression.

Ai represents passion and dedication to creation, while tu symbolizes the infinite possibilities of visual expression. Here, each creation is a pursuit of beauty, every stroke an extension of imagination.

Creativity stems from inner love, and Aitu is committed to being a powerful assistant for every creator.

Love Creation, Visualize the Future.

About Plait Drawing Framework

Aitu is positioned as an out-of-the-box, open-source, and free tool product. It is built on top of the Plait framework, which is an open-source drawing framework representing significant technical accumulation in knowledge visualization products.

Aitu uses a plugin architecture, which is technically more complex than traditional open-source tools. However, this plugin architecture has its advantages: it supports multiple UI frameworks (Angular, React), integrates with different rich text frameworks (currently only supporting Slate framework), enables better business layer separation in development, allows development of various fine-grained reusable plugins, and can expand to more whiteboard application scenarios.

Repository Structure

aitu/
├── apps/
│   └── web/                         # Aitu Web Application
│       ├── src/                     # Source code
│       ├── public/                  # Static assets
│       └── index.html               # Entry HTML
├── packages/
│   ├── drawnix/                     # Whiteboard core library
│   │   ├── src/
│   │   │   ├── components/          # React components
│   │   │   │   ├── toolbar/         # Toolbar components
│   │   │   │   ├── ttd-dialog/      # AI generation dialogs
│   │   │   │   ├── task-queue/      # Task queue management
│   │   │   │   └── settings-dialog/ # Settings dialog
│   │   │   ├── plugins/             # Feature plugins
│   │   │   │   ├── with-freehand.ts # Freehand drawing plugin
│   │   │   │   ├── with-mind.ts     # Mind map plugin
│   │   │   │   └── with-draw.ts     # Drawing plugin
│   │   │   ├── services/            # Business services
│   │   │   │   ├── generation-api-service.ts  # AI generation API
│   │   │   │   └── task-queue-service.ts      # Task queue service
│   │   │   ├── hooks/               # React Hooks
│   │   │   ├── utils/               # Utility functions
│   │   │   │   ├── gemini-api/      # Gemini API client
│   │   │   │   └── settings-manager.ts # Settings management
│   │   │   └── types/               # TypeScript type definitions
│   ├── react-board/                 # Plait React view adapter
│   └── react-text/                  # Text rendering components
├── dist/                            # Build artifacts
├── docs/                            # Development docs
├── package.json                     # Project config
├── nx.json                          # Nx config
├── tsconfig.base.json               # TypeScript base config
└── README.md                        # Project readme

Key Directory Description

• apps/web: Web application entry, contains page routing and global config
• packages/drawnix: Core whiteboard library with all core features and components
  • components/: UI components including toolbars, dialogs, task queue
  • plugins/: Feature plugins using composition pattern
  • services/: Business service layer for API calls and state management
  • hooks/: React Hooks providing reusable state logic
• packages/react-board: Plait framework React adapter layer
• packages/react-text: Text editing and rendering components

Try It Out

https://aitu.tu-zi.com is the online application of Aitu.

We will be iterating frequently on application features to continuously optimize user experience.

🚀 Quick Start

Online Experience

Visit aitu.tu-zi.com directly to start using it immediately, no installation required.

Local Development

Requirements

• Node.js >= 16.0.0
• npm >= 8.0.0

Installation Steps

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/ljquan/aitu.git
cd aitu

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Start development server
npm start

After successful startup, visit http://localhost:4200 to see the application.

Available Commands

# Development
npm start                    # Start development server
npm test                     # Run tests
npm run build                # Build all packages
npm run build:web            # Build web app only

# Version Management
npm run version:patch        # Version +0.0.1
npm run version:minor        # Version +0.1.0
npm run version:major        # Version +1.0.0

# Release
npm run release             # Release patch version
npm run release:minor       # Release minor version
npm run release:major       # Release major version

📚 Documentation

Detailed development documentation is located in the docs/ directory:

• Version Control - Version management and release process
• Deployment Guide - Cloudflare Pages deployment
• PWA Configuration - PWA icon generation guide

🧪 Testing

# Run all tests
npm test

# Run specific project tests
nx test drawnix
nx test react-board

📖 Usage Guide

Basic Features

Creating Content

• Mind Maps: Click the mind map icon in the toolbar to start creating branch nodes
• Flowcharts: Select flowchart tools to drag and create shapes and connectors
• Freehand Drawing: Use brush tools for hand-drawn creations
• Text Editing: Double-click anywhere to add text

Import/Export

• Export Formats: Supports PNG, JPG, JSON(.drawnix) formats
• Text Conversion:
  • Support Markdown text to mind map conversion
  • Support Mermaid syntax to flowchart conversion

Shortcuts

• Ctrl/Cmd + Z: Undo
• Ctrl/Cmd + Y: Redo
• Ctrl/Cmd + C: Copy
• Ctrl/Cmd + V: Paste
• Mouse wheel: Zoom canvas
• Drag: Move canvas

🔧 Plugin Development

Aitu is built on a plugin architecture and supports custom extensions:

import { withFreehand, withMind, withDraw } from '@aitu/core';

// Create editor instance with specific plugins
const editor = withFreehand(
  withMind(
    withDraw(createEditor())
  )
);

🐳 Docker Deployment

# Pull image
docker pull ljquan/aitu:latest

# Run container
docker run -d -p 8080:80 ljquan/aitu:latest

Visit http://localhost:8080 to use.

🏗️ Technical Architecture

Tech Stack

• Frontend Framework: React 18.3+ with TypeScript
• Build Tools: Vite + Nx (Monorepo)
• UI Component Library: TDesign React
• Drawing Engine: Plait Framework
• Rich Text Editor: Slate.js
• State Management: React Context + Hooks
• Styling: Sass + CSS Module

Core Modules

packages/
├── drawnix/           # Core whiteboard application
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── components/    # React components
│   │   ├── plugins/       # Feature plugins
│   │   ├── transforms/    # Data transformations
│   │   └── utils/         # Utility functions
├── react-board/       # Plait React adapter layer
├── react-text/        # Text rendering components

Plugin System

Uses a composable plugin architecture where each plugin handles specific functionality:

• withFreehand: Freehand drawing capabilities
• withMind: Mind mapping functionality
• withDraw: Basic shape drawing
• withHotkey: Keyboard shortcut support
• withTextLink: Text link functionality

📦 Dependencies

Core Dependencies

• plait - Open source drawing framework providing underlying drawing capabilities
• slate - Rich text editor framework handling text editing logic
• floating-ui - Floating layer positioning library for toolbars and popups
• tdesign-react - Enterprise-class UI component library
• localforage - Browser storage solution supporting auto-save

Development Dependencies

• Nx: Monorepo management tool
• Vite: Modern build tool providing fast development experience
• TypeScript: Type-safe JavaScript superset
• ESLint + Prettier: Code quality and formatting tools

🤝 Contributing Guide

We welcome and appreciate any form of contribution!

Ways to Contribute

🐛 Report Issues

• Use GitHub Issues to report bugs
• Please provide detailed reproduction steps and environment information
• Screenshots or screen recordings would be very helpful

💡 Feature Requests

• Mark as enhancement in Issues
• Describe use cases and expected behavior
• Discuss technical implementation approaches

🔧 Code Contributions

1. Fork the Project

   git clone https://github.com/your-username/aitu.git
   

2. Create Feature Branch

   git checkout -b feature/your-feature-name
   

3. Local Development

   npm install
   npm start
   

4. Code Standards

   • Follow existing code style
   • Run nx lint to check code quality
   • Run nx test to ensure tests pass
   • Add necessary test cases

5. Commit Changes

   git add .
   git commit -m "feat: add your feature description"
   

6. Push and Create PR

   git push origin feature/your-feature-name
   

📝 Documentation Contributions

• Improve README documentation
• Enhance code comments
• Write usage tutorials

Development Conventions

• Commit Message Format: Follow Conventional Commits
• Branch Naming: feature/feature-name, fix/issue-description, docs/documentation-update
• Code Style: Use ESLint + Prettier for consistency

🚨 Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Installation Problems

# Clear cache and reinstall
npm cache clean --force
rm -rf node_modules package-lock.json
npm install

Development Server Startup Failure

# Check port occupation
lsof -i :4200

# Specify another port
npm start -- --port 3000

Build Failures

# Check TypeScript type errors
nx typecheck drawnix

# Check code style
nx lint drawnix

Performance Issues

• Large whiteboard files may cause slow rendering
• Recommend splitting into multiple smaller files
• Disable unnecessary plugin features

Getting Help

• 📖 Check Documentation
• 💬 Submit Issue
• 🗣️ Join Discussions

🗺️ Roadmap

Completed ✅

• ✅ Basic whiteboard functionality
• ✅ Mind maps and flowcharts
• ✅ Freehand drawing and image insertion
• ✅ Markdown/Mermaid conversion
• ✅ Mobile adaptation
• ✅ AI Image Generation (multi-model support)
• ✅ AI Video Generation (Veo3/Sora-2)
• ✅ Task Queue & Batch Generation
• ✅ Media Caching

In Development 🚧

• 🚧 Collaboration features (real-time multi-user editing)
• 🚧 More export formats (PDF, SVG)
• 🚧 Template system
• 🚧 Plugin marketplace

Planned 📅

• 📅 Cloud sync storage
• 📅 Version history management
• 📅 Open API platform
• 📅 Desktop client

Follow Releases for release plans.

💬 Community & Feedback

Welcome to join the community to share your experiences and creations!

Scan to join the community

• 💬 GitHub Discussions: Join Discussion
• 🐛 Issue Feedback: Submit Issue

License

MIT License