An infinite canvas for code exploration

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Overall reaction

  • Many commenters find the “infinite canvas” idea compelling and say they’ve been wanting something similar for years.
  • Several would pay for a good implementation, especially for private codebases.
  • Others are unconvinced it adds much beyond modern IDE navigation, and want clearer “superpowers” vs existing tools.

Concept & value proposition

  • Tool slices a repo into atomic units (functions, data structures) and shows an expandable graph of definitions and references.
  • Goal: preserve and externalize mental context when tracing deep call/control flows, and produce persistent code maps that explain systems to others.
  • Current focus: large C/C++ codebases using clang; Linux, LLVM, Godot are indexed.

Feature requests & integrations

  • Strong demand for:
    • VS Code (and other IDE) integration, ideally as an LSP/intellisense-powered plugin.
    • Local/standalone app or self-hosted mode.
    • Editing within the canvas, not just viewing.
    • Keyboard navigation, bookmarks, quick jumping between “cards.”
    • Notes, arbitrary links between snippets, and integration with other artifacts (logs, UI screenshots, issues).
  • Suggestions to support Unreal Engine, Jupyter-style workflows, and richer data-flow visualization (like Unreal Blueprints).

Language support & technical choices

  • Currently C/C++ via libclang.
  • Some suggest tree-sitter + LSP for broader language support; creator replies that clang’s semantic analysis and low-level control were important for initial goals.

UX and onboarding issues

  • Multiple complaints about:
    • Mandatory signup wall before trying the tool or seeing pricing/ToS.
    • Back-button “hijacking” and odd history behavior.
    • Video auto-play issues, missing controls, and it looking like a static image.
    • Layout issues (overlapping boxes, unclear placement), and desire for better color-coding and long-function handling.
    • Sign-in errors, JS exceptions, redirect loops, and mobile rendering problems.

Trust, privacy, and deployment model

  • Many are reluctant to send proprietary code to a new hosted service, especially in the current AI/data climate.
  • Several state they would strongly prefer local, offline, or open-source versions.
  • Creator clarifies they currently only index open-source code and want to prove scalability before handling private repos; ToS/privacy details for private code are flagged as essential.

Comparisons to existing tools & prior art

  • Mentioned analogues: IDE navigation (JetBrains, VS, VS Code), older tools like Sourcetrail and Code Bubbles/Debugger Canvas, reverse-engineering UIs, and generic whiteboard tools (Figma/Excalidraw/Obsidian canvases).
  • Some note that reverse-engineering tools have had similar graph views for years and wonder why this hasn’t spread to mainstream development.
  • One detailed comment describes an existing “manual” workflow (IDE + whiteboard) that Territory could partially automate, but notes whiteboards currently integrate better with non-code context.