Canvas

What it means

Chat handles dialogue; canvas holds the deliverable with its own edit, version, and export lifecycle, synced back to the thread when the user or agent updates it.

Why designers should care

Canvas UX needs clear chat vs artifact boundaries, version history, export paths, and mobile fallbacks when split view does not fit.

Example

Claude renders a React component in canvas; the user edits props in-panel, asks “add dark mode” in chat, and sees canvas update while prior versions stay in a dropdown.

Common mistakes

• • Canvas and chat showing duplicate content with no source of truth.
• • No version revert when an agent edit breaks the artifact.
• • Tiny canvas on narrow viewports with no full-screen escape hatch.

Related terms

• Artifact: The product renders structured output (HTML, React, Markdown doc, Mermaid chart) in a dedicated surface with edit, copy, download, and history—not only inline chat text.
• Generative UI (GenUI): The model outputs component trees, layout, and interactions that render in product, often iteratively edited through follow-up prompts.
• Diff / Patch Review: The UI renders before/after (or add/remove) views of proposed edits, often with per-hunk Accept/Reject and a summary of files touched.
• Thread / Session: The product groups messages, tool calls, and outputs under one identifier; closing, renaming, or forking a thread changes what context future turns include.
• Fork: The product copies context up to a message or step into a new thread/session, letting users pursue alternate prompts, edits, or agent plans in parallel.