HyCanvas at a glance
Checked 15 Oct 2026HyCanvas is a young Canva-style platform from HyScaler (repo created June 2026, v0.3.17 on 15 Oct 2026). It runs as one Go binary or Docker image with PostgreSQL and covers social posts, presentations, video, whiteboards, docs and print, plus brand kits and a presentation generation API. AI features use your own provider keys. Licence changed from Elastic 2.0 to AGPL-3.0-only with v0.3.17; earlier releases stay ELv2. Realtime collaboration is still on the roadmap. Hardware needs are not documented.
Cite this page
RepoQuarry. “HyCanvas.” Checked 15 Oct 2026. https://repoquarry.dev/projects/hycanvasHow much of Canva does it replace?
5 of 5 jobs. Covers most Canva document types; very new and collaboration is not built yet.
Partial: Template-based social and marketing graphics Partial replacement
Partial: Designed presentations and slide decks Partial replacement
Partial: Brand kits (shared colours Partial replacement
Partial: Online whiteboards Partial replacement
Partial: Print designs (posters Partial replacement
Facts, with sources
Every answer links to where we found it. We read the documentation; we did not install it.
QuestionAnswerSourceChecked
Runs on my machine? Confirmed: Self-hosted web app (single binary or Docker with PostgreSQL)
The production bundle is a single self-contained binary: `dist/hycanvas`.github.com · HyCanvas#production ↗ 1d ago
Code licence Partial: AGPL-3.0-only from v0.3.17 (copyleft); releases up to v0.3.16 are Elastic License 2.0
Releases up to and including v0.3.16 were published under the Elastic License 2.0 and remain under those terms.github.com · HyCanvas#license ↗ 1d ago
Model weights licence Confirmed: No bundled model weights; AI uses your own provider keys github.com · HyCanvas#readme ↗ 1d ago
Commercial use Partial: Yes under AGPL; internal and unmodified self-hosting need no commercial licence
Internal use at any scale, including production use by your employees and contractors.github.com · COMMERCIAL.md ↗ 1d ago
Paid services needed? Partial: None required; AI features need your own provider key; optional commercial licence
AI provider keys are configured per workspace at runtime (stored encrypted), never via env.github.com · HyCanvas#production ↗ 1d ago
Operating systems Partial: Server binary runs on Linux, macOS and Windows; Docker image for linux/amd64 and arm64; web-only client
the `service` verbs manage a detached process with a pidfile and logfile next to the binary, on Linux, macOS, and Windows alikegithub.com · HyCanvas#production ↗ 1d ago
Setup effort Confirmed: Medium; Docker Compose or binary plus your own PostgreSQL, guided by a setup wizard
the self-contained compose in [docker/README.md](docker/README.md) includes a `db` service and runs anywhere.github.com · HyCanvas#run-with-docker-self-host ↗ 1d ago