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Personal Instruments
Active development

GistBoard

A local-first iPad whiteboard that turns freehand explanations into spatial, layered decks that can be found, replayed, and exported.

Category
Personal Instruments
Platform
iPad · iPadOS 18+
Status
Active development

Never get lost in your own explanation.

Bounded canvas tiles connect north, south, east, and west. Stable structure ties Apple Pencil drawing, layers, paths, recording, narration, search, replay, and local export to the same explanation.

User value

Draw freely. Keep your bearings.

Let an explanation grow in space without losing where each idea belongs.

01

Create at the speed of thought

Draw with Apple Pencil on a canvas-first workspace instead of configuring a diagram before the idea exists.

02

Return to the right place

Use tiles, directions, layers, titles, tags, paths, outline, favorites, and search as durable landmarks.

03

Reuse the explanation

Replay its structure, add local narration, or export an editable package, image, PDF, or video.

Features

One structure across the whole workflow.

The same spatial deck remains intact while drawing, finding, replaying, presenting, and exporting.

  1. 01

    Spatial tiles

    Branch to bounded neighboring canvases above, below, left, or right instead of extending one endless surface.

  2. 02

    Layered Pencil drawing

    Edit one PencilKit layer while composing other visible layers as references.

  3. 03

    Manual orientation

    Name tiles, add tags, mark favorites, build paths, browse an outline, and search local metadata.

  4. 04

    Structured recording

    Capture timed tile, layer, lifecycle, and drawing-snapshot events instead of making pixels the source of truth.

  5. 05

    Replay and narration

    Reconstruct the saved context in-app and synchronize an optional local narration track.

  6. 06

    Local import and export

    Exchange editable packages and produce PNG, PDF, silent MP4, or narrated MP4 files locally.

  7. 07

    Source references

    Attach local images and use the current PDF page-reference and rendering foundations.

  8. 08

    Guarded collaboration

    Keep participant contributions isolated for host review within the SharePlay-oriented Live Board foundation.

How it works

From blank tile to reusable explanation.

Structure appears through use rather than before it.

  1. 01

    Create a deck

    Start a local document or reopen an existing versioned package.

  2. 02

    Draw

    Use Apple Pencil or supported touch input on the active layer.

  3. 03

    Branch

    Move to or create a neighboring tile in one of four directions.

  4. 04

    Organize

    Add layers, metadata, favorites, an outline, and selected explanation paths.

  5. 05

    Record and replay

    Preserve meaningful context changes and optional narration on a relative timeline.

  6. 06

    Export

    Validate and save before handing an editable or rendered local result to the system.

Product concept

Space becomes structure.

A visual explanation can be both a map of ideas and a performance through them.

01

Bounded but non-linear

Each tile has an address and identity, while directional branches let the deck grow beyond a sequence.

02

Record meaning, not only pixels

Timed structural events and snapshots preserve where and how an explanation changed.

03

Manual authorship remains complete

Core organization, search, replay, and export do not depend on smart suggestions or cloud analysis.

Architecture

The iPad owns the explanation.

Drawing, structure, recordings, narration, source material, and exports live inside versioned local packages.

  1. 01Canvas and Pencil input
  2. 02Stable tile and layer identities
  3. 03Separate metadata and drawing payloads
  4. 04Autosave and package validation
  5. 05Structured recording and replay
  6. 06Local rendering and media writing
  7. 07Explicit Files or share handoff

Local document authority

No GistBoard-owned backend, account, cloud database, analytics, advertising, or hosted-link service is present.

Structure and payload stay separate

Readable versioned metadata refers to independent PencilKit drawings, snapshots, narration, sources, and contributions.

Collaboration cannot overwrite trust

Participant work remains in isolated layers until the host explicitly keeps, discards, or merges it.

Technology

A local document and media system.

Application

  • Swift 6
  • SwiftUI
  • iPadOS 18+

Drawing and media

  • PencilKit
  • AVFoundation
  • Core Graphics
  • UIKit

Platform

  • StoreKit 2
  • GroupActivities
  • Uniform Type Identifiers
  • System sharing

Storage

  • .gistboard packages
  • JSON metadata
  • .pkdrawing payloads
  • Package-owned recordings and sources

Development

The major systems are implemented.

The current reconstruction puts the canvas and spatial controls back at the center. Automated coverage is extensive, but physical iPad, Apple Pencil, accessibility, SharePlay, StoreKit, and release validation remain open.

Stage
Active development
Automated suite
1,204 tests passing
Manual ledger
378 entries pending
Platform
iPadOS 18+

Implemented

  • Persistent Deck Library and versioned local .gistboard packages
  • PencilKit drawing with independent layer payloads, composition, autosave, and safe switching
  • Four-direction tiles, titles, tags, favorites, outline, recent history, search, and paths
  • Structured recording, replay, local narration, and silent or narrated video composition
  • Editable package, PNG, PDF, and MP4 export plus image and PDF reference foundations
  • Canvas-first editor, deterministic suggestions, Live Board contribution boundaries, and StoreKit purchase foundations

Validation focus

Complete the manual iPad editor pass, Apple Pencil ergonomics, VoiceOver and Dynamic Type review, supported-size checks, AVFoundation maintenance, and later physical SharePlay, StoreKit, import, export, performance, and release validation.

GistBoard lab notes

The project, over time.

Notes about the thinking, architecture, development, and decisions behind this work.

  1. GistBoard
    16 Jul 2026 · Draft

    Putting the Canvas First

    After many systems accumulated in the editor, a reconstruction restored drawing and spatial movement as the primary experience.
  2. GistBoard
    28 Jun 2026 · Draft

    A Live Board Built Around Guardrails

    SharePlay foundations added presenter-follow and participant contribution without granting broad authority over the host's document.
  3. GistBoard
    27 Jun 2026 · Draft

    A Local Media Chain from Replay to Narrated Video

    Replay frames, optional narration, and rendered video became separate local artifacts rather than replacing the editable deck.
  4. GistBoard
    22 Jun 2026 · Draft

    Recording Structure, Not Only Pixels

    Timed tile, layer, lifecycle, and drawing-snapshot events made replay a reconstruction of the explanation rather than its source file.
  5. GistBoard
    21 Jun 2026 · Draft

    A Local Document Becomes a Drawing Space

    Stable identities and separate drawing payloads gave freehand work a document foundation that could survive growth.