Show HN: Treyspace ─ Open Source Graph RAG on Your Excalidraw Canvas

2 hours ago 1

An open-source RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) SDK for canvas-based knowledge graphs. It ingests canvas data, mirrors it into Helix graph-vector database for semantic, relational, and spatial clustering, and provides LLM-powered analysis of the canvas.

A hosted version of the Treyspace SDK with a full user interface and an Excalidraw canvas is available:

Try it here: https://treyspace.app/

Figure: End-to-end canvas-to-Helix-to-LLM pipeline

Figure: Semantic, relational, and spatial cluster visualization

Responses API – Wrapper around OpenAI responses API with canvas-specific context handling
Canvas AI engine – SSE endpoints under /api/ai/* orchestrate the full RAG pipeline with graph-based retrieval
Helix bridge – /api/clusters and /api/mcp-bridge proxy the Helix graph database for semantic clustering
SDK & Server – Use as a library or run as a standalone server
Development-focused – No auth, rate limiting, or billing; easily adaptable to your needs

Features
Quick Start
Architecture
Usage
Documentation
Examples
Environment Variables
Development
Contributing
License

Node.js >= 18.0.0
npm >= 9.0.0
OpenAI API key
Helix DB instance (optional - can run with in-memory mode)

Clone and install
Copy the default config
- Only set OPENAI_API_KEY to run locally.
- Helix is optional – By default, the SDK uses an in-memory graph store. To use HelixDB instead, pass --enable_helix when starting the server or follow the Helix install guide.
Start the SDK façade

cd sdk npm install node server.js

Leave this process running (or use your favourite watcher).
Start the backend (new terminal)
Verify the pipeline

npm run smoke # health check (requires servers from steps 3 & 4) npm run test:smoke # requires OPENAI_API_KEY npm run test:integration # full pipeline (OPENAI_API_KEY required) npx tsx tests/runFullPipeline.spec.mjs # full pipeline using in-memory mode (default)

The test:* commands start (and stop) both the SDK façade and the AI proxy automatically and skip if OPENAI_API_KEY is not set.

Helix Database (Optional)

By default, the SDK runs with an in-memory graph store – perfect for development, testing, or lightweight deployments. To enable the full HelixDB backend for production use:

# Start the façade with HelixDB enabled node sdk/server.js --enable_helix # The default (in-memory) mode requires no additional flags node sdk/server.js

├── src/ # Backend server and AI engine ├── sdk/ # Helix SDK integration layer ├── docs/ # API + configuration docs ├── examples/ # Client scripts for testing ├── scripts/ # Smoke check utility ├── tests/ # End-to-end tests └── .github/ # CI workflow

API Reference – endpoints and payloads
Configuration & Deployment – Environment variables, Docker, and Helix setup
Pipeline Guide – Step-by-step canvas processing workflow

examples/responses.mjs – POST a one-off prompt to /v1/responses
examples/stream-ai-engine.mjs – Stream /api/ai/engine SSE output for a board

node examples/responses.mjs "Summarise this Excalidraw canvas" # or load a full request node examples/responses.mjs --payload ./payload.json AI_BACKEND_BOARD_ID=board-123 node examples/stream-ai-engine.mjs

Set AI_BACKEND_URL to override the backend URL for proxied deployments.

import { createHelixRagSDK, executeFullPipeline } from 'treyspace-sdk'; // Create SDK instance const sdk = createHelixRagSDK(); // Sync canvas data await sdk.syncCanvas({ boardId: 'my-board', excalidrawData: { elements: [...] } }); // Get clusters const clusters = await sdk.refreshClusters({ boardId: 'my-board' }); // Or run full pipeline const result = await executeFullPipeline({ boardId: 'my-board', userMessage: 'Explain this diagram', elements: canvasElements }); console.log(result.text);

Variable Description Default

NODE_ENV	development, production, or test.	development
PORT / HOST	HTTP binding for the backend.	8787 / 0.0.0.0
LOG_LEVEL	Pino log level.	info
DEBUG / TREYSPACE_DEBUG	Set to 1 to enable verbose logging.	0
ALLOWED_ORIGINS	Comma-separated CORS allow-list.	http://localhost:3000,http://localhost:5173
AI_BACKEND_URL / AI_BACKEND_PUBLIC_BASE	Optional overrides for outbound URLs.	–
OPENAI_API_KEY (+ OPENAI_DEFAULT_MODEL)	Enables OpenAI routes.	– / gpt-5-mini
HELIX_RAG_URL	Base URL for the SDK façade.	http://localhost:3001
HELIX_INTERNAL_ORIGIN	Origin header forwarded to the façade.	http://localhost:3000

GET /healthz
POST /v1/responses
POST /api/ai/engine
POST /api/clusters
POST /api/mcp-bridge

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npm run smoke # requires server running in another shell npx tsx tests/sdkSmoke.spec.mjs npx tsx tests/runFullPipeline.spec.mjs # uses in-memory mode by default # To test with HelixDB npx tsx tests/runFullPipeline.spec.mjs --enable_helix

Released under the MIT License.

Contributions are welcome—fork this repo, create a feature branch, and submit a pull request. See CONTRIBUTING.md for the full guidelines.

Special thanks to the Helix DB and Excalidraw teams, whose tools enable Treyspace’s graph and canvas features.

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