pywboard 0.1.2

Simple Annotation Whiteboard — pen, line, arrow, circle, square, and text annotation for topology diagrams

pywboard

Simple Annotation Whiteboard — a lightweight desktop tool for annotating network topology diagrams and screenshots with pen, lines, arrows, shapes, and text labels.

Built with PyQt6 + QWebEngine. Zero CDN dependencies. Fully offline.

Install

pip install pywboard

Or from source:

git clone https://github.com/scottpeterman/pywboard.git
cd pywboard
pip install -e .

Requirements

• Python 3.9+
• PyQt6 >= 6.5
• PyQt6-WebEngine >= 6.5

Usage

# Launch empty canvas
pywboard

# Open with a topology image
pywboard topology.png

# Module execution
python -m pywboard
python -m pywboard screenshot.png

Features

Drawing Tools

Tool	Key	Description
Pen	P	Freehand drawing
Line	L	Straight lines
Arrow	A	Directional arrows
Rectangle	R	Rectangles and boxes
Ellipse	O	Ellipses and circles
Text	T	Click to place text labels
Eraser	E	Remove annotations
Pan	H	Move the background image

Canvas Sizes

Preset sizes from the toolbar dropdown:

• XGA — 1024 × 768
• Full HD — 1920 × 1080
• QHD — 2560 × 1440
• 4K UHD — 3840 × 2160
• Large Topo — 2400 × 1600
• XL Topo — 3200 × 2400
• XXL Topo — 4000 × 3000
• Custom — up to 8000 × 8000

View Modes

• FIT — scales canvas to fit the window (default)
• 1:1 — actual pixel size with scroll navigation

Toggle with F key, or Ctrl+0 (fit) / Ctrl+1 (actual size).

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl+N	New canvas (reset all)
Ctrl+O	Open image (native dialog)
Ctrl+Shift+S	Export PNG (native save dialog)
Ctrl+V	Paste image from clipboard
Ctrl+Z	Undo last annotation
Ctrl+Q	Quit
Ctrl+0	Fit to window
Ctrl+1	Actual size (1:1)
F	Toggle FIT / 1:1

Other Features

• New canvas — reset everything and start fresh without restarting
• Drag & drop images onto the canvas
• 9 colors with 4 stroke widths
• Native file dialogs for open/save (via PyQt6 bridge)
• Dark theme throughout — toolbar, menus, scrollbars
• Export full-resolution annotated PNG

Architecture

pywboard/
├── pyproject.toml
├── README.md
├── LICENSE
└── pywboard/
    ├── __init__.py
    ├── __main__.py          # python -m pywboard
    ├── app.py               # PyQt6 QWebEngineView wrapper
    └── assets/
        └── annotate.html    # Self-contained HTML/CSS/JS canvas app

The HTML annotation engine is entirely self-contained — no external fonts, no CDN JavaScript, no build step. The PyQt6 wrapper adds native file dialogs, menu bar, CLI image loading, and dark window chrome via a QWebChannel bridge.

The HTML also works standalone in any browser for quick use without Python.

License

GPLv3