API & MCP

Everything a person can do on Sketchboard Auto Layout, a program or AI agent can do with the same inputs and get the identical result.

HTTP API

POST https://sketchboardautolayout.usefulweb.app/api/v1/calculate – run Sketchboard Auto Layout
GET https://sketchboardautolayout.usefulweb.app/api/v1/tool – inputs, output schema, examples
OpenAPI 3.1: /openapi.json · /openapi.yaml
Errors: application/problem+json; 422 includes per-field errors.

Sketchboard Auto Layout

Takes a Sketchboard board or a plain list of links (“A -> B”) and arranges the boxes: a layered layout with few crossings for flowcharts and graphs in any direction, or a balanced left/right tree for mind maps. Returns the new positions, an SVG and the board file.

Inputs of Sketchboard Auto Layout
Field	Type	Default	Description
`edges`	textarea	—	Links, one per line. For example “Idea -> Research” or “Research -> Prototype: needs a budget”. A line with only a name adds a lonely box. Ignored when a board is given.
`board`	textarea	—	Or a Sketchboard board (JSON). A .sketchboard.json file. Shapes that are glued to connectors are laid out; locked shapes stay.
`mode`	select (auto, layered, mindmap)	"auto"	Layout
`direction`	select (TB, LR, BT, RL)	"TB"	Direction (layered)
`gapX`	integer	40	Gap between neighbours
`gapY`	integer	60	Gap between ranks

Example request

Product plan from a link list

curl -X POST https://sketchboardautolayout.usefulweb.app/api/v1/calculate -H 'content-type: application/json' -d '{"edges":"Idea -> Research\nResearch -> Prototype\nPrototype -> User test\nUser test -> Prototype: needs changes\nUser test -> Launch\nResearch -> Budget\nBudget -> Launch"}'

Every result contains

inputs (normalised, defaults applied), summary, result (validated against the published schema), units, assumptions, sources, warnings, computedAt and links.

MCP (Model Context Protocol)

Streamable HTTP endpoint: https://sketchboardautolayout.usefulweb.app/mcp – protocol revisions 2026-07-28 (stateless) and 2025-11-25 / 2025-06-18 / 2025-03-26 (initialize handshake).
Tools: sketchboard_auto_layout
Local stdio connector: node src/mcp-stdio.ts --tool=sketchboard-auto-layout

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sketchboard-auto-layout": { "type": "http", "url": "https://sketchboardautolayout.usefulweb.app/mcp" }
  }
}