A canvas is the workspace where you define work, assign it to agents, and review the results. Think of it as a living spec that agents execute against.
Create a canvas
- Open DNP and click New canvas.
- Pick a folder on your disk — this is where the canvas file and any generated artifacts will live.
- Give the canvas a name (e.g., "Project search feature").
Write a brief
The brief is the single source of truth for the work. It tells the agent what to do, what success looks like, and what not to touch.
- Click the Brief block in the palette (or press B).
- Write a one-sentence goal: "Add a search field to the project list that matches names case-insensitively."
- Add acceptance criteria as a bulleted list — these become the checks the reviewer runs.
Add an agent
DNP supports two local CLI agents today: Claude Code and Codex CLI. Both must be installed and signed in on your machine before DNP can use them.
- Drag an Agent block onto the canvas.
- Choose the agent (Claude Code or Codex), give it a role (Architect, Builder, Reviewer, etc.), and paste the task from your brief.
- Connect the Brief to the Agent — the agent reads the brief as its context.
Run the canvas
Press ⌘R or click the Run button in the toolbar. The agent starts working in its own terminal pane on the canvas. You see its output in real time.
Review the result
When the agent reports done, add a Reviewer block and connect it. The reviewer runs the acceptance checks you wrote in the brief and reports pass/fail.