tldraw-migrate

name: tldraw-migrate description: Migrate a project to a newer version of the tldraw SDK. Use when upgrading tldraw packages, fixing TypeScript errors after a tldraw upgrade, or when the user mentions tldraw migration. argument-hint: '[from-version] [target]' user-invocable: true

tldraw migration assistant

You are helping migrate a project to a newer version of the tldraw SDK. Follow this process carefully.

Throughout this skill, ${SKILL_DIR} refers to this skill's own directory (where SKILL.md, the helper .mjs scripts, and the cached references/ folder live). The auto-fetch blocks below resolve it from the SKILL_DIR env var if set, otherwise probe the common skill locations (.claude/skills/, .agents/skills/, .codex/skills/, .cursor/skills/, skills/). When you run shell commands later in the workflow that reference ${SKILL_DIR}, substitute the same absolute path. If you placed this skill somewhere else, set SKILL_DIR before running the auto-fetch blocks.

Arguments: /tldraw-migrate [from-version] [target]. Both optional. from-version defaults to the previous tldraw version detected from git history. target defaults to latest (the latest stable release on npm); pass a dist-tag (canary, next, beta) or a pre-release semver (e.g. 4.6.0-canary.abc123) to migrate to a pre-release.

Resolved migration: !SKILL_DIR="${SKILL_DIR:-$(for d in .claude/skills/tldraw-migrate .agents/skills/tldraw-migrate .codex/skills/tldraw-migrate .cursor/skills/tldraw-migrate skills/tldraw-migrate; do [ -d "$d" ] && printf %s "$d" && break; done)}" && FROM=$(node "$SKILL_DIR/detect-versions.mjs" $ARGUMENTS || true) && TARGET=$(node "$SKILL_DIR/detect-target.mjs" $ARGUMENTS) && if [ -z "$FROM" ]; then echo "ERROR: could not detect previous tldraw version. Pass it explicitly: /tldraw-migrate <from-version> [target]" >&2; else echo "from $FROM → target $TARGET"; fi

Resources (auto-fetched on invocation)

The three blocks below are written for Claude Code's !-prefix auto-execute syntax. If you are an agent that doesn't auto-run these (Cursor, Codex, plain Claude, etc.), execute each one as a shell command before continuing — they download the changelog, full docs, and (for pre-release targets) next-release notes that the rest of the workflow depends on.

!SKILL_DIR="${SKILL_DIR:-$(for d in .claude/skills/tldraw-migrate .agents/skills/tldraw-migrate .codex/skills/tldraw-migrate .cursor/skills/tldraw-migrate skills/tldraw-migrate; do [ -d "$d" ] && printf %s "$d" && break; done)}" && mkdir -p "$SKILL_DIR/references" && CHANGELOG="$SKILL_DIR/references/tldraw-releases.txt" && PREV=$(node "$SKILL_DIR/detect-versions.mjs" $ARGUMENTS || true) && if [ -z "$PREV" ]; then echo "ERROR: could not detect previous tldraw version — skipping changelog fetch. Pass it explicitly: /tldraw-migrate <from-version> [target]" >&2; else node "$SKILL_DIR/fetch-release-notes.mjs" "$PREV" > "$CHANGELOG" && echo "Saved changelog (from $PREV, sourced from github.com/tldraw/tldraw) to $CHANGELOG ($(wc -l < "$CHANGELOG") lines)"; fi

!SKILL_DIR="${SKILL_DIR:-$(for d in .claude/skills/tldraw-migrate .agents/skills/tldraw-migrate .codex/skills/tldraw-migrate .cursor/skills/tldraw-migrate skills/tldraw-migrate; do [ -d "$d" ] && printf %s "$d" && break; done)}" && DOCS="$SKILL_DIR/references/tldraw-full-docs.txt" && STALE=$(find "$DOCS" -mtime +30 2>/dev/null) && if [ -s "$DOCS" ] && [ -z "$STALE" ]; then echo "Using cached full docs at $DOCS ($(wc -l < "$DOCS") lines) — delete the file or wait 30 days to refresh"; else curl --fail -sS https://tldraw.dev/llms-full.txt -o "$DOCS" && echo "Saved full docs to $DOCS ($(wc -l < "$DOCS") lines)"; fi

!SKILL_DIR="${SKILL_DIR:-$(for d in .claude/skills/tldraw-migrate .agents/skills/tldraw-migrate .codex/skills/tldraw-migrate .cursor/skills/tldraw-migrate skills/tldraw-migrate; do [ -d "$d" ] && printf %s "$d" && break; done)}" && mkdir -p "$SKILL_DIR/references" && TARGET=$(node "$SKILL_DIR/detect-target.mjs" $ARGUMENTS) && case "$TARGET" in canary|next|beta|alpha|rc|*-canary*|*-next*|*-beta*|*-alpha*|*-rc*) NEXT="$SKILL_DIR/references/tldraw-next.mdx" && curl --fail -sS https://raw.githubusercontent.com/tldraw/tldraw/main/apps/docs/content/releases/next.mdx -o "$NEXT" && echo "Pre-release target ($TARGET) — saved next-release notes to $NEXT ($(wc -l < "$NEXT") lines)" ;; *) echo "Stable target ($TARGET) — skipping next-release notes" ;; esac

• Filtered changelog — release notes for stable versions between the previous version and now, pulled directly from apps/docs/content/releases/ on tldraw/tldraw main (GitHub is the source of truth, not tldraw.dev). Each breaking change (marked 💥) carries a <details><summary>Migration guide</summary> block with a before/after recipe. These migration blocks are the primary source for version-specific fixes — this skill intentionally does not duplicate them. When you hit a TS error, grep for the relevant API name in this file and read its migration block.
• Full docs — complete tldraw SDK docs (~1.5MB). Do NOT read this upfront. Use Grep or Read with line ranges to search for specific topics as needed (e.g., custom shapes, TLTextOptions).
• Next-release notes — only present when the target is a pre-release. The in-progress release notes (raw MDX from main) for the upcoming version. Same <details><summary>Migration guide</summary> structure. The stable changelog won't cover canary/next deltas; this file is where you'll find them.

Searching for migration recipes:

Always grep both the stable changelog and next.mdx (the latter only exists for pre-release targets — 2>/dev/null swallows the missing-file warning). Migration blocks routinely run 40–80 lines, so use -A60 as the default after-context.

# List every breaking change with a migration block
grep -nE '💥|<summary>Migration guide' ${SKILL_DIR}/references/tldraw-releases.txt ${SKILL_DIR}/references/tldraw-next.mdx 2>/dev/null

# Find the migration recipe for a specific symbol
grep -n -B2 -A60 'getIndicatorPath\|TLUserStore\|EmbedShapeUtil' ${SKILL_DIR}/references/tldraw-releases.txt ${SKILL_DIR}/references/tldraw-next.mdx 2>/dev/null

Step 1: Understand the environment

Before making any changes, scan the project to understand what you're working with. Run these in parallel:

• Package manager: Check for lock files (yarn.lock, pnpm-lock.yaml, bun.lockb, package-lock.json). Use the corresponding tool throughout.
• tldraw packages: grep -E "tldraw|@tldraw" package.json — which packages are installed, and at what versions? Note: not every project uses all tldraw packages.
• Source directory: figure out where the project's TypeScript sources live (commonly src/, app/, or lib/; Next.js App Router projects don't have src/). Use this directory for every grep below — don't assume src/.
• Import style: grep -r "from '@tldraw" <source-dir> --include="*.ts" --include="*.tsx" -l | head -5 — does the project import from 'tldraw', '@tldraw/editor', or both? This affects module augmentation targets.
• TypeScript: Check package.json for a typecheck or tsc script. If neither exists, fall back to npx tsc --noEmit (TypeScript is usually a devDependency). Also check the TypeScript version.
• Build tool: Check package.json scripts for the build command (vite, next, webpack, esbuild, etc.)
• Linter: Check for oxlint/eslint/biome config files (.oxlintrc*, .eslintrc*, eslint.config.*, biome.json). A linter may help catch deprecations later.
• Monorepo: Is package.json at the working directory root, or is this a nested package? Check for workspaces config.

Step 2: Upgrade packages

Using the detected package manager, upgrade all tldraw packages that are already in the project's dependencies to the resolved target (printed in the "Resolved migration" line above). Don't add new packages the project doesn't already use.

• For a stable target (latest or a stable semver): install at that tag/version, e.g. yarn add tldraw@latest or npm install tldraw@4.5.10.
• For a pre-release target (canary, next, beta, or a pre-release semver): install at that tag/version, e.g. yarn add tldraw@canary. If multiple @tldraw/* packages are listed, pin them all to the same target to avoid version skew.

Commit the version bump on its own. Stage and commit only package.json and the lockfile before fixing types. Source-code changes from later steps stay in their own commit, so the eventual git diff is reviewable as "what the migration touched" rather than mixed with the dependency change.

Step 3: Identify all TypeScript errors

Run the project's typecheck command (from Step 1) and categorize the errors:

1. Count errors by TS code (e.g., TS2344, TS2786) to understand the distribution.

2. List unique files with errors to understand the scope.

3. Identify error patterns. The categories below are version-agnostic — they describe the shape of common errors. The specific fix for each rename, removal, or signature change lives in the release-notes migration blocks (see "Searching for migration recipes" above), not in this skill.

   • TS2786 "cannot be used as JSX component" / "bigint not assignable to ReactNode": React types skew. @types/react (and usually @types/react-dom) don't match the version tldraw bundles. To find the bundled version: with npm or yarn classic, check node_modules/@tldraw/editor/node_modules/@types/react/package.json; with pnpm or yarn berry, run the package manager's "why" command (e.g. pnpm why @types/react).
   • TS2344 "does not satisfy constraint TLShape/TLBaseBoxShape" / TS2416 shapeType mismatch: custom shape or binding type isn't registered for the new global props maps. Fix pattern in 4b.
   • TS2305 / TS2724 "has no exported member" / "is not exported": API removed or renamed. Find the replacement in the matching Migration guide block in tldraw-releases.txt / tldraw-next.mdx.
   • TS2339 "property does not exist": API renamed or method signature changed. Same lookup.
   • TS2515 "non-abstract class does not implement inherited abstract member": a base class gained a required method. The error names the method — search the migration blocks for that method name. (Note: if your implementation only throws, TypeScript may infer never; add an explicit return type to satisfy the base class signature.)
   • TS2345 on createShapes/updateShapes: heterogeneous mapped arrays need as TLShapePartial[] / as TLCreateShapePartial[] casts. See 4e.
   • TS2345 with two structurally-similar Editor classes resolving to different paths under node_modules/@tiptap/core and node_modules/@tldraw/editor/node_modules/@tiptap/core: TipTap v2/v3 dual install. See 4d.

Step 4: Fix errors in order of impact

Fix in this order (each fix eliminates many downstream errors). After each sub-step, re-run the project's typecheck and confirm that the error codes targeted by that sub-step are resolved (or at least decreasing). Ignore unrelated error codes — they belong to later sub-steps. This catches regressions early without blocking on errors you haven't gotten to yet.

4a. Fix React types

If you see TS2786 "bigint not assignable to ReactNode" errors, upgrade @types/react AND @types/react-dom together to match tldraw's bundled version. Bumping only @types/react will leave a transitive dependency on the old @types/react-dom and the same errors will reappear from a different path (e.g. inside TldrawUiToolbarButton).

Verify: re-run typecheck — TS2786 errors caused by bigint not assignable to ReactNode should be gone. (TS2786 can also fire from genuine JSX usage problems unrelated to types skew; those remain for later sub-steps.)

4b. Register custom shapes and bindings

If you see TS2344 ("does not satisfy constraint TLShape/TLBaseBoxShape") or TS2416 (shapeType mismatch) errors, the project is using the pre-v4.3 TLBaseShape<'name', Props> pattern and needs to migrate to TLGlobalShapePropsMap module augmentation.

The full recipe — module augmentation for shapes and bindings, the rename ripple when shape names collide, as const on static override type / static override shapeType, and the heterogeneous createShapes/updateShapes cast guidance — lives in the v4.3 release notes migration block. Find it with:

grep -n -B2 -A80 'TLGlobalShapePropsMap' ${SKILL_DIR}/references/tldraw-releases.txt

Apply that recipe across the project. Use the import style detected in Step 1 as the module-augmentation target (declare module 'tldraw' vs. declare module '@tldraw/editor').

Verify: re-run typecheck — TS2344 and TS2416 errors should be gone.

4c. Fix API renames, removals, and abstract-method additions

This is where the version-specific work happens, and it's driven entirely by the release-notes migration blocks. The skill does not enumerate which APIs changed — that's the changelog's job, and it would go stale on every release.

For each TS2305 / TS2724 / TS2339 / TS2515 error:

1. Pull the symbol name out of the error.
2. Grep the migration blocks for it: grep -n -B2 -A60 'SymbolName' ${SKILL_DIR}/references/tldraw-releases.txt ${SKILL_DIR}/references/tldraw-next.mdx 2>/dev/null (the 2>/dev/null swallows the missing-file warning when next.mdx isn't present for stable targets).
3. Apply the recipe shown in the matching Migration guide block. Migration blocks contain before/after code snippets; copy the structure.

If the symbol isn't in any migration block:

• Demoted to @internal (still exported at runtime, but missing from .d.ts): check whether a <details><summary>Migration guide</summary> mentions it as part of a larger API. The right fix is almost always to switch to the public replacement, not to use module augmentation to re-expose the symbol. If you reach for declare module 'tldraw' { export function X(): ... }, stop — find the public replacement instead.
• Truly unmentioned: check the type defs in node_modules/tldraw/dist-cjs/index.d.ts, node_modules/@tldraw/editor/dist-cjs/index.d.ts, or node_modules/@tldraw/tlschema/dist-cjs/index.d.ts (the layout varies by version and package manager). If the symbol is genuinely gone with no listed replacement, treat the gap as a documentation bug worth flagging in your final report.

For TS2515 (newly-required abstract method): if your implementation only throws, declare the return type explicitly so TypeScript doesn't infer never and the abstract-mismatch error doesn't linger.

Verify: re-run typecheck — count TS2305, TS2724, TS2339, and TS2515 errors before and after. Each fix should knock out one error. If counts haven't dropped, you missed a migration block — re-grep before continuing.

4d. Fix TipTap imports if needed

Skip this entire sub-step if the project has no @tiptap/* dependencies or imports. Confirm with grep -E '@tiptap/' package.json and a recursive grep for from '@tiptap in the source directory. If both come back empty, jump to 4e.

If the project uses TipTap, your migration may need to cross the v2 → v3 cutover (introduced in tldraw v4.2). The full v2 → v3 recipe — dual-install diagnostic, default-to-named export changes, TextStyle/TextStyleKit/FontFamily reorganization, transaction-handler types — lives in the v4.2 release notes migration block. Find it with:

grep -n -B2 -A60 'TipTap v3' ${SKILL_DIR}/references/tldraw-releases.txt

Apply that recipe. The tldraw skill only adds two version-agnostic notes on top:

Install ordering trap (any TipTap upgrade). Running npm install @tiptap/core@3 @tiptap/starter-kit@3 ... against a project that already has v2 in node_modules will fail with ERESOLVE, because the v2 starter-kit declares peer @tiptap/core@^2.7. Either uninstall the v2 packages first (npm uninstall @tiptap/core @tiptap/starter-kit ...) or pass --legacy-peer-deps.

Custom chained commands. Whatever TipTap version, custom chain commands register via declare module '@tiptap/core' augmentation. This is a TipTap idiom, not a tldraw one — see TipTap's docs.

Verify: re-run typecheck — TipTap import and type errors should be gone.

4e. Fix remaining type errors

• createShapes/updateShapes with .map(): see the v4.3 migration block for the full recipe (as const on the type field for homogeneous arrays; as TLShapePartial[] / as TLCreateShapePartial[] for heterogeneous ones; not satisfies TLShapePartial).
• TipTap extension commands not on ChainedCommands: use declare module '@tiptap/core' augmentation to register custom commands.
• General rule: every as cast you add is tech debt. Before adding one, exhaust these alternatives in order:
  1. as const on object literals to narrow string literal types
  2. satisfies annotations to check types without widening
  3. Proper generic type parameters on the call site
  4. Module augmentation to teach TypeScript about your types
  5. Only then, a targeted as cast with a comment explaining why it's needed

Verify: re-run typecheck — remaining errors should all be resolved. If any remain, re-categorize and route them back to 4a–4d as appropriate.

Step 5: Fix deprecations

After all type errors are resolved, find and fix @deprecated API usage. These still compile but should be migrated.

1. Find deprecated symbols. The changelog is the most reliable starting point — tldraw's .d.ts files use multi-line JSDoc, so grepping the type defs is fragile (the declaration line is typically 2–5 lines after the @deprecated tag, not adjacent to it).

   Start here:

   grep -i 'deprecated' ${SKILL_DIR}/references/tldraw-releases.txt
   

   When the target is a pre-release, also: grep -i 'deprecated' ${SKILL_DIR}/references/tldraw-next.mdx.

   To cross-check against the type defs (one package at a time — repeat for each @tldraw/* package the project imports from, and tldraw itself), use -A not -B:

   grep -A5 '@deprecated' node_modules/@tldraw/editor/dist-cjs/index.d.ts \
     | grep -oE '\b(class|function|interface|const|type|let|var)\s+\w+' \
     | awk '{print $NF}' | sort -u
   

   This catches multi-line JSDoc but produces some false positives — treat the output as a candidate list, not an authoritative one. The changelog grep is what you should drive from.

2. Run the linter if configured — a deprecation rule (e.g. eslint's deprecation/deprecation) will flag deprecated imports automatically. If no linter is configured, skip this step.

3. Search the project source for each deprecated symbol. Replace with the recommended alternative from the @deprecated JSDoc comment, the changelog entry, or the docs.

4. Sanity-check renames the typecheck didn't catch. If the changelog or tldraw-next.mdx describes a rename and the project still imports the old name, TypeScript may resolve it through a wildcard re-export and miss it. Skim the changelog/next.mdx for "renamed" / "moved to" entries and grep the source for any old names you find.

Step 6: Verify

Run the project's typecheck and build commands (as discovered in Step 1).

If errors remain, repeat the categorize-and-fix cycle.

Post-migration sanity check

After all errors are resolved, do a quick audit:

1. Count typed as casts added by this migration. A naive grep ' as ' overcounts because it includes as const (the recommended narrowing pattern) and as in import paths. Drive off the diff and filter:

   git diff -- '<source-dir>/**/*.ts' '<source-dir>/**/*.tsx' \
     | grep -E '^\+' | grep -v '^+++' \
     | grep -E '\bas\s+[A-Z]' | grep -v 'as const'
   

   The migration should add no more than a small handful of new typed casts (ideally zero, with as TLShapePartial[] / as TLCreateShapePartial[] for heterogeneous createShapes/updateShapes arrays as the main legitimate exception). If you added more than ~5 across the whole migration, go back and fix them — you are almost certainly using the new API incorrectly.

2. Review every typed cast you added: For each, verify it's truly necessary by checking whether as const, satisfies, generic type parameters, or module augmentation could replace it. Remove or replace any that have a cleaner alternative.

3. Audit module augmentations. Module augmentation is correct for TLGlobalShapePropsMap / TLGlobalBindingPropsMap registration and for adding genuinely-missing public types. It is not correct for re-exposing symbols that the SDK demoted to @internal — that's a workaround, not a fix. Find the public replacement instead (the migration block usually names it).

4. Verify no stubs or dead code: If you stubbed out removed APIs (e.g., replaced a removed function with a no-op), make sure the calling code doesn't depend on the return value. If it does, find the proper replacement in the migration blocks or docs.

Step 7: Report

End the migration with a single summary message to the user. Don't pad it — just the facts:

• From → target version, and the resolved target version if it was a tag (canary → 4.7.0-canary.abc123).
• Files modified (count, plus the list if it's small).
• TypeScript errors fixed, broken down by code (e.g., TS2786 ×12, TS2344 ×3, TS2305 ×1). Use the before/after counts you collected during Step 4.
• Typed as casts added (count and one-line rationale per cast — should be zero or close to it; flag any you weren't sure about).
• Module augmentations added (what they cover — TLGlobalShapePropsMap, TLGlobalBindingPropsMap, @tiptap/core chain commands, etc.).
• Deprecations migrated (count and the symbols).
• Anything flagged as undocumented — symbols you couldn't find in any migration block, gaps in the changelog, or recipes that didn't match the actual API surface. These are worth filing back to the tldraw team.
• Anything skipped or deferred — if you punted on a hard rename or left a TODO, say so explicitly so the user knows what's still on them.

Quality checks

• Type safety is paramount. The goal is a migration that is as type-safe as the original code. Do NOT add as any, as unknown, or broad type casts. Do NOT add @ts-ignore or @ts-expect-error. These are never acceptable — if you can't make the types work, you don't understand the new API yet. Stop and read the changelog and type definitions before continuing.
• Prefer TypeScript's narrowing features over casts. Use as const for literal types, satisfies for type-checking without widening, generic parameters for call sites, and module augmentation for extending interfaces. These are the right tools for a migration — as casts are not.
• Use parallel agents for large batches with the same pattern. Apply the recipe to one file by hand first to confirm it works, then spawn one Agent per remaining file in a single message (multiple Agent tool calls in parallel). Pass each agent: (1) the path of the file to migrate, (2) the before/after diff from your template file, (3) the relevant migration block from tldraw-releases.txt. This is most useful in 4b (mechanical TLBaseShape → TLGlobalShapePropsMap migration across many shape files) and 4c (one symbol rename rippling across the project).
• Don't just make errors go away — understand the new API. When a method signature changes (e.g., new parameters added, property renamed to a richer type), read the changelog AND the current type definitions to understand why it changed. A fix that compiles but passes hardcoded/dummy values where the new API expects real data is worse than a type error — it silently degrades behavior. For example, if a function gains new required parameters, check what shape props or editor state should feed those parameters rather than passing 0 or 1.
• When unsure about an API pattern, grep the full docs (${SKILL_DIR}/references/tldraw-full-docs.txt) for usage examples of that specific API. The docs contain code samples that show the canonical way to use each API.

Tips

• Read ${SKILL_DIR}/references/tldraw-releases.txt for the filtered changelog — this is the primary source for what changed
• Grep ${SKILL_DIR}/references/tldraw-full-docs.txt when you need docs on a specific API
• When searching tldraw types, try multiple paths — the dist directory structure varies by version and package manager