summary-to-canvas

A skill for regular Claude (claude.ai / desktop, not Claude Code): ask it to summarize a conversation as a meshfox canvas and it answers with a ready .canvas.md file. Build the zip below, upload it once, then use it in any chat.

What's in the skill

File	Role
`SKILL.md`	the instructions: output contract, the small slice of the format that matters, how to summarize, a final checklist
`example.canvas.md`	one worked canvas Claude imitates

This README is not part of the skill and stays out of the zip.

Build the zip

Packs SKILL.md and example.canvas.md under a top-level summary-to-canvas/ folder, the layout claude.ai expects, into ../summary-to-canvas.zip (git-ignored). Validates the example first, so a broken one never ships.

meshfox validate example.canvas.md
cd ..
rm -f summary-to-canvas.zip
zip -X summary-to-canvas.zip \
  summary-to-canvas/SKILL.md \
  summary-to-canvas/example.canvas.md
unzip -l summary-to-canvas.zip

Install in claude.ai

Open Settings → Capabilities and make sure Skills (and code execution / file creation) are enabled.
In Skills, choose Upload skill and pick skills/summary-to-canvas.zip.
Switch the skill on.

Update later: rebuild the zip and upload it again over the old one.

Use it

At the end of any conversation, say something like:

Summarize this conversation as a meshfox canvas.

Claude replies with one <slug>.canvas.md file. Save it, then:

meshfox validate <slug>.canvas.md
meshfox view <slug>.canvas.md

If validate fails, paste its error back into the chat and ask Claude to fix the canvas.

Notes

If your plan doesn't offer Skills, paste SKILL.md and example.canvas.md into a Project's instructions/knowledge instead; it works the same way.
The skill deliberately covers only the summary-shaped part of the format (nodes, ids, colors, tags, edges, group/link). The full spec is meshfox spec.
Keep example.canvas.md valid — it is both the demo and what the build step validates.