Workbranch › Guides

How to use Canvas in Gemini

Canvas gives Gemini a workspace next to the chat where a document or an app can grow over several prompts. This guide shows how to open it, edit text and code in it, and get your work out.

Updated 30 October 2026

Checked against Google's Gemini Apps Help on 30 October 2026, for the web version on a computer. Button names are as of October 2026. If you use Claude, its equivalent is covered in how to use Claude artifacts.

Open Canvas

1. Sign in at gemini.google.com.
2. Below the text box, click Add Files, then Canvas.
3. Write your prompt. If you want a particular format, such as a slide deck or a web app, say so.
4. Optional: click Add files to attach files or an image to work from.
5. Click Submit. Gemini writes the first draft into the Canvas panel.

Write and edit a document

• Type directly in the panel. Your changes save on their own.
• Rewrite one part: select the text, type what you want changed in the text box and press Enter. Only that part is rewritten.
• Get suggestions: select text and click Suggest edits.
• Quick changes: use Change length or Change tone for the whole document.
• Formatting: select text and use the toolbar at the top for headings, bold, italics and lists (click More if a button is missing).
• Go back: click Previous Version or Next Version at the top.

From a finished doc you can also click Create at the top right to make something new from it, such as an Audio Overview, a Quiz, an Infographic, a Web page, or slides you describe in a prompt.

Work with code and apps

When you ask for an app or code, Canvas shows a preview you can try. You can keep prompting, or edit the code yourself.

• Click Code at the top right to see and edit the code, and Show recent changes to see what Gemini changed last.
• Click Show console to read errors and logs from the preview.
• To change one element, click Select & ask at the bottom right, select it in the preview and type your request.
• Add Gemini features (bottom right) adds AI functions to the app; you must be 18 or older.
• For Python, click Export to Colab at the top, then Open Colab.

Share or export your canvas

1. In the Canvas panel, click Share & export at the top right.
2. To share, choose Share and click Copy link next to the g.co/gemini/share link, or pick a social platform. For apps, review the app info first.
3. To export, choose Export to Docs for text, Export to Slides for slides (PDF is also offered), or Copy contents to paste it elsewhere.

Documents with LaTeX formulas export as a PDF, with a preview first. For saving whole chats rather than one canvas, see how to export Gemini chats.

Good to know

• Sign-in is required to use Canvas.
• Age limits: creating slides, visuals, apps, Audio Overviews, quizzes or web pages from a doc, and copying shared canvases, aren't available to users under 18.
• Shared apps: anyone with the link can view and edit the data tied to the app, so don't put private information in an app you share.
• Copies others make are stored in their own Gemini Apps Activity if they have Keep Activity on.

If it doesn't work

• No Canvas option. Check you're signed in, and look under Add Files below the text box.
• Gemini rewrites the whole document. Select the exact text first, then type your request, so only that part changes.
• The app preview is blank or broken. Open Show console, then paste the error into the chat and ask Gemini to fix it.
• A shared link won't open on a phone. Open it in a browser at gemini.google.com instead of the Gemini app.

Sources

• Create docs, apps & more with Canvas (Gemini Apps Help, checked 30 October 2026)

Frequently asked questions