# Pairing a board with a project

> Linking a Canvas board into a code project as a .rqd file - a live reference rather than a copy, and why it is excluded from Run and from AI assist.

Source: https://www.revquix.com/docs/canvas/pairing-with-a-project
Last verified: 2026-09-04

---

An architecture diagram belongs next to the code it describes. A board can be added to a code project
as a **`.rqd`** file, which appears in the file tree alongside your source.

## It is a link, not a copy

A `.rqd` holds a reference to the board. It does not contain the drawing.

That is the whole point. The diagram stays a board you edit in Canvas, and every project linking it
shows the current version - there is no re-export step, and no way for two copies to quietly drift
apart.

> **Note** - One board, many projects
>
> The same board can be linked into several projects. Edit it once and all of them are up to date.

Because it stores a reference rather than the drawing, a `.rqd` is effectively weightless - it does
not eat into your project's size budget the way an exported image would.

## It is not source, and is not treated as source

A `.rqd` is **excluded from running the project** and **from AI assist**. It is documentation sitting
beside the code, not part of the program.

> **Note** - Why a diagram can never be a real source file
>
> Projects cap total source size, and a diagram is far larger than any source file you would write.
> Embedding the drawing itself would spend most of a project's budget on one picture - and then the
> run would try to compile it.

## Opening it

Selecting the `.rqd` in the file tree shows the board. Editing happens in Canvas - the project view
is a window onto it, not a second editor, so there is only ever one place a board is changed.

## Removing it

Deleting the `.rqd` removes the link and leaves the board untouched. Deleting the **board** leaves a
link pointing at something that is gone, so delete the file first if you are clearing up.

## Related

- [Files and folders](https://www.revquix.com/docs/projects/files-and-folders) - How the project file tree works.

- [Running your code](https://www.revquix.com/docs/projects/running-your-code) - What Run does and does not pick up.

- [Sharing a board](https://www.revquix.com/docs/canvas/sharing-a-board) - Who can see a linked board.