Help & FAQ
How ChunkSquad works — concepts, features, and answers to common questions.
What is ChunkSquad?
ChunkSquad is a collaborative planning hub for sandbox-building communities. Bring your squad, upload a map of the world (or a render of a structure), drop markers and zones to plan the build, link tasks to specific spots, and chat in-context about decisions.
It's like Trello + Miro + Blueprints for voxel creators — without touching the game itself. Works for Minecraft, Terraria, Valheim, Vintage Story, Hytale, Roblox, and other sandbox / voxel worlds.
ChunkSquad is independent — no Mojang / Microsoft affiliation, no game asset redistribution, no client modifications.
Core concepts
- Build
- The top-level project for one collaborative creation — a castle, server hub, adventure map, anything. Builds have members, boards, tasks, resources, and a public showcase page.
- Team
- A persistent squad of creators. Teams own builds together. Every account gets a personal team automatically; create more for studios or server crews. Teams have their own crew-title presets (Lead Architect, Terraformer, Builder, etc) members pick from.
- Board
- A planning map inside a build. Upload a screenshot, schematic render, or top-down map; everyone annotates the same surface. A build can have many boards (overworld, floors, nether, detail crops). Each board can be calibrated to world coords and have a grid overlay.
- Marker
- A point on a board. Text markers show a label chip; icon markers show a small colored pin with a tooltip; both can have a note, color, tags, screenshots, dependencies, linked tasks, resource requirements, and a discussion thread.
- Zone
- A rectangle on a board outlining an area — castle district, walls, redstone vault. Drag to draw it. Zones support the same drawer (tags, comments, screenshots, linked tasks, dependencies, resources) as markers.
- Dependency
- A link from one marker to another that says "this one is blocked by that one". Used to plan build order. Renders as a dashed amber arrow on the board so the crew can read the critical path at a glance.
- Layer
- A user-defined grouping for markers on a board (e.g. Phase 1, Logistics, Decoration). Toggle layers on/off in the canvas filter to focus the squad on one thing at a time. Separate from the built-in text/icon/zone filter.
- Task
- Kanban-style work item (todo · in progress · done) with assignee, due date, and optional linked marker. Tasks can be created from a marker's drawer so they stay anchored to the spot on the map.
- Resource
- An item the build needs (Stone, Wood Planks, Iron Ingots, whatever). Crews define resources and either set blanket requirements or pin them to specific markers ("need 4,000 cobblestone for the wall"). Gatherers log deposits as they bring stuff in; progress bars roll up.
- Calibration
- Two reference points (image % + world x/z) that map a board image to real world coordinates. Once set, the cursor shows live world coords and every marker reports its real position. Required for the world-grid overlay.
- World grid
- Optional SVG grid drawn over a calibrated board at any cell size you choose. 16 for Minecraft chunks, 100 for a 100m grid, 8 for Satisfactory foundations — game-agnostic.
- Comms
- Each build has Discussions (threaded forum) for decisions and help requests, plus Quick updates (chat-style) for short async notes.
- Showcase
- Public read-only pages for public builds, at chunksquad.com/p/<slug>. SEO-optimized with a dynamic Open Graph card, sharable, and includes the planning board preview, member list, progress timeline, and a before/after snapshot slider.
- Embed
- A read-only iframeable version of any board on a public build, at /embed/boards/<id>. Paste into a Discord channel, forum post, or website to share a live planning view without giving edit access.
Features in detail
✨ Marker dependencies & critical-path overlay
In the marker drawer, link a marker as "Blocked by" another marker. The canvas renders a dashed amber arrow from prerequisite → dependent, so the crew can see the build order at a glance. Each marker also shows a status pill (blocked / ready / done) rolled up from its dependencies and linked tasks.
✨ Bill-of-Materials ledger
Every build has a Resources tab. Define what you need (Stone, Wood, Iron — whatever your game calls them), set quantities, optionally pin requirements to specific markers. Gatherers tap "Log" to record deposits as they bring stuff in. Progress bars roll up across the whole build and per marker.
✨ Custom squad titles
Each team has a list of role titles members can pick (default seed: Lead Architect, Terraformer, Builder, Redstone/Logic, Gatherer, Decorator). Team admins curate the preset list. Permissions stay on the existing project role; titles are pure display so squads can specialize without bureaucracy.
✨ User-defined board layers
Create layers per board for build phases, districts, or whatever axis matters. Assign markers to a layer in the manage panel. The canvas filter bar gets a "Build layers" chip group so you can hide/show whole groups of markers at once.
✨ World-grid overlay
Once a board is calibrated, set a grid cell size in world units (16 for Minecraft chunks, 100 for a 100m grid, etc) and the canvas overlays a grid aligned to your world. Origin offset lets you snap the grid to a known landmark.
✨ Realtime collaboration
Open a board in two browsers and you'll see live cursors with usernames as your squad mates move around. Markers, tasks, dependencies, and resource deposits update in realtime — no refresh needed.
✨ Dynamic Open Graph cards
When you share a public showcase URL in Discord, Twitter, or anywhere that fetches previews, viewers see a branded card with the build's title, game, contributors, and cover image — generated on the fly per build.
✨ Embeddable boards
Public builds have an /embed/boards/<id> URL you can drop into an <iframe> on a forum post or website. Read-only, no chrome, public anywhere your gatekeeper doesn't apply.
✨ Before/after snapshot slider
On the public showcase, pick any two snapshots and the page renders a draggable divider between them — perfect for showing the leap from "empty grass" to "finished castle".
✨ Discord slash commands
Invite the ChunkSquad bot to your Discord server. /cs status <slug> shows project progress, /cs board <slug> links to the showcase, /cs claim <task> assigns a task to your Discord identity, /cs done <task> marks it complete. Sign in to ChunkSquad with Discord once to link your account.
Click-to-place markers + drag-out zones
Hit Add marker, click anywhere on the map to drop a labeled pin. Hit Add zone, drag a rectangle to outline an area. Pick a color, type, and icon in the popover. Esc cancels.
Zoom, pan, and fit-to-screen
Scroll-wheel or pinch to zoom anchored at the cursor, drag empty space to pan, two-finger pan on touch. The Maximize button opens a full-screen view with auto-fit.
World coordinate calibration
Each board can be calibrated with two reference points (image %s + world x/z). Once calibrated, the cursor overlay shows live world coords and every marker displays its real (x, z). Works for Minecraft F3 coords, Valheim meters, Satisfactory foundations, etc.
Marker drawer
Click a marker to open a side panel with notes, attached screenshots, tags, path order, dependencies, linked tasks, resource requirements, and a discussion thread. Create tasks from the marker so they stay anchored to the spot.
Task assignment + due dates + marker linking
Tasks support assignee (any project member), due date, and a linked marker. The task card shows a clickable marker badge that deep-links into the board with the marker pre-selected.
Path / route lines
Give markers a Path order (1, 2, 3…) and the canvas draws a dashed cyan line connecting them — perfect for communicating build sequence. Separate from the amber dependency arrows.
Cross-board links
A marker on the overworld can deep-link to its detail board. A "See on [Other board]" card appears in the drawer so visitors hop between scales effortlessly.
Tags + layer filters
Tag markers (e.g. phase-1, redstone, needs-review). The canvas filter strip lets you toggle visibility by kind (text/icon/zone), by user-defined build layer, and by tag.
Build progress timeline
Drop episodic screenshots over time. The public showcase renders them as a horizontal episodes gallery, and a before/after slider lets viewers scrub between any two episodes.
Activity feed + notifications
Each build has a recent-activity stream (markers, tasks, comments, discussions, replies). A bell in the global nav lights up when someone replies to your thread, comments on your marker, or invites you to a build.
Presence
Open a build and an "N online now" indicator plus green dots show who else is currently working. Live cursors on the board layer on top of this — you actually see your crew mates' pointers move.
Discord webhook (outgoing)
Project Settings → Discord webhook. Paste a webhook URL and ChunkSquad pings your channel when markers are added or discussions are started. Complements the slash-command bot, which is a separate setup.
Themes
Palette icon in the top nav. Pick from Voxel Night (default), Daylight Build (light), Nether Forge (reds), Verdant Plains (greens), or Synthwave Grid.
Frequently asked
Is ChunkSquad affiliated with Minecraft / Mojang / Microsoft?
No. ChunkSquad is an independent collaborative planning tool. We don’t redistribute Minecraft assets, modify the game, or use copyrighted Minecraft branding. We’re an external planning surface that works great for Minecraft and other sandbox creators.
Do I have to play Minecraft to use ChunkSquad?
Not at all. The platform is for any sandbox / voxel / world-building game — Terraria, Valheim, Vintage Story, Hytale, Roblox creations, etc. Plus general-purpose visual planning if you want.
Is it free?
Yes for V1. We may add a supporter tier later for larger projects, more storage, or premium features. Core planning will stay free.
Who can see my build?
Private by default. Only members of the build can view it. Set visibility to public to publish a /p/<slug> showcase page that anyone can read; it’s indexed by search engines but only ever shows what the build’s members have chosen to upload.
How do I invite a teammate?
Open the build → Squad section → enter their @username → Add to squad. They’ll get a notification with an invite link; they join once they accept it. Advanced controls (role overrides, moderation) are hidden behind a per-member “Advanced” toggle so the squad list stays clean.
What kind of image should I upload as a board?
Anything top-down representing your build area: a BlueMap / Overviewer render, an F3 screenshot, a hand-drawn floor plan, or a schematic export. Bigger images zoom in better. JPG, PNG, WebP, or GIF. Board maps can be up to 25MB (they stay full-resolution so you can zoom in); other images are capped at 5MB. See the per-game suggestions at /help/get-a-map for the easiest path on your game.
How does Minecraft coordinate calibration actually work?
Find two known points on your map (e.g. spawn and a landmark). Note their image position as a percentage and their Minecraft (x, z) from F3. Enter both into the calibration form. The canvas then maps the entire image to world coords — your cursor’s live position shows in the overlay and every marker reports its real (x, z).
Can I work on multiple builds at once?
Yes. Builds are independent. Your dashboard surfaces the most recent build under “Pick up where you left off” and lists the rest below — searchable and filterable by tag.
Can I switch themes?
Yes. Palette icon in the top-right nav. Ten themes including three light modes. Your choice is saved in a cookie, so it applies on that browser (pick it again on a new device).
Does ChunkSquad track me with analytics?
We don't run third-party analytics. We keep only the operational counters needed to enforce limits (uploads, builds created). No third-party trackers, no ad-cookie auctions. Public showcase pages may eventually display non-intrusive sponsorship slots, never auto-play media or popups.
How do marker dependencies work?
Open a marker's drawer. Scroll to Dependencies → use the "Add a blocker" dropdown to mark another marker as a prerequisite. The board now renders a dashed amber arrow from the blocker to the dependent, and the dependent's status pill flips to "Blocked" until the blocker's tasks are all done. Status auto-rolls-up — no manual maintenance.
How does the bill-of-materials ledger work?
Open a build → Resources tab. Add a resource with a name and unit (Stone / blocks, Wood / stacks, etc). For each resource you can either set requirements at the build level ("need 10,000 cobblestone total") or pin them to a specific marker ("need 4,000 here for the wall"). Anyone with contributor access can tap Log to record what they gathered. Progress bars roll up. Per-marker requirements appear inside the marker drawer with a one-click deposit form.
Can I import a material list from Litematica?
Yes. Resources tab → "Paste a material list". Run the material list in Litematica (or any schematic mod), copy the whole thing, and paste it — the in-game table, the CSV export, and plain "Stone Bricks x2304" lines all parse. We read the first number on each row, which for Litematica is Total (what the build needs), not Missing (one player's inventory snapshot). Names match case-insensitively against resources the build already has, so importing a second schematic tops up existing lines instead of duplicating them. You can attach the whole import to one marker. Lines we can't read are counted and skipped — nothing else is touched.
Does the ledger show stacks, or just raw counts?
Both. On Minecraft builds every resource line reads "Still need 1,104 blocks (17 stacks + 16)" alongside the raw total, and big numbers break down into shulker boxes (27 stacks = 1,728 items) so you know how many to bring. Terraria uses its 999 stack size. Games without a stack concept just show the counts.
What are squad titles? Are they roles?
Titles are display labels (Lead Architect, Terraformer, etc) members can pick from a list curated by their team admins. They're not roles — permissions stay on the existing owner/admin/contributor/viewer enum. Titles just let crews signal who specializes in what without needing a permission system change.
How do board layers differ from the kind filter?
The kind filter (text / icon / zone) is built in and filters by the marker's type. Layers are user-defined groupings — Phase 1, Logistics, Decoration, whatever — and you assign markers to them in the manage panel. The two filters compose: hide "icon markers" AND only show layer "Phase 1" simultaneously.
What does the world grid do? When should I use it?
Once a board is calibrated, the grid overlays SVG gridlines aligned to your world's actual coordinate system. Use 16 for Minecraft chunks (so you can see chunk boundaries), 100 for an even 100m grid, 8 for Satisfactory foundations, etc. Useful for any build that needs to fit a specific grid (redstone alignment, chunk-loader placement, claim planning).
How do I embed a board on a forum or website?
Public builds expose /embed/boards/<board-id> as a read-only iframeable view. Find the URL by looking at your board's address bar; the board ID is the last path segment. Drop <iframe src="https://chunksquad.com/embed/boards/<id>" width="800" height="600" /> on any page. Only works for public builds — private boards can't be embedded.
How does the Discord bot work?
Invite the ChunkSquad bot to your Discord server (via the OAuth URL your admin generates). Then anyone in the server can run /cs status <slug> or /cs board <slug> for public builds. For /cs claim and /cs done (which actually modify your tasks), you need to have signed into ChunkSquad with Discord at least once so the bot knows which ChunkSquad account is yours.
Will my Discord identity stay linked if I sign in with email later?
Yes. The Discord linking writes a discord_user_id to your profile that persists regardless of how you sign in next time. Use any provider you have set up — they all land on the same account.
Can I use ChunkSquad on my phone?
Yes for reading. The board canvas works with pinch to zoom and two-finger pan, the kanban is single-column on mobile, and all the dashboard pages adapt. We expect most authoring (creating markers, setting up calibration) on desktop and most checking-in ("what am I assigned?", "is the wall done?") on mobile.
How do I delete my account or a build?
Account settings → Delete account. Builds have a Delete button at the bottom of Project Settings (admin only) — this permanently removes markers, tasks, comments, snapshots, resources, layers, and dependencies.
Discord integration
ChunkSquad ships a small Discord bot. A Discord server admin can install it with one click — it adds the /cs status, /cs board, /cs claim, and /cs done slash commands to that server.
The bot does not read messages — it only responds when someone explicitly types a /cs command. To link your ChunkSquad account to your Discord identity (required for /cs claim and /cs done), sign into ChunkSquad with Discord at least once.