Structure Drawing
Bond types
ChemStitch supports all standard bond types for chemical structure drawing: single, double, triple, wedge (stereo up), and dash (stereo down) bonds.
Switch bond types using the toolbar or keyboard shortcuts: 1 for single, 2 for double, 3 for triple bonds.
Atom labels
Click on any atom to edit its label. All common elements are supported. The editor validates atom labels and flags valence errors — for example, a carbon with five single bonds.
Ring and functional group templates
Open the template panel to browse ring systems and functional groups. Templates are organized into categories: Rings, Functional Groups, and Common Molecules.
Use the search field to find templates by name. Each template shows a preview before placement. Press R to quickly open the ring template selector.
Keyboard shortcuts
ChemStitch is designed for keyboard-driven workflow. Key shortcuts include:
- • 1 / 2 / 3 — Single / double / triple bond
- • R — Ring templates
- • Tab — Toggle focus between canvas and chat
- • Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Y — Undo / redo
- • ? — Show all shortcuts
See the full reference in the Keyboard Shortcuts section of these docs.
Auto-cleanup
Click the clean button in the toolbar (or use the keyboard shortcut) to automatically reformat your structure into a clean 2D layout. This adjusts bond angles, atom spacing, and ring geometry without changing the molecular identity.
Quick-start molecules
New to ChemStitch? Start with a pre-built molecule. The editor offers quick-start templates for benzene, aspirin, and caffeine — click one to load it onto the canvas and start exploring.