d2

name	d2
description	Use this skill when the user wants to create diagrams from text — architecture diagrams, flowcharts, sequence diagrams, network topologies, or any technical diagram. Compile .d2 files to SVG, PNG, or PDF.

d2 Plugin

Declarative diagram scripting language. Write diagrams as simple text and render to SVG, PNG, or PDF.

Commands

Compile

• d2 compile svg input.d2 output.svg — Compile to SVG
• d2 compile svg input.d2 output.svg --theme 1 --layout elk — With theme and layout
• d2 compile png input.d2 output.png --scale 2 — Compile to PNG at 2x resolution
• d2 compile pdf input.d2 output.pdf — Compile to PDF

Watch

• d2 watch start input.d2 — Watch file and recompile on changes

Options

• --theme 0-6 — Theme selection (0: Default, 1: Dark, 3: Terminal, etc.)
• --layout dagre|elk|tala — Layout engine
• --pad 100 — Padding in pixels
• --scale 1 — Canvas scale factor
• --bundle — Embed dependency icons as base64 URIs

Full Access

• d2 _ _ — Passthrough for advanced options

Usage Examples

• "Turn this architecture description into a diagram"
• "Generate a flowchart from my d2 file"
• "Create a network topology diagram as PNG"
• "Watch a d2 file and auto-recompile when I edit it"
• "Render this sequence diagram with dark theme"

Installation

curl -fsSL https://d2lang.com/install.sh | sh -s --

Key Features

• Text-based: Diagrams are plain text, version-controllable
• Multiple outputs: SVG, PNG, PDF
• Themes: Built-in themes including dark mode
• Layout engines: dagre (default), elk, tala
• Watch mode: Hot reload on file changes
• Custom fonts: Embed TTF fonts
• Non-interactive: All operations are one-shot CLI commands

Example .d2 File

backend -> database: queries
backend -> cache: reads
client -> backend: HTTP