| name | tikz-flowchart |
| description | Create publication-quality TikZ/LaTeX flowcharts, architecture diagrams, and schematic figures. Use when the user asks to create a diagram, flowchart, schematic, figure with boxes and arrows, or architecture diagram for a paper or writeup. Trigger words: "diagram", "flowchart", "figure", "schematic", "TikZ", "tikz", "boxes and arrows", "architecture diagram".
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TikZ Flowchart Skill
Create publication-quality flowcharts and schematic diagrams using TikZ/LaTeX.
Workflow
- Start from
assets/template.tex -- copy to target location and customize
- Read
references/gotchas.md before writing any TikZ code (critical pitfalls)
- Compile with
pdflatex -interaction=nonstopmode <file>.tex
- Inspect the PDF output with the available PDF or image-viewing tools, iterate
Quick patterns
Node with title + sublabels
\newcommand{\sub}[1]{\fontsize{7}{9}\selectfont\sffamily\color{sublabel}#1}
\node[mystyle] (id) at (x,y) {\textbf{Title}\\\sub{line 1}\\\sub{line 2}};
CRITICAL: Never wrap multiline \\ content in braces. See references/gotchas.md.
Forward arrow
\draw[arr] (nodeA) -- (nodeB);
Loop-back arrow (underneath)
\draw[arr, rounded corners=8pt]
([yshift=-2pt]B.south) -- ++(0,-0.9) -| ([yshift=-2pt]A.south);
Self-loop
\draw[arr, rounded corners=8pt]
([xshift=5pt]N.south) -- ++(0,-0.9) -| ([xshift=-5pt]N.south);
Multi-panel
\begin{scope}[shift={(13,0)}, local bounding box=panelB]
% nodes and arrows
\end{scope}
\node[font=\bfseries\large] at ($(panelB.north)+(0,0.35)$) {(b) Title};
Dashed boundary (background)
\begin{scope}[on background layer]
\node[draw=black!30, dashed, rounded corners=8pt, inner sep=10pt,
line width=0.8pt, fit=(nodeA)] (box) {};
\end{scope}
Page sizing
No standalone on BasicTeX. Use:
\documentclass{article}
\usepackage[paperwidth=Wcm,paperheight=Hcm,margin=0.4cm]{geometry}
\pagestyle{empty}
Set paperwidth/paperheight to fit content with minimal whitespace.
Color scheme convention
Define fill + border pairs for each semantic category:
\definecolor{catA}{RGB}{210,228,248} % fill
\definecolor{catAline}{RGB}{90,135,195} % border
Use soft pastels for fills, deeper saturated versions for borders.
