code-to-diagram

name	code-to-diagram
description	Analyze codebases and automatically generate architecture diagrams, flowcharts, and org charts. Uses AST parsing to map import dependencies for Python, JS/TS, Go, and Java, outputting Mermaid or SVG files.
license	MIT
type	tool
tags	["visualization","architecture","mermaid","ast","diagram"]

Code to Diagram

Extract import and dependency relationships from a codebase via AST parsing, and automatically generate three types of diagrams:

1. Architecture Diagram — Module/directory-level dependency relationships
2. Flowchart — File-level import call chains
3. Org Chart — Directory/file hierarchy structure

Supported languages: Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, Go, Java

Output formats: Mermaid text (.mmd) or SVG images (requires mmdc installed on the system)

Usage

Basic: Analyze an Entire Project

python3 scripts/analyze_codebase.py /path/to/project

Outputs three Mermaid diagrams to stdout and writes .mmd files to the current directory.

Specify Diagram Type

# Architecture diagram only
python3 scripts/analyze_codebase.py /path/to/project --type architecture

# Flowchart only
python3 scripts/analyze_codebase.py /path/to/project --type flowchart

# Org chart only
python3 scripts/analyze_codebase.py /path/to/project --type org

Specify Output Directory and Format

# Output to a specific directory
python3 scripts/analyze_codebase.py /path/to/project --output /tmp/diagrams

# Output as SVG (requires mmdc)
python3 scripts/analyze_codebase.py /path/to/project --format svg

# Output both Mermaid and SVG
python3 scripts/analyze_codebase.py /path/to/project --format both

Output JSON Analysis Results

python3 scripts/analyze_codebase.py /path/to/project --json

Parameters

Parameter	Description
directory	Code directory to analyze (required)
--type, -t	Diagram type: architecture, flowchart, org, all (default: all)
--output, -o	Output directory (default: current directory)
--format, -f	Output format: mermaid, svg, both (default: mermaid)
--max-files	Maximum number of files to scan (default: 500)
--max-depth	Maximum depth for org chart (default: 4)
--json	Output analysis results in JSON format

How It Works

1. Scan phase: Recursively traverse the directory, skipping node_modules, .git, __pycache__, etc.
2. Parse phase:
   • Python files: uses the ast module to parse import and from ... import statements
   • JS/TS files: uses regex to match import, require, and export from
   • Go files: uses regex to match import statements
   • Java files: uses regex to match import statements
3. Resolve internal dependencies: Maps import paths to actual files within the project
4. Generate diagrams: Converts dependency relationships into Mermaid diagram syntax
5. Render (optional): Calls mmdc (Mermaid CLI) to render .mmd files as SVG

Use Cases

• Quickly understand the module structure of an unfamiliar project
• Visualize dependencies during code review
• Create architecture diagrams for technical documentation
• Detect circular dependencies or excessive coupling
• Analyze project structure before refactoring

Dependencies

• Python 3.7+ (standard library only, no extra packages needed)
• SVG output requires @mermaid-js/mermaid-cli (optional)

Notes

• Only analyzes static import relationships; dynamic imports are not tracked
• For large projects, use --max-files to limit the scan scope
• Mermaid diagrams with too many nodes may be hard to render; use --type to generate diagrams separately

Activation Triggers

Triggered when users ask to visualize code architecture, understand dependencies, draw a flowchart, or create a module diagram from source code.