| name | Formatting Tables & Diagrams |
| description | Templates and patterns for tables, diagrams, trees, and visual markdown — loaded on demand when formatting artifacts. |
| source | catalog |
Skill: Formatting
Formatting standards, constraints, and reusable templates for AI Agents
when creating tables, diagrams, trees, and other visual markdown elements.
Applies to ALL artifacts: plans, backlogs, brainstorms, docs, session logs.
1. Markdown Tables
Constraints
| ID | Rule | Detail |
|---|
| C1 | Pad columns | All cells in the same column MUST have equal width |
| C2 | Cell width limit | Max ~50-60 characters per cell |
| C3 | Column count | 3-4 ideal, 5-6 max. More than 6 → restructure |
| C4 | Alignment | Left-align with :-- for readability |
| C5 | Long URLs | Use reference links [text][ref] for URLs > 40 ch |
Template — Data Table
Field | Type | Description
:--------------|:---------------|:----------------------------
`name` | string | Project name
`status` | enum | active, archived, completed
`ecosystem` | string \| null | Parent ecosystem slug
Template — Archived Items (Plan-based)
Group completed items by plan. Use reference links for file paths.
Plan | IDs
:--------------------------|:-----------------------------
`Initial MVP (v1.0)` | FT-01→05, BUG-01→03
[Migration Plan v2][ref1] | MG-01→08, BUG-10, BUG-11
[Hotfix Plan][ref2] | BUG-12
[ref1]: ../plans/done/migration-v2.md
[ref2]: ../plans/done/hotfix-login.md
Anti-patterns
<!-- WRONG: cell > 60 chars, pipes misaligned -->
| # | Task | Very long description that goes past eighty chars | Out |
|:--|:-----|:--------------------------------------------------|:----|
<!-- WRONG: inline URL bloats cell width -->
| [Some Long Plan Name](../plans/done/very-long-name.md) | IDs |
<!-- RIGHT: reference link keeps cell short -->
| [Some Long Plan Name][ref1] | IDs |
2. Box Diagrams
Constraints
- MUST use Unicode box-drawing characters (see table below)
- MUST NOT use plain ASCII (
+-|)
- MUST place inside
```text code blocks
- MUST NOT wrap the entire diagram in an outer border box. Use inner boxes for each component — outer frame causes alignment drift across renderers.
Character Reference
Corners: ┌ ┐ └ ┘
Lines: ─ │
Junctions: ├ ┤ ┬ ┴ ┼
Arrows: ▼ ▲ ► ◄ → ←
Double: ╔ ╗ ╚ ╝ ║ ═
Template — Hierarchy
┌─────────────────┐
│ Parent Box │
└───────┬─────────┘
│
┌───┼───┐
▼ ▼ ▼
┌─────┐ ┌─────┐ ┌─────┐
│ A │ │ B │ │ C │
└─────┘ └─────┘ └─────┘
Template — Stacked Layers
┌──────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Layer 3 — Description │
├──────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Layer 2 — Description │
├──────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Layer 1 — Description │
└──────────────────────────────────────┘
Template — Flow (Linear)
┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐ ┌──────────┐
│ Step 1 │────▶│ Step 2 │────▶│ Step 3 │
└──────────┘ └──────────┘ └──────────┘
Template — Flow (Branching)
┌──────────┐
┌───▶│ Path A │
┌────────┐ │ └──────────┘
│ Decide │─┤
└────────┘ │ ┌──────────┐
└───▶│ Path B │
└──────────┘
Template — Sequence Diagram
Client Server Database
│ │ │
│── request ────────▶│ │
│ │── query ──────────▶│
│ │◀── result ─────────│
│◀── response ───────│ │
3. Tree Listings
Constraints
- Use standard tree characters:
├── └── │
- Place inside
```text code blocks
- Directories end with
/
Template — Project Structure
project-slug/
├── project.md
├── repo/
│ ├── src/
│ └── package.json
├── sessions/
│ └── 2026-03-30.md
├── artifacts/
│ ├── tasks/
│ │ ├── backlog.md
│ │ ├── sprint-current.md
│ │ └── done.md
│ └── plans/
│ └── done/
└── docs/
4. Comparison Tables
Template — Options Comparison
Criteria | Option A | Option B | Option C
:-------------|:----------|:---------|:--------
**Cost** | $0 | $5/mo | $20/mo
**Effort** | 1 day | 3 days | 2 weeks
**Scale** | ~50 users | ∞ | ∞
**Self-host** | ❌ | ✅ | ✅
Template — Feature Matrix
Feature | v1.0 | v2.0 | Planned
:--------------|:-----|:-----|:-------
Auth modes | 1 | 3 | —
SSR | ❌ | ✅ | —
Multi-tenant | ❌ | ✅ | —
Plugin system | ❌ | ❌ | ✅
5. Status Icons
Standard icons for use across all artifacts:
✅ Yes / Done / Good ❌ No / Missing
🟡 Medium / Partial 🔴 High / Critical
🟢 Low / Good 📅 Planned
🚀 ToDo 🔄 In Progress
⏳ Pending 📊 Evaluated
Quick Checklist
Before finalizing any visual markdown element:
