draw-io-diagram-generator

name	draw-io-diagram-generator
description	Use when creating, editing, or generating draw.io diagram files (.drawio, .drawio.svg, .drawio.png). Covers mxGraph XML authoring, shape libraries, style strings, flowcharts, system architecture, sequence diagrams, ER diagrams, UML class diagrams, network topology, layout strategy, the hediet.vscode-drawio VS Code extension, and the full agent workflow from request to a ready-to-open file.
metadata	{"skill-author":"Marie-Lynne Block"}

Draw.io Diagram Generator

This skill enables you to generate, edit, and validate draw.io (.drawio) diagram files with correct mxGraph XML structure. All generated files open immediately in the Draw.io VS Code extension (hediet.vscode-drawio) without any manual fixes required. You can also open the files in the draw.io web app or desktop app if you prefer.

---

1. When to Use This Skill

Trigger phrases (load this skill when you see these)

• "create a diagram", "draw a flowchart", "generate an architecture diagram"
• "design a sequence diagram", "make a UML class diagram", "build an ER diagram"
• "add a .drawio file", "update the diagram", "visualise the flow"
• "document the architecture", "show the data model", "diagram the service interactions"
• Any request to produce or modify a .drawio, .drawio.svg, or .drawio.png file

Supported diagram types

Diagram Type	Template	Description
Flowchart	assets/templates/flowchart.drawio	Process flows with decisions and branches
System Architecture	assets/templates/architecture.drawio	Multi-tier / layered service architecture
Sequence Diagram	assets/templates/sequence.drawio	Actor lifelines and timed message flows
ER Diagram	assets/templates/er-diagram.drawio	Database tables with relationships
UML Class Diagram	assets/templates/uml-class.drawio	Classes, interfaces, enums, relationships
Network Topology	(use shape library)	Routers, servers, firewalls, subnets
BPMN Workflow	(use shape library)	Business process events, tasks, gateways
Mind Map	(manual)	Central topic with radiating branches

For 4+1 views: use the per-view .drawio skeletons from ../../templates/drawio/ (workflow-level) as your starting point instead of the generic templates above. Conventions for each view are in ../../references/notation-drawio.md.

---

2. Prerequisites

• If running with VS Code integration enabled, Install the drawio extension: draw.io VS Code extension — hediet.vscode-drawio (extension id). Install with:

  ext install hediet.vscode-drawio
  

• Supported file extensions: .drawio, .drawio.svg, .drawio.png
• Python 3.8+ (optional) — for the validation and shape-insertion scripts in scripts/

---

3. Step-by-Step Agent Workflow

Follow these steps in order for every diagram generation task.

Step 1 — Understand the Request

Ask or infer:

1. Diagram type — What kind of diagram? (flowchart, architecture, UML, ER, sequence, network...)
2. Entities / actors — What are the main components, actors, classes, or tables?
3. Relationships — How are they connected? What direction? What cardinality?
4. Output path — Where should the .drawio file be saved?
5. Existing file — Are we creating new or editing an existing file?

If the request is ambiguous, infer the most sensible diagram type from context (e.g. "show the tables" → ER diagram, "show how the API call flows" → sequence diagram).

Step 2 — Select a Template or Start Fresh

• Use a template when the diagram type matches one in assets/templates/ — copy the template and replace placeholder values. For 4+1 views, use the matching skeleton from ../../templates/drawio/ instead (see routing table in ../../references/notation-drawio.md).
• Start fresh for novel layouts. Begin with the minimal valid skeleton:

<!-- Set modified="" to the current ISO 8601 timestamp when generating a new file -->
<mxfile host="Electron" modified="" version="26.0.0">
  <diagram id="page-1" name="Page-1">
    <mxGraphModel dx="1422" dy="762" grid="1" gridSize="10" guides="1"
                  tooltips="1" connect="1" arrows="1" fold="1"
                  page="1" pageScale="1" pageWidth="1169" pageHeight="827"
                  math="0" shadow="0">
      <root>
        <mxCell id="0" />
        <mxCell id="1" parent="0" />
        <!-- Your cells go here -->
      </root>
    </mxGraphModel>
  </diagram>
</mxfile>

Rule: ids 0 and 1 are ALWAYS required and must be the first two cells. Never reuse them.

Step 3 — Plan the Layout

Before generating XML, sketch the logical placement:

• Organise into rows or tiers (use swimlanes for layers)
• Horizontal spacing: 40–60px between same-row shapes
• Vertical spacing: 80–120px between tier rows
• Standard shape size: 120x60 px for process boxes, 160x80 px for swimlanes
• Default canvas: A4 landscape = 1169 x 827 px

Step 4 — Generate the mxGraph XML

Vertex cell (every shape):

<mxCell id="unique-id" value="Label"
        style="rounded=1;whiteSpace=wrap;html=1;fillColor=#dae8fc;strokeColor=#6c8ebf;"
        vertex="1" parent="1">
  <mxGeometry x="100" y="100" width="120" height="60" as="geometry" />
</mxCell>

Edge cell (every connector):

<mxCell id="edge-id" value="Label (optional)"
        style="edgeStyle=orthogonalEdgeStyle;html=1;"
        edge="1" source="source-id" target="target-id" parent="1">
  <mxGeometry relative="1" as="geometry" />
</mxCell>

Critical rules:

• Every cell id must be globally unique within the file
• Every vertex must have an mxGeometry child with x, y, width, height, as="geometry"
• Every edge must have source and target matching existing vertex ids — exception: floating edges (e.g. sequence diagram lifelines) use sourcePoint/targetPoint inside <mxGeometry> instead; see §4 Sequence Diagram
• Every cell's parent must reference an existing cell id
• Use html=1 in style when the label contains HTML (<b>, <i>, <br>)
• Escape XML special characters in labels: & => &, < => <, > => >

Step 5 — Apply Correct Styles

Use the standard semantic color palette for consistency:

Purpose	fillColor	strokeColor
Primary / Info	#dae8fc	#6c8ebf
Success / Start	#d5e8d4	#82b366
Warning / Decision	#fff2cc	#d6b656
Error / End	#f8cecc	#b85450
Neutral	#f5f5f5	#666666
External / Partner	#e1d5e7	#9673a6

For BPMN workflow/process diagrams, map BPMN elements to the semantic palette using this override table:

BPMN element	fillColor	strokeColor
User task (primary/informational)	#dae8fc	#6c8ebf
Service task (success path)	#d5e8d4	#82b366
Gateway (warning/decision)	#fff2cc	#d6b656
Event (start/success)	#d5e8d4	#82b366
Event (end/error/alternate)	#f8cecc	#b85450

Use neutral pool/lane containers (#f5f5f5 / #666666) so BPMN element semantics remain clear.

Common style strings by diagram type:

# Rounded process box (flowchart)
rounded=1;whiteSpace=wrap;html=1;fillColor=#dae8fc;strokeColor=#6c8ebf;

# Decision diamond
rhombus;whiteSpace=wrap;html=1;fillColor=#fff2cc;strokeColor=#d6b656;

# Start/End terminal
ellipse;whiteSpace=wrap;html=1;fillColor=#d5e8d4;strokeColor=#82b366;

# Database cylinder
shape=mxgraph.flowchart.database;whiteSpace=wrap;html=1;fillColor=#f8cecc;strokeColor=#b85450;

# Swimlane container (tier)
swimlane;startSize=30;fillColor=#dae8fc;strokeColor=#6c8ebf;fontStyle=1;

# UML class box
swimlane;fontStyle=1;align=center;startSize=40;fillColor=#dae8fc;strokeColor=#6c8ebf;

# Interface / stereotype box
swimlane;fontStyle=3;align=center;startSize=40;fillColor=#f5f5f5;strokeColor=#666666;

# ER table container
shape=table;startSize=30;container=1;collapsible=1;childLayout=tableLayout;

# Orthogonal connector
edgeStyle=orthogonalEdgeStyle;html=1;

# ER relationship (crow's foot)
edgeStyle=entityRelationEdgeStyle;html=1;endArrow=ERmany;startArrow=ERone;

See references/style-reference.md for the complete style key catalog and references/shape-libraries.md for all shape library names.

Step 6 — Save and Validate

1. Write the file to the requested path with .drawio extension
2. Run the validator (optional but recommended):

python skills/draw-io-diagram-generator/scripts/validate-drawio.py <path-to-file.drawio>

3. **Tell the user** how to open the file:
> "Open `<filename>` in VS Code — it will render automatically with the draw.io extension. You can use draw.io's web app or desktop app as well if you prefer."
4. **Provide a brief description** of what is in the diagram so the user knows what to expect.

---

## 4. Diagram-Type Recipes

### Flowchart

Key elements: Start (ellipse) => Process (rounded rectangle) => Decision (diamond) => End (ellipse)

```xml
<!-- Start node -->
<mxCell id="start" value="Start"
     style="ellipse;whiteSpace=wrap;html=1;fillColor=#d5e8d4;strokeColor=#82b366;"
     vertex="1" parent="1">
<mxGeometry x="500" y="80" width="120" height="60" as="geometry" />
</mxCell>

<!-- Process -->
<mxCell id="p1" value="Process Step"
     style="rounded=1;whiteSpace=wrap;html=1;fillColor=#dae8fc;strokeColor=#6c8ebf;"
     vertex="1" parent="1">
<mxGeometry x="500" y="200" width="120" height="60" as="geometry" />
</mxCell>

<!-- Decision -->
<mxCell id="d1" value="Condition?"
     style="rhombus;whiteSpace=wrap;html=1;fillColor=#fff2cc;strokeColor=#d6b656;"
     vertex="1" parent="1">
<mxGeometry x="460" y="320" width="200" height="100" as="geometry" />
</mxCell>

<!-- Arrow: start to p1 -->
<mxCell id="e1" value=""
     style="edgeStyle=orthogonalEdgeStyle;html=1;"
     edge="1" source="start" target="p1" parent="1">
<mxGeometry relative="1" as="geometry" />
</mxCell>

Architecture Diagram (3-tier)

Use swimlane containers for each tier. All service boxes are children of their swimlane.

<!-- Tier swimlane -->
<mxCell id="tier1" value="Client Layer"
        style="swimlane;startSize=30;fillColor=#dae8fc;strokeColor=#6c8ebf;fontStyle=1;"
        vertex="1" parent="1">
  <mxGeometry x="60" y="100" width="1050" height="130" as="geometry" />
</mxCell>

<!-- Service inside tier (parent="tier1", coords are relative to tier) -->
<mxCell id="webapp" value="Web App"
        style="rounded=1;whiteSpace=wrap;html=1;fillColor=#dae8fc;strokeColor=#6c8ebf;"
        vertex="1" parent="tier1">
  <mxGeometry x="80" y="40" width="120" height="60" as="geometry" />
</mxCell>

Connectors between tiers use absolute coordinates with parent="1".

Sequence Diagram

Key elements: Actors (top), Lifelines (dashed vertical lines), Activation boxes, Message arrows.

• Lifelines: edge="1" with endArrow=none and dashed=1, no source/target — use sourcePoint/targetPoint in geometry
• Synchronous message: endArrow=block;endFill=1
• Return message: endArrow=open;endFill=0;dashed=1
• Self-call: loop the edge via two Array points to the right and back

Minimal XML snippet:

<!-- Actor (stick figure) -->
<mxCell id="actorA" value="Client"
        style="shape=mxgraph.uml.actor;pointerEvents=1;dashed=0;whiteSpace=wrap;html=1;aspect=fixed;"
        vertex="1" parent="1">
  <mxGeometry x="110" y="80" width="60" height="80" as="geometry" />
</mxCell>

<!-- Service box -->
<mxCell id="actorB" value="API Server"
        style="rounded=1;whiteSpace=wrap;html=1;fillColor=#fff2cc;strokeColor=#d6b656;"
        vertex="1" parent="1">
  <mxGeometry x="480" y="100" width="160" height="60" as="geometry" />
</mxCell>

<!-- Lifeline — floating edge: uses sourcePoint/targetPoint, NOT source/target attributes -->
<mxCell id="lifA" value=""
        style="edgeStyle=none;dashed=1;endArrow=none;"
        edge="1" parent="1">
  <mxGeometry relative="1" as="geometry">
    <mxPoint x="140" y="160" as="sourcePoint" />
    <mxPoint x="140" y="700" as="targetPoint" />
  </mxGeometry>
</mxCell>

<!-- Activation box (thin rectangle on lifeline) -->
<mxCell id="actA1" value=""
        style="fillColor=#dae8fc;strokeColor=#6c8ebf;"
        vertex="1" parent="1">
  <mxGeometry x="130" y="220" width="20" height="180" as="geometry" />
</mxCell>

<!-- Synchronous message -->
<mxCell id="msg1" value="POST /orders"
        style="edgeStyle=elbowEdgeStyle;elbow=vertical;html=1;endArrow=block;endFill=1;"
        edge="1" source="actA1" target="actorB" parent="1">
  <mxGeometry relative="1" as="geometry" />
</mxCell>

<!-- Return message (dashed) -->
<mxCell id="msg2" value="201 Created"
        style="edgeStyle=elbowEdgeStyle;elbow=vertical;dashed=1;html=1;endArrow=open;endFill=0;"
        edge="1" source="actorB" target="actA1" parent="1">
  <mxGeometry relative="1" as="geometry" />
</mxCell>

Note: Lifelines are floating edges that use sourcePoint/targetPoint in <mxGeometry> instead of source/target attributes. This is the standard draw.io pattern for sequence diagrams.

ER Diagram

Use shape=table containers with childLayout=tableLayout. Rows are shape=tableRow cells with portConstraint=eastwest. Columns inside each row are shape=partialRectangle.

Relationship arrows use edgeStyle=entityRelationEdgeStyle:

• One-to-One: startArrow=ERone;endArrow=ERone
• One-to-Many: startArrow=ERone;endArrow=ERmany
• Many-to-Many: startArrow=ERmany;endArrow=ERmany
• Mandatory: ERmandOne, Optional: ERzeroToOne

UML Class Diagram

Class boxes are swimlane containers. Attributes and methods are plain text cells. Dividers are zero-height swimlane children.

Arrow styles by relationship type:

Relationship	Style String
Inheritance (extends)	edgeStyle=orthogonalEdgeStyle;html=1;endArrow=block;endFill=0;
Realization (implements)	edgeStyle=orthogonalEdgeStyle;dashed=1;html=1;endArrow=block;endFill=0;
Composition	edgeStyle=orthogonalEdgeStyle;html=1;startArrow=diamond;startFill=1;endArrow=none;
Aggregation	edgeStyle=orthogonalEdgeStyle;html=1;startArrow=diamond;startFill=0;endArrow=none;
Dependency	edgeStyle=orthogonalEdgeStyle;dashed=1;html=1;endArrow=open;endFill=0;
Association	edgeStyle=orthogonalEdgeStyle;html=1;endArrow=open;endFill=0;

---

5. Multi-Page Diagrams

Add multiple <diagram> elements for complex systems:

<mxfile host="Electron" version="26.0.0">
  <diagram id="overview" name="Overview">
    <!-- overview mxGraphModel -->
  </diagram>
  <diagram id="detail" name="Detail View">
    <!-- detail mxGraphModel -->
  </diagram>
</mxfile>

Each page has its own independent cell id namespace. The same id value can appear in different pages without conflict.

---

6. Editing Existing Diagrams

When modifying an existing .drawio file:

1. Read the file first to understand existing cell ids, positions, and parent hierarchy
2. Identify the target diagram page — by index or name attribute
3. Assign new unique ids that do not collide with existing ids
4. Respect the container hierarchy — children of a swimlane use coordinates relative to their parent
5. Verify edges — after repositioning nodes, confirm edge source/target ids remain valid

Use scripts/add-shape.py to safely add a single shape without editing raw XML:

python skills/draw-io-diagram-generator/scripts/add-shape.py docs/arch.drawio "New Service" 700 380

---

7. Best Practices

Layout

• Align shapes to the 10px grid (all coordinates divisible by 10)
• Group related shapes inside swimlane containers
• One diagram topic per page; use multi-page files for complex systems
• Aim for 40 or fewer cells per page for readability

Labels

• Add a title text cell (text;strokeColor=none;fillColor=none;fontSize=18;fontStyle=1) at top of every page
• Always set whiteSpace=wrap;html=1 on vertex shapes
• Keep labels concise — 3 words or fewer per shape where possible

Style consistency

• Use the semantic color palette from Section 3 Step 5 consistently across a project
• Prefer edgeStyle=orthogonalEdgeStyle for clean right-angle connectors
• Do not inline arbitrary HTML in labels unless necessary

File naming

• Use kebab-case: order-service-flow.drawio, database-schema.drawio
• Place diagrams alongside the code they document: docs/ or architecture/

---

8. Troubleshooting

Problem	Likely Cause	Fix
File opens blank in VS Code	Missing id=0 or id=1 cell	Add both root cells before any other cells
Shape at wrong position	Child inside container — coords are relative	Check parent; adjust x/y relative to container
Edge not visible	source or target id does not match any vertex	Verify both ids exist exactly as written
Diagram shows "Compressed"	mxGraphModel is base64-encoded	Open in draw.io web, File > Export > XML (uncompressed)
Shape style not rendering	Typo in shape= name	Check references/shape-libraries.md for exact style string
Label shows escaped HTML	html=0 on a cell with HTML label	Add html=1; to the cell style
Container children overlap container edge	Container height too small	Increase container height in mxGeometry

---

9. Validation Checklist

Before delivering any generated .drawio file, verify:

• File starts with <mxfile> root element
• Every <diagram> has a non-empty id attribute
• <mxCell id="0" /> is the first cell in every diagram
• <mxCell id="1" parent="0" /> is the second cell in every diagram
• All cell id values are unique within each diagram
• Every vertex cell has vertex="1" and a child <mxGeometry as="geometry">
• Every edge cell has edge="1" and either: (a) source/target pointing to existing vertex ids, or (b) <mxPoint as="sourcePoint"> and <mxPoint as="targetPoint"> in its <mxGeometry> (floating edge — used for sequence diagram lifelines)
• Every cell (except id=0) has a parent pointing to an existing id
• html=1 is in the style for any label containing HTML tags
• XML is well-formed (no unclosed tags, no unescaped &, <, > in attribute values)
• A title label cell exists at the top of each page

Run the automated validator:

python skills/draw-io-diagram-generator/scripts/validate-drawio.py <file.drawio>

---

10. Output Format

When delivering a diagram, always provide:

1. The .drawio file written to the requested path
2. A one-sentence summary of what the diagram shows
3. How to open it:

   "Open <filename> in VS Code — the draw.io extension will render it automatically. Or you can open it in the draw.io web app or desktop app if you prefer."

4. How to edit it (if the user is likely to customise):

   "Click any shape to select it. Double-click to edit the label. Drag to reposition."

5. Validation status — whether the validator script was run and passed

---

11. References

All companion files are in skills/draw-io-diagram-generator/ (relative to the workflow root):

File	Contents
references/drawio-xml-schema.md	Complete mxfile / mxGraphModel / mxCell attribute reference, coordinate system, reserved cells, validation rules
references/style-reference.md	All style keys with allowed values, vertex and edge style keys, shape catalog, semantic color palette
references/shape-libraries.md	All shape library categories (General, Flowchart, UML, ER, Network, BPMN, Mockup, K8s) with style strings
assets/templates/	Ready-to-use .drawio templates per generic diagram type
scripts/validate-drawio.py	Python script to validate XML structure of any .drawio file
scripts/add-shape.py	Python CLI to add a new shape to an existing diagram
scripts/README.md	How to use the scripts with examples

4+1-specific resources (workflow-level, not inside this skill folder):

File	Contents
../../templates/drawio/	Eight per-view .drawio skeletons (logical, process×2, development, physical×3, scenarios)
../../references/notation-drawio.md	Per-view draw.io conventions: skeleton routing, palette, shape libraries, layout discipline