excalidraw

name	excalidraw
description	Generate Excalidraw JSON format diagrams for documentation, architecture diagrams, flowcharts, entity relationships, and visual explanations. Use when users request Excalidraw diagrams, .excalidraw files, visual diagrams for docs, architecture visualizations, flowcharts, or when converting ASCII art/placeholder diagrams to proper Excalidraw format.

Excalidraw Diagram Generator

Generate valid Excalidraw JSON for diagrams that can be opened in Excalidraw, embedded in documentation, or used in Obsidian.

JSON Schema Structure

{
  "type": "excalidraw",
  "version": 2,
  "source": "https://excalidraw.com",
  "elements": [],
  "appState": {
    "gridSize": 20,
    "viewBackgroundColor": "#ffffff"
  },
  "files": {}
}

Element Types

Base Properties (all elements)

{
  "id": "unique-id",
  "type": "rectangle|ellipse|diamond|text|arrow|line",
  "x": 0,
  "y": 0,
  "width": 100,
  "height": 50,
  "angle": 0,
  "strokeColor": "#1e1e1e",
  "backgroundColor": "transparent",
  "fillStyle": "solid",
  "strokeWidth": 2,
  "strokeStyle": "solid",
  "roughness": 1,
  "opacity": 100,
  "seed": 
   
   
   
   
      
   

Shape Elements: rectangle, ellipse, diamond

Use for boxes, containers, nodes. Diamond for decision points.

Text Elements

{
  "type": "text",
  "text": "Label",
  "fontSize": 20,
  "fontFamily": 1,
  "textAlign": "center",
  "verticalAlign": "middle",
  "containerId": null
}

fontFamily: 1=Virgil (hand-drawn), 2=Helvetica, 3=Cascadia (code)

Linear Elements: arrow, line

{
  "type": "arrow",
  "points": [[0, 0], [100, 0]],
  "startBinding": null,
  "endBinding": null,
  "startArrowhead": null,
  "endArrowhead": "arrow"
}

startArrowhead/endArrowhead: null, "arrow", "bar", "dot", "triangle"

Binding Arrows to Shapes

To connect arrows to shapes, use bindings:

{
  "startBinding": {
    "elementId": "target-shape-id",
    "focus": 0,
    "gap": 5
  },
  "endBinding": {
    "elementId": "target-shape-id",
    "focus": 0,
    "gap": 5
  }
}

When binding, add boundElements to the target shape:

{
  "boundElements": [
    { "id": "arrow-id", "type": "arrow" }
  ]
}

Style Values

Property	Values
fillStyle	"solid", "hachure", "cross-hatch"
strokeStyle	"solid", "dashed", "dotted"
roughness	0 (architect), 1 (artist), 2 (cartoonist)
roundness.type	2 (small radius), 3 (adaptive radius)

Color Palette

Stroke: #1e1e1e (black), #e03131 (red), #2f9e44 (green), #1971c2 (blue)
Background: transparent, #ffc9c9 (light red), #b2f2bb (light green), 
            #a5d8ff (light blue), #ffec99 (light yellow), #d0bfff (light purple)

Generation Workflow

1. Plan layout: Sketch positions on a grid (increments of 50-100px)
2. Create shapes first: Generate all boxes/nodes with unique IDs
3. Add text: Create text elements, optionally bound to containers
4. Add connections: Create arrows with bindings to shape IDs
5. Update boundElements: Add arrow references to connected shapes

ID Generation

Use descriptive IDs: "memory-client-box", "arrow-client-to-store", "label-extraction"

Common Patterns

Architecture Box with Label

[
  {
    "id": "box-1",
    "type": "rectangle",
    "x": 100, "y": 100,
    "width": 200, "height": 80,
    "strokeColor": "#1e1e1e",
    "backgroundColor": "#a5d8ff",
    "fillStyle": "solid",
    "boundElements": [{ "id": "text-1", "type": "text" }]
  },
  {
    "id": "text-1",
    "type": 
       
     
     
     
     
  

Connected Flowchart

See references/examples.md for complete flowchart and architecture examples.

Output

Save as .excalidraw file (JSON with .excalidraw extension). Present to user for download.

Replacing ASCII Placeholder Diagrams

When converting asciidoc placeholder diagrams like:

+------------------+
|   Component      |
+------------------+

Map to proper Excalidraw elements with appropriate sizing, colors, and connections.

Documentation Diagram Workflow

This project uses a structured workflow for managing documentation diagrams:

Finding Placeholders

Placeholder diagrams in AsciiDoc files use this pattern:

.Diagram Title
[cols="1", options="header"]
|===
| [DIAGRAM PLACEHOLDER: Diagram Name]

a|
[source,text]
----
ASCII art representation here
----
|===

Using the Management Script

# List all placeholder diagrams
make docs-diagrams-list

# Show status (which have Excalidraw files)
make docs-diagrams-status

# Show only missing diagrams
make docs-diagrams-missing

# Add image references after generating diagrams
make docs-diagrams-add-refs

File Locations

• Excalidraw JSON: docs/assets/images/diagrams/excalidraw/{slug}.excalidraw
• Exported PNG: docs/assets/images/diagrams/{slug}.png
• Management script: scripts/manage_diagrams.py

Generating a Diagram

1. Run make docs-diagrams-missing to see what's needed
2. Read the ASCII art from the placeholder table
3. Generate Excalidraw JSON following this skill's patterns
4. Save to docs/assets/images/diagrams/excalidraw/{slug}.excalidraw
5. Export to PNG using Excalidraw (https://excalidraw.com)
6. Run make docs-diagrams-add-refs to update AsciiDoc files

Diagram Style Guidelines for This Project

• Memory types: Use distinct colors per memory type

  • Short-Term: Green (#b2f2bb / #2f9e44)
  • Long-Term: Yellow (#ffec99 / #f08c00)
  • Reasoning: Purple (#d0bfff / #9c36b5)
  • Neo4j/Storage: Blue (#a5d8ff / #1971c2)

• Pipeline stages: Use vertical flow with colored boxes

• Graph schemas: Use ellipses for nodes, labeled arrows for relationships

• Architecture: Use rectangles with hierarchy (top-level → components → storage)