Language reference
Language reference
Every word the diagram language accepts: kinds, node types, groups, arrows, tones, icons, limits, and diagnostic codes. Each topic has its own page, so a reader or an agent loads only what the task needs.
TL;DR
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What starts a diagram? | A header line naming the kind and a quoted title: flow "Title", sequence "Title", schema "Title", git "Title", gantt "Title", class "Title", state "Title", timeline "Title", journey "Title", mindmap "Title", treemap "Title", pie "Title", quadrant "Title", layers "Title", c4 "Title", matrix "Title", sankey "Title", xychart "Title", tree "Title", swimlane "Title". |
| Who picks colors? | The theme. Authors choose a type or a tone (neutral, blue, violet, aqua, orange, green, amber, red), never a color value. |
| How many icons are bundled? | 2283, in 12 sets. Use search_icons or map_icons to find names. |
| How big can a diagram be? | 50000 characters of source. Quality warnings start at 15 flow nodes (one more for each group, up to 25), 6 tables, 6 actors, 40 git graph commits, 7 git graph branches, 40 Gantt chart tasks and milestones, 12 class diagram classes, 12 class diagram members in one class, 15 state states, 3 state composite nesting, 12 timeline periods on a horizontal rail, 24 timeline periods on a vertical rail, 5 timeline events in one period, 48 timeline events, 16 user journey tasks, 8 user journey actors, 40 mind map topics, 8 mind map branches, 4 mind map levels, 9 mind map topics under one topic, 80 treemap treemap items, 6 share chart slices, 3 share chart points between slices, 40 quadrant chart points, 8 layered architecture blocks in a layer, 12 C4 diagram elements, 20 matrix rows, 12 matrix columns, 30 matrix items, 8 Sankey diagram sankey columns, 6 XY chart series, 60 XY chart places, 60 tree tree rows, 8 swimlane lanes, or 40 swimlane steps. |
| Where do I start for a common architecture? | From a pattern: find_pattern ranks ready-made, checked diagrams for a request, and get_pattern or draw_from_pattern fills one. See the architecture patterns guide. |
| How do I draw a cloud architecture? | Give every group a type=, set provider= on the header, and give every service a provider icon found with search_icons. See the cloud architecture guide. |
| What happens on a mistake? | Every error carries a line, a column, and a hint, and all of them are reported in one pass. |
Pages
| Page | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Diagram kinds and settings | The twenty kinds of diagram with an example of each, and the settings a diagram accepts: tones, directions, themes, sequence frames, and schema column flags. |
| Flow node types | Every type a flow node can take, with its shape, default tone and icon, the technology marks a node can carry, and the mark of a planned change. |
| Groups and overlays | How a group frames nodes and nested groups, the options it takes, and how an overlay draws a frame around members that layout placed apart. |
| Group types | Every group type with its frame style and tone, the icon each draws for each provider, and a complete cloud architecture diagram. |
| Arrows and edge labels | The arrow tokens, the labels and icons an edge can carry, the level edge that keeps mirrored columns side by side, and the options that animate a line, number the steps, or color a line by what it carries. |
| Icon sets and status icons | The icon sets a diagram can draw from, how a provider product is written, and the status icons that keep their own color. |
| Limits and quality checks | How large a diagram may be, the quality warnings that fire past the density limits, and the two suggestions that name an icon or a group type to add. |
| Diagnostic codes | Every error and warning code with its severity and name, and how to read one. |
See also
| Doc | Why |
|---|---|
| Writing diagrams | The language by example, kind by kind |
| Cloud architecture | Typed groups, provider icons, and how to map a product name to an icon |
| Architecture patterns | Ready-made, checked diagrams to start from, each with slots to rename |
| Diagrams in Markdown and on GitHub | How a fence becomes a picture |
| Icon reference | Every bundled icon and how to find one |
| Tool reference | The same checks as callable tools |
| API reference | The same checks over HTTP |