Drawing diagrams with a mouse is tedious and fragile, move one box and the whole layout breaks. Mermaid flips the script: write your diagram as simple text and it renders a perfectly formatted flowchart, sequence diagram, Gantt chart, or architecture map. With AI integration, you can now generate those diagrams from a plain-English description.
Main Features
- Diagram-as-Code: Define flowcharts, sequence diagrams, class diagrams, state diagrams, Gantt charts, pie charts, ER diagrams, and more using clean text syntax that's easy to version in Git.
- Live Editor: Type on the left, see the rendered diagram on the right in real time. Paste a shareable link or export as SVG, PNG, or Markdown for your docs.
- AI-Powered Generation: Describe your architecture or workflow in natural language and AI generates the Mermaid syntax for you. No need to memorise arrow types or bracket rules.
- GitHub Native Rendering: Mermaid diagrams render natively in GitHub markdown files, issues, PRs, and wikis. No image uploads, no broken links, no outdated screenshots.
- 12+ Diagram Types: Flowcharts, sequences, Gantt charts, class diagrams, git graphs, ER diagrams, user journeys, quadrant charts, mind maps, timelines, block diagrams, and more.
- Theming and Styling: Apply built-in themes or custom CSS to match your brand. Dark mode, accessible colour palettes, and configurable fonts come standard.
- Extensible and Open Source: Integrate Mermaid into your own app, docs site, or CI pipeline via JavaScript API. Plugins for VS Code, Obsidian, Notion, and 50+ tools.
- Interactive Output: Generated diagrams support clickable nodes, hyperlinks, and tooltips. Turn a static architecture map into a navigable system overview.
Who Should Use It?
- Software Developers: Document architecture, API flows, and database schemas in markdown files that automatically render everywhere, no image exports needed.
- Technical Writers: Build and maintain documentation diagrams that live in version control and update with the codebase. No more stale PNGs from two sprints ago.
- Product Managers: Map user flows, system interactions, and project timelines with text that anyone on the team can read, update, and review in a PR.
- DevOps Engineers: Visualise CI/CD pipelines, infrastructure topologies, and deployment sequences. Gantt charts auto-adjust as milestones shift.
- Engineering Managers: Create roadmap timelines and team structures that live in the repo wiki. No special software, no export-requests for PDFs.
- Students and Researchers: Diagram algorithms, data structures, and research workflows directly in markdown notes. Perfect for Obsidian or GitHub Pages portfolios.
- Anyone Writing Docs: If you've ever taken a screenshot of a diagram, uploaded it to a wiki, and had it break when you reorganised folders, Mermaid fixes that permanently.