mmdflux

Render diagrams as Unicode text, ASCII text, SVG, or JSON. Supports Mermaid syntax.

mmdflux is built for diagram-as-code pipelines: fast rendering, terminal-friendly output, linting, and machine-readable graph data for tooling and agents.

Playground • Releases • MMDS Spec

At a glance

One Mermaid source, multiple outputs: terminal text, SVG, and machine-readable JSON.

Mermaid source (docs/assets/readme/at-a-glance.mmd)

graph TD
    subgraph sg1[Horizontal Section]
        direction LR
        A[Step 1] --> B[Step 2] --> C[Step 3]
    end
    Start --> A
    C --> End

SVG output (mmdflux --format svg --layout-engine flux-layered --curve linear-rounded ...)

Text output (mmdflux --format text ...)

 ┌───────┐
 │ Start │
 └───────┘
     │
     └─┐
       │
       │
       │
       │
       │
┌──────┼─ Horizontal Section ────────┐
│      ▼                             │
│ ┌────────┐  ┌────────┐  ┌────────┐ │
│ │ Step 1 │─►│ Step 2 │─►│ Step 3 │ │
│ └────────┘  └────────┘  └────────┘ │
│                     ┌────┘         │
└─────────────────────┼──────────────┘
                      │
                      │
                      │
                      │
                      │
                      │
                      ▼
                 ┌─────┐
                 │ End │
                 └─────┘

MMDS JSON output: docs/assets/readme/at-a-glance.mmds.json

Why mmdflux

Terminal-native output that still preserves structure and readability
SVG and MMDS JSON output for web tooling, automation, and data pipelines
Native flux-layered engine with deterministic routing policies
Compatibility mermaid-layered engine when Mermaid-style behavior is preferred

Flux Layered (Native Engine)

flux-layered is the default graph engine for flowchart/class SVG and MMDS output. It keeps the layered (Sugiyama) foundation but adds a native routing contract and policy-driven geometry decisions that are hard to get from layout-only engines.

What makes it distinct

Layered layout + routing are treated as one solve contract (not disconnected phases)
Rank-annotated waypoint metadata is preserved for downstream routing decisions
Float-space orthogonal routing with deterministic fan-in/fan-out overflow policies
Explicit backward-edge channel/face precedence rules
Per-node effective direction in subgraphs and cross-boundary routing behavior
Shape-aware attachment and clipping for non-rectangular nodes (for example, diamond/hexagon)
Self-edge loops are emitted as explicit multi-point orthogonal paths
The same graph model feeds text, SVG, and MMDS pipelines

Engine snapshot

Capability	`flux-layered`	`mermaid-layered`
Route ownership	Native	Hint-driven
Routing styles	`direct`, `orthogonal`, `polyline`	`polyline`
Default SVG behavior	Orthogonal topology + basis curve	Mermaid-compatible polyline defaults
Subgraph support	Yes	Yes
Best fit	Deterministic routed SVG/MMDS output	Mermaid-style compatibility output

Routing semantics note: --edge-preset straight now maps to direct routing (Direct + linear-sharp). Direct routing prefers a single segment when unobstructed, and falls back to node-avoidance geometry when a direct segment would cross node interiors. Use --edge-preset polyline for the old straight/passthrough behavior. Curve treatment is controlled independently via --curve basis|linear|linear-sharp|linear-rounded.

Install

Homebrew (recommended)

brew tap kevinswiber/mmdflux
brew install mmdflux

Cargo

cargo install mmdflux

Prebuilt binaries

Download platform binaries from GitHub Releases.

Quick Start

# Render a Mermaid file to text (default format)
mmdflux diagram.mmd

# Read Mermaid from stdin
printf 'graph LR\nA-->B\n' | mmdflux

# Text output (default)
mmdflux --format text diagram.mmd

# Disable ANSI color by default for styled text/ascii output
NO_COLOR=1 mmdflux --format text diagram.mmd

# Explicit CLI policy overrides NO_COLOR for a single invocation
NO_COLOR=1 mmdflux --format text --color always diagram.mmd

# SVG output (flowchart/class, defaults to smooth-step on flux-layered)
mmdflux --format svg diagram.mmd -o diagram.svg

# Native flux layered (default) SVG with smooth orthogonal corners
mmdflux --format svg --layout-engine flux-layered --edge-preset smooth-step diagram.mmd -o diagram.svg

# Native flux layered SVG with curved orthogonal basis paths
mmdflux --format svg --layout-engine flux-layered --edge-preset curved-step diagram.mmd -o diagram.svg

# SVG with explicit curve contract
mmdflux --format svg --layout-engine flux-layered --curve linear-rounded diagram.mmd -o diagram.svg

# MMDS JSON output with routed geometry detail
mmdflux --format mmds --layout-engine flux-layered --geometry-level routed --path-detail compact diagram.mmd

# Lint mode (validate input and print diagnostics)
mmdflux --lint diagram.mmd

What It Supports

Flowchart rendering in Unicode/ASCII/SVG/MMDS
Class diagram rendering in Unicode/ASCII/SVG/MMDS
Mermaid-to-MMDS and MMDS-to-Mermaid conversion
Layout directions: TD, BT, LR, RL
Edge styles: solid, dotted, thick, invisible, cross-arrow, circle-arrow
Engine selection: flux-layered, mermaid-layered (ELK engines available when built with engine-elk)

Documentation

Adapter Packages

@mmds/excalidraw — MMDS to Excalidraw .excalidraw JSON.
@mmds/tldraw — MMDS to tldraw .tldr JSON.

Adapter fidelity note: MMDS routed polylines can include many waypoints, while tldraw arrows use native arc/elbow models. The tldraw adapter preserves endpoints and label intent, then applies deterministic best-fit arrow geometry.

License

MIT

mmdflux 1.4.0