draw-io

Original🇺🇸 English
Translated
2 scripts

draw.io diagram creation, editing, and review. Use for .drawio XML editing, PNG conversion, layout adjustment, and AWS icon usage.

2installs
Added on

NPX Install

npx skill4agent add davila7/claude-code-templates draw-io

Tags

Translated version includes tags in frontmatter

draw.io Diagram Skill

1. Basic Rules

  • Edit only
    .drawio
    files
  • Do not directly edit
    .drawio.png
    files
  • Use auto-generated
    .drawio.png
    by pre-commit hook in slides

2. Font Settings

For diagrams used in Quarto slides, specify
defaultFontFamily
in mxGraphModel tag:
xml
<mxGraphModel defaultFontFamily="Noto Sans JP" ...>
Also explicitly specify
fontFamily
in each text element's style attribute:
xml
style="text;html=1;fontSize=27;fontFamily=Noto Sans JP;"

3. Conversion Commands

See conversion script at scripts/convert-drawio-to-png.sh.
sh
# Convert all .drawio files
mise exec -- pre-commit run --all-files

# Convert specific .drawio file
mise exec -- pre-commit run convert-drawio-to-png --files assets/my-diagram.drawio

# Run script directly (using skill's script)
bash ~/.claude/skills/draw-io/scripts/convert-drawio-to-png.sh assets/diagram1.drawio
Internal command used:
sh
drawio -x -f png -s 2 -t -o output.drawio.png input.drawio
OptionDescription
-x
Export mode
-f png
PNG format output
-s 2
2x scale (high resolution)
-t
Transparent background
-o
Output file path

4. Layout Adjustment

4.1. Coordinate Adjustment Steps

  1. Open
    .drawio
    file in text editor (plain XML format)
  2. Find
    mxCell
    for element to adjust (search by
    value
    attribute for text)
  3. Adjust coordinates in
    mxGeometry
    tag
    • x
      : Position from left
    • y
      : Position from top
    • width
      : Width
    • height
      : Height
  4. Run conversion and verify

4.2. Coordinate Calculation

  • Element center coordinate =
    y + (height / 2)
  • To align multiple elements, calculate and match center coordinates

5. Design Principles

5.1. Basic Principles

  • Clarity: Create simple, visually clean diagrams
  • Consistency: Unify colors, fonts, icon sizes, line thickness
  • Accuracy: Do not sacrifice accuracy for simplification

5.2. Element Rules

  • Label all elements
  • Use arrows to indicate direction (prefer 2 unidirectional arrows over bidirectional)
  • Use latest official icons
  • Add legend to explain custom symbols

5.3. Accessibility

  • Ensure sufficient color contrast
  • Use patterns in addition to colors

5.4. Progressive Disclosure

Separate complex systems into staged diagrams:
Diagram TypePurpose
Context DiagramSystem overview from external perspective
System DiagramMain components and relationships
Component DiagramTechnical details and integration points
Deployment DiagramInfrastructure configuration
Data Flow DiagramData flow and transformation
Sequence DiagramTime-series interactions

5.5. Metadata

Include title, description, last updated, author, and version in diagrams.

6. Best Practices

6.1. Background Color

  • Remove
    background="#ffffff"
  • Transparent background adapts to various themes

6.2. Font Size

  • Use 1.5x standard font size (around 18px) for PDF readability

6.3. Japanese Text Width

  • Allow 30-40px per character
  • Insufficient width causes unintended line breaks
xml
<!-- For 10-character text, allow 300-400px -->
<mxGeometry x="140" y="60" width="400" height="40" />

6.4. Arrow Placement

  • Always place arrows at back (position in XML right after Title)
  • Position arrows to avoid overlapping with labels
  • Keep arrow start/end at least 20px from label bottom edge
xml
<!-- Title -->
<mxCell id="title" value="..." .../>

<!-- Arrows (back layer) -->
<mxCell id="arrow1" style="edgeStyle=..." .../>

<!-- Other elements (front layer) -->
<mxCell id="box1" .../>

6.5. Arrow Connection to Text Labels

For text elements, exitX/exitY don't work, so use explicit coordinates:
xml
<!-- Good: Explicit coordinates with sourcePoint/targetPoint -->
<mxCell id="arrow" style="..." edge="1" parent="1">
  <mxGeometry relative="1" as="geometry">
    <mxPoint x="1279" y="500" as="sourcePoint"/>
    <mxPoint x="119" y="500" as="targetPoint"/>
    <Array as="points">
      <mxPoint x="1279" y="560"/>
      <mxPoint x="119" y="560"/>
    </Array>
  </mxGeometry>
</mxCell>

6.6. edgeLabel Offset Adjustment

Adjust offset attribute to distance arrow labels from arrows:
xml
<!-- Place above arrow (negative value to distance) -->
<mxPoint x="0" y="-40" as="offset"/>

<!-- Place below arrow (positive value to distance) -->
<mxPoint x="0" y="40" as="offset"/>

6.7. Remove Unnecessary Elements

  • Remove decorative icons irrelevant to context
  • Example: If ECR exists, separate Docker icon is unnecessary

6.8. Labels and Headings

  • Service name only: 1 line
  • Service name + supplementary info: 2 lines with line break
  • Redundant notation (e.g., ECR Container Registry): shorten to 1 line
  • Use
    &lt;br&gt;
    tag for line breaks

6.9. Background Frame and Internal Element Placement

When placing elements inside background frames (grouping boxes), ensure sufficient margin.
  • YOU MUST: Internal elements must have at least 30px margin from frame boundary
  • YOU MUST: Account for rounded corners (
    rounded=1
    ) and stroke width
  • YOU MUST: Always visually verify PNG output for overflow
Coordinate calculation verification:
text
Background frame: y=20, height=400 -> range is y=20-420
Internal element top: frame y + 30 or more (e.g., y=50)
Internal element bottom: frame y + height - 30 or less (e.g., up to y=390)
Bad example (may overflow):
xml
<!-- Background frame -->
<mxCell id="bg" style="rounded=1;strokeWidth=3;...">
  <mxGeometry x="500" y="20" width="560" height="400" />
</mxCell>
<!-- Text: y=30 is too close to frame top (y=20) -->
<mxCell id="label" value="Title" style="text;...">
  <mxGeometry x="510" y="30" width="540" height="35" />
</mxCell>
Good example (sufficient margin):
xml
<!-- Background frame -->
<mxCell id="bg" style="rounded=1;strokeWidth=3;...">
  <mxGeometry x="500" y="20" width="560" height="430" />
</mxCell>
<!-- Text: y=50 is 30px from frame top (y=20) -->
<mxCell id="label" value="Title" style="text;...">
  <mxGeometry x="510" y="50" width="540" height="35" />
</mxCell>

7. Reference

  • Layout Guidelines
  • AWS Icons
  • AWS Icon Search Script
AWS icon search examples:
sh
python ~/.claude/skills/draw-io/scripts/find_aws_icon.py ec2
python ~/.claude/skills/draw-io/scripts/find_aws_icon.py lambda

8. Checklist

  • No background color set (page="0")
  • Font size appropriate (larger recommended)
  • Arrows placed at back layer
  • Arrows not overlapping labels (verify in PNG)
  • Arrow start/end sufficiently distant from labels (at least 20px)
  • Arrows not penetrating boxes or icons (verify in PNG)
  • Internal elements not overflowing background frame (verify in PNG)
  • 30px+ margin between background frame and internal elements
  • AWS service names are official names/correct abbreviations
  • AWS icons are latest version (mxgraph.aws4.*)
  • No unnecessary elements remaining
  • Visually verified PNG conversion

9. Image Display in reveal.js Slides

Add
auto-stretch: false
to YAML header:
yaml
---
title: "Your Presentation"
format:
  revealjs:
    auto-stretch: false
---
This ensures correct image display on mobile devices.