d2 README

The project's README from github.com/d2lang/d2. As one markdown file: README.md.

D2

A modern diagram scripting language that turns text to diagrams.

Docs | Cheat sheet | Comparisons | Playground

ci weekly race tests release changelog npm version discord license

D2 Playground button

https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/3120367/206125010-bd1fea8e-248a-43e7-8f85-0bbfca0c6e2a.mp4

Table of Contents

What does D2 look like?

vars: {
  d2-config: {
    layout-engine: elk
    # Terminal theme code
    theme-id: 300
  }
}
network: {
  cell tower: {
    satellites: {
      shape: stored_data
      style.multiple: true
    }

    transmitter

    satellites -> transmitter: send
    satellites -> transmitter: send
    satellites -> transmitter: send
  }

  online portal: {
    ui: {shape: hexagon}
  }

  data processor: {
    storage: {
      shape: cylinder
      style.multiple: true
    }
  }

  cell tower.transmitter -> data processor.storage: phone logs
}

user: {
  shape: person
  width: 130
}

user -> network.cell tower: make call
user -> network.online portal.ui: access {
  style.stroke-dash: 3
}

api server -> network.online portal.ui: display
api server -> logs: persist
logs: {shape: page; style.multiple: true}

network.data processor -> api server

D2 render example

Open in playground

For more examples, see ./docs/examples.

Quickstart

The most convenient way to use D2 is to just run it as a CLI executable to produce SVGs from .d2 files.

# First, install D2
curl -fsSL https://d2lang.com/install.sh | sh -s --

echo 'x -> y -> z' > in.d2
d2 --watch in.d2 out.svg

A browser window will open with out.svg and live-reload on changes to in.d2.

Install

The easiest way to install is with our install script:

curl -fsSL https://d2lang.com/install.sh | sh -s --

You can run the install script with --dry-run to see the commands that will be used to install without executing them.

Or if you have Go installed you can install from source though you won't get the manpage:

go install github.com/d2lang/d2@latest

You can also install a release from source which will include manpages. See ./docs/INSTALL.md#source-release.

To uninstall with the install script:

curl -fsSL https://d2lang.com/install.sh | sh -s -- --uninstall

For detailed installation docs, see ./docs/INSTALL.md. We demonstrate alternative methods and examples for each OS.

As well, the functioning of the install script is described in detail to alleviate any concern of its use. We recommend using your OS's package manager directly instead for improved security but the install script is by no means insecure.

D2 as a library

In addition to being a runnable CLI tool, D2 can also be used to produce diagrams from Go programs.

For examples, see ./docs/examples/lib.

Themes

D2 includes a variety of official themes to style your diagrams beautifully right out of the box. See ./d2themes to browse the available themes and make or contribute your own creation.

Fonts

D2 ships with "Source Sans Pro" as the font in renders. If you wish to use a different one, please see ./d2renderers/d2fonts.

Export file types

D2 supports SVG, PNG, GIF, PDF, and PPTX exports.

Language tooling

D2 is designed with language tooling in mind. D2's parser can parse multiple errors from a broken program, has an autoformatter, syntax highlighting, and we have plans for LSP's and more. Good language tooling is necessary for creating and maintaining large diagrams.

The extensions for VSCode and Vim can be found in the Related section.

Layout engines

D2 bundles three layout engines. Select one with --layout=dagre, --layout=elk, or --layout=tala. You can also set D2_LAYOUT or vars.d2-config.layout-engine in D2 source. Run d2 layout to list the engines or d2 layout <name> for their configuration options.

D2 also handles specialized layouts such as sequence diagrams and grids. Go applications can use the layout packages directly or provide layout and routing functions through d2lib.

Sketch-mode rendering uses rough-go, a native Go compatibility port of the Rough.js 4.6.6 rendering surface used by D2.

LaTeX labels use mathjax-go, a native Go port of the MathJax 3.2.2 TeX-to-SVG pipeline.

Comparison

For a comparison against other popular text-to-diagram tools, see https://text-to-diagram.com.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! See ./docs/CONTRIBUTING.md.

License

Open sourced under the Mozilla Public License 2.0. See ./LICENSE.txt.

We are constantly working on new plugins, integrations, extensions. Contributions are welcome in any official or community plugins. If you have somewhere in your workflow that you want to use D2, feel free to open a discussion. We have limited bandwidth and usually choose the most high-demand ones to work on. If you make something cool with D2 yourself, let us know and we'll be happy to include it here!

Official plugins

Community plugins

Misc

FAQ

Notable open-source projects documenting with D2

Do you have or see an open-source project with .d2 files? Please submit a PR adding to this selected list of featured projects using D2.

d2 (d2lang/d2)

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25.6K ·GitHub
D2
What is this?D2 is an open-source diagram scripting language: you describe a diagram as plain text in a .d2 file, and it renders that text into a real diagram.
So is D2 a language I write, a tool I run, or a library?Both a language and a CLI: you write .d2 files and run the D2 executable to produce images, and Go programs can also embed D2 as a library.
How do I get my first diagram rendered?Install the CLI with the official install script (use --dry-run to preview what it does), then run it on a .d2 file — a browser tab opens with the SVG and live-reloads as you edit.
Do I need Go installed before using it?No. The install script ships a ready binary; Go is only needed if you install from source, which also skips the manpage.
Is it aimed at developers documenting software, or general diagramming?Mostly developers documenting software systems: the README stresses tooling for maintaining large diagrams, and projects like ElasticSearch, Sourcegraph, Temporal, and Tauri keep .d2 files in their repos.
The preview opens in a browser — does D2 itself need a browser or GUI to run?No browser or GUI is required — the browser tab is just an optional live preview, and D2 can run entirely server-side. The CLI installs on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Does the CLI phone home or collect telemetry?No telemetry: after installation D2 makes no internet connections apart from an occasional version update check against GitHub.
What file formats can it export to?SVG, PNG, GIF, PDF, and PPTX, so one diagram source can feed docs, web pages, and slide decks.
Can diagrams get a hand-drawn look or math labels?Yes — sketch mode renders through a Go port of Rough.js for a hand-drawn style, and LaTeX labels are supported via a native MathJax port.
Can I try it without installing anything?Yes, the README links an online playground where you can write D2 and see the rendered diagram in the browser.
What are similar projects?archify, architecture-diagram-generator, diagram-design, svg-diagram, gitdiagram, drawio-skill, reladraw, draw-architecture
Which topics is it in?diagramming, architecture-diagram, dsl, diagrams, software-architecture, architecture, svg, visualization, golang, documentation, go, free
Creator
d2lang
Size
513.2 MB
Stars
25.6K
Updated
CommitOct 11Releasev0.9.0Sep 07
Age
4y
Commits · 90 Days