# Excalidraw Architect

Describe your system in words and get a real .excalidraw file with the layout already worked out, ready to keep editing.

- MCP server · `type=mcp` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Windsurf (Devin Desktop), Cline, Zed, Gemini CLI · ★ 160
- Author: BV-Venky
- License: MIT · policy=link-only · description only; the file stays with the author
- Source: https://github.com/BV-Venky/excalidraw-architect-mcp
- Updated: 2026-08-25
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/mcp/excalidraw-architect

## What it does

Excalidraw Architect splits the what from the where. Your model names the components, actors and connections; the engine picks a layout algorithm for that diagram type and writes a `.excalidraw` file. No coordinates to guess, so boxes stop overlapping.

It covers 25 diagram types: architecture, sequence diagrams, ER models, swimlanes, timelines, Gantt charts, quadrants, funnels and hand-sketched charts. Over 50 technologies such as Kafka, PostgreSQL and Redis get styled automatically. SVG and PNG export runs without a browser or Node.js, and generation stays offline — no API keys.

Revisions go through the same channel: add a node, drop a connection or rewire a diagram in plain language, since the spec lives inside the file. Everything runs through `uvx`, so `uv` has to be installed and on your `PATH` — otherwise `claude mcp add` writes the entry but the server never starts.

## Requirements
- Needs: Python and uv (commands run via uvx)

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

**Platform CLI**
```bash
claude mcp add excalidraw-architect-mcp -- uvx excalidraw-architect-mcp
```
uvx runs the command named after the package; if the README names another one, use uvx --from excalidraw-architect-mcp <command>

### Codex

**Platform CLI**
```bash
codex mcp add excalidraw-architect -- uvx excalidraw-architect-mcp
```
uvx runs the command named after the package; if the README names another one, use uvx --from excalidraw-architect-mcp <command>

### Cursor

**Config file**
File `.cursor/mcp.json`:
```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "excalidraw-architect": {
            "command": "uvx",
            "args": [
                "excalidraw-architect-mcp"
            ]
        }
    }
}
```
uvx runs the command named after the package; if the README names another one, use uvx --from excalidraw-architect-mcp <command>

### GitHub Copilot

**Config file**
File `.vscode/mcp.json`:
```json
{
    "servers": {
        "excalidraw-architect": {
            "type": "stdio",
            "command": "uvx",
            "args": [
                "excalidraw-architect-mcp"
            ]
        }
    }
}
```
uvx runs the command named after the package; if the README names another one, use uvx --from excalidraw-architect-mcp <command>

### Gemini CLI

**Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini mcp add excalidraw-architect uvx excalidraw-architect-mcp
```
uvx runs the command named after the package; if the README names another one, use uvx --from excalidraw-architect-mcp <command>

## When to use it
- sketch a service architecture without placing blocks by hand
- show the message order between services
- build an ER model from entities and fields
- export a diagram to SVG or PNG for docs
- revise an existing diagram in words instead of dragging nodes

## Example prompts
- Draw the architecture for our service: API gateway, PostgreSQL, Redis and Kafka in between
- Add one more node to the diagram — a message queue in front of the worker
- Make a sequence diagram for the checkout flow

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