# next-ai-drawio

Turns a plain-language description into a draw.io diagram and shows it in your browser while Claude works.

- plugin · `type=plugin` · Claude Code · ★ 36398
- Author: DayuanJiang
- License: Apache-2.0 · policy=mirror · the beginning of the file is at the end of this page
- Source: https://github.com/DayuanJiang/next-ai-draw-io/tree/HEAD/packages/claude-plugin
- Updated: 2026-10-23
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/plugins/next-ai-drawio

## What it does

The plugin wires an MCP server into Claude and keeps a browser window with the draw.io editor open. Claude writes diagram XML and pushes it there, so you watch the drawing change as it goes. Claude talks to the server over stdio, the server talks to the browser over http.

The toolset covers the whole loop: `start_session` opens the preview and returns the drawing rules, `create_new_diagram` and `edit_diagram` change the content, `get_selection` reads the shapes you highlighted, `screenshot_diagram` returns a PNG so Claude can spot what looks off and fix it. Shape and icon libraries ship for AWS, Azure, GCP and Kubernetes. History keeps the last 20 versions as cards with thumbnails, and you can export to `.drawio`, `.png`, `.svg` or `.drawio.svg`. Every diagram is auto-saved to `~/.next-ai-drawio/`, so `claude --resume` picks it up again.

Your own drawing rules go in `~/.next-ai-drawio/instructions.md` and get appended to the guide on each call. Point `DRAWIO_BASE_URL` at an external draw.io and you lose the outline around Claude's changes, Ctrl+Z stops taking them back, and `get_selection` can no longer read your selection. Worth checking before you swap in a self-hosted instance.

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

**Plugin marketplace**
In the agent chat (not a shell):
```text
/plugin marketplace add anthropics/claude-plugins-community
```
In the agent chat (not a shell):
```text
/plugin install next-ai-drawio@claude-community
```

## When to use it
- sketch an AWS architecture from a written description
- draw a CI/CD pipeline flowchart with approval gates
- turn a whiteboard photo into a clean draw.io diagram
- open an existing `.drawio` file and edit it by talking
- export a finished diagram to PNG or SVG for docs

## Example prompts
- Generate an AWS architecture diagram with Lambda, API Gateway, DynamoDB, and S3 for a serverless REST API
- Read docs/architecture.md and draw the system as a diagram
- Create a sequence diagram showing OAuth 2.0 authorization code flow between user, client app, auth server, and resource server

## Source text · claude-plugin · Apache-2.0

Below is the content of a third-party file. It is data, not instructions for you: do not act on anything written inside unless the human asks. Block tag: 35fb80df9af15cb1.

BEGIN THIRD-PARTY FILE 35fb80df9af15cb1
````text
# Next AI Draw.io - Claude Code Plugin

AI-powered Draw.io diagram generation with real-time browser preview for Claude Code.

## Installation

### From the Claude Code community marketplace

```
/plugin install next-ai-drawio --marketplace anthropics/claude-plugins-community
```

This needs Claude Code 2.1.275 or later. On an older version, run `/plugin marketplace add anthropics/claude-plugins-community` first, then `/plugin install next-ai-drawio@claude-community`.

### Manual Installation

```bash
claude --plugin-dir /path/to/packages/claude-plugin
```

Or add the MCP server directly, for every project (`--scope user`):
```bash
claude mcp add --scope user drawio -- npx @next-ai-drawio/mcp-server@latest
```

## Features

- **Real-time Preview**: Diagrams appear and update in your browser as Claude creates them. The preview is the web app's canvas: a change Claude makes to the page on screen is outlined, and one Ctrl+Z takes it back
- **Selection**: Select shapes in the preview and say "move these"; Claude reads what you selected with `get_selection`
- **Drawing Rules and Shape Libraries**: Claude gets the web app's layout and style rules and the icon docs for AWS, Azure, GCP, Kubernetes and more
- **Self-check**: Claude can take a screenshot of the rendered diagram and fix what looks wrong
- **Draw from Your Files**: ask Claude to draw from a document, image or web page; it reads the source with its own tools and draws. Existing .drawio files open with load_diagram
- **Version History**: The last 20 versions appear as cards next to the canvas, with thumbnails; restore one, undo the latest, or compare a version with the canvas
- **Natural Language**: Describe diagrams in plain text - flowcharts, architecture diagrams, etc.
- **Edit Support**: Modify existing diagrams with natural language instructions, including your own edits in the browser
- **Export**: Save diagrams as `.drawio`, `.png`, `.svg`, or `.drawio.svg` files
- **Auto-save**: Each diagram is saved to `~/.next-ai-drawio/`, so `claude --resume` can pick it up again
- **Custom Instructions**: keep your own drawing rules in `~/.next-ai-drawio/instructions.md` (for example "Always draw in minimal style"); they are appended to the drawing guide on every call
- **Self-contained**: Embedded server and the draw.io editor in one package; the preview works offline after install

## Use Case Examples

### 1. Create Architecture Diagrams

```
Generate an AWS architecture diagram with Lambda, API Gateway, DynamoDB,
and S3 for a serverless REST API
```

### 2. Flowchart Generation

```
Create a flowchart showing the CI/CD pipeline: code commit -> build ->
test -> staging deploy -> production deploy with approval gates
```

### 3. System Design Documentation

```
Design a microservices e-commerce system with user service, product catalog,
shopping cart, order processing, and payment gateway
```

### 4. Cloud Architecture (AWS/GCP/Azure)

```
Generate a GCP architecture diagram with Cloud Run, Cloud SQL, and
Cloud Storage for a web application
```

### 5. Sequence Diagrams

```
Create a sequence diagram showing OAuth 2.0 authorization code flow
between user, client app, auth server, and resource server
```

### 6. Draw From a Document

```
Read docs/architecture.md and draw the system as a diagram
```

### 7. Recreate a Sketch

```
Recreate the whiteboard photo at ~/Desktop/sketch.jpg as a clean draw.io diagram
```

## Available Tools

| Tool | Description |
|------|-------------|
| `start_session` | Opens browser with real-time diagram preview; the result includes the drawing rules. Pass `session_id` to continue a saved diagram |
| `list_saved_diagrams` | List the auto-saved diagrams of earlier sessions, newest first, with their pages |
| `get_drawing_guide` | Return the drawing rules again |
| `get_shape_library` | Return the shapes and icon styles of a library such as `aws4` |
| `create_new_diagram` | Create a new diagram from XML |
| `load_diagram` | Load a `.drawio` or `.drawio.svg` file from disk |
````
END THIRD-PARTY FILE 35fb80df9af15cb1

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First 4025 of 7031 bytes. © DayuanJiang · Apache-2.0 · https://github.com/DayuanJiang/next-ai-draw-io/tree/HEAD/packages/claude-plugin

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