What is Drawio Mcp Server

The drawio-mcp-server is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) tool that integrates Draw.io’s diagramming capabilities into AI agentic systems, enabling seamless diagram creation, modification, and analysis.

Use cases

Use cases include generating architectural diagrams, visualizing complex relationships, annotating technical documentation, and creating flowcharts and process maps programmatically.

How to use

To use drawio-mcp-server, install Node.js (v18 or higher), set up the server, and utilize MCP commands to interact with Draw.io for creating and managing diagrams programmatically.

Key features

Key features include seamless Draw.io integration, programmatic diagram control, intelligent diagram analysis, and support for building sophisticated AI workflows with visual modeling.

Where to use

drawio-mcp-server can be used in fields such as software architecture, technical documentation, business process modeling, and any area requiring visual representation of complex relationships.

Draw.io MCP server

Let’s do some Vibe Diagramming with the most wide-spread diagramming tool called Draw.io (Diagrams.net).

Introduction

The Draw.io MCP server is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) implementation that brings powerful diagramming capabilities to AI agentic systems. This integration enables:

• Seamless Draw.io Integration: Connect your MCP-powered applications with Draw.io’s rich diagramming functionality
• Programmatic Diagram Control: Create, modify, and manage diagram content through MCP commands
• Intelligent Diagram Analysis: Retrieve detailed information about diagrams and their components for processing by AI agents
• Agentic System Development: Build sophisticated AI workflows that incorporate visual modeling and diagram automation

As an MCP-compliant tool, it follows the standard protocol for tool integration, making it compatible with any MCP client. This implementation is particularly valuable for creating AI systems that need to:

• Generate architectural diagrams
• Visualize complex relationships
• Annotate technical documentation
• Create flowcharts and process maps programmatically

The tool supports bidirectional communication, allowing both control of Draw.io instances and extraction of diagram information for further processing by AI agents in your MCP ecosystem.

Requirements

To use the Draw.io MCP server, you’ll need:

Core Components

• Node.js (v18 or higher) - Runtime environment for the MCP server
• Draw.io MCP Browser Extension - Enables communication between Draw.io and the MCP server

MCP Ecosystem

• MCP Client (e.g., MCP Inspector) - For testing and debugging the integration
• LLM with Tools Support - Any language model capable of handling MCP tool calls (e.g., GPT-4, Claude 3, etc.)

Optional for Development

• pnpm - Preferred package manager
• Chrome DevTools - For debugging when using --inspect flag

Note: The Draw.io desktop app or web version must be accessible to the system where the MCP server runs.

Installation

Connecting with Claude Desktop

1. Install Claude Desktop

2. Open or create the configuration file:

   • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
   • Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

3. Update it to include this server:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "drawio": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "drawio-mcp-server"
      ]
    }
  }
}

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "drawio": {
      "command": "pnpm",
      "args": [
        "dlx",
        "drawio-mcp-server"
      ]
    }
  }
}

4. Restart Claude Desktop

Connecting with oterm

This is an alternative MCP client in case you like terminal and you plan to connect to your own Ollama instance.

The configuration is usually in: ~/.local/share/oterm/config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "drawio": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "drawio-mcp-server"
      ]
    }
  }
}

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "drawio": {
      "command": "pnpm",
      "args": [
        "dlx",
        "drawio-mcp-server"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Browser Extension Setup

In order to control the Draw.io diagram, you need to install dedicated Browser Extension.

1. Open Draw.io in your browser
2. Install the Draw.io MCP Browser Extension from a web store or use other means

Features

The Draw.io MCP server provides the following tools for programmatic diagram interaction:

Diagram Inspection Tools

• get-selected-cell
  Retrieves the currently selected cell in Draw.io with all its attributes
  Returns: JSON object containing cell properties (ID, geometry, style, value, etc.)

• get-shape-categories
  Retrieves available shape categories from the diagram’s library
  Returns: Array of category objects with their IDs and names

• get-shapes-in-category
  Retrieves all shapes in a specified category from the diagram’s library
  Parameters:

  • category_id: Identifier of the category to retrieve shapes from
    Returns: Array of shape objects with their properties and styles

• get-shape-by-name
  Retrieves a specific shape by its name from all available shapes
  Parameters:

  • shape_name: Name of the shape to retrieve
    Returns: Shape object including its category and style information

Diagram Modification Tools

• add-rectangle
  Creates a new rectangle shape on the active Draw.io page with customizable properties:

  • Position (x, y coordinates)
  • Dimensions (width, height)
  • Text content
  • Visual style (fill color, stroke, etc. using Draw.io style syntax)

• add-edge
  Creates a connection between two cells (vertexes)
  Parameters:

  • source_id: ID of the source cell
  • target_id: ID of the target cell
  • text: Optional text label for the edge
  • style: Optional style properties for the edge

• delete-cell-by-id
  Removes a specified cell from the diagram
  Parameters:

  • cell_id: ID of the cell to delete

• add-cell-of-shape
  Adds a new cell of a specific shape type from the diagram’s library
  Parameters:

  • shape_name: Name of the shape to create
  • x, y: Position coordinates (optional)
  • width, height: Dimensions (optional)
  • text: Optional text content
  • style: Optional additional style properties

Related Resources

Troubleshooting

Prompt examples

Contributing

Architecture

Development