text-to-diagram / diagram-as-code scripting
D2 is a modern diagram scripting language that turns textual diagram descriptions into rendered SVG/PNG diagrams.
Same problem, same approach. Swapping one for another is a config change, not a rewrite.
choose when you need browser/Markdown-native diagram rendering with GitHub/GitLab integration rather than a standalone compiled binary.
Generation of diagrams like flowcharts or sequence diagrams from text in a similar manner as markdown
choose when you already run JVM/PlantUML servers or need mature UML sequence/class syntax over D2.
Generate diagrams from textual description
Solves the same problem with a different architecture or at a different layer. Expect to rewrite the integration.
choose when you want cloud-architecture diagrams authored in Python with provider-icon libraries instead of a separate text DSL.
:art: Diagram as Code for prototyping cloud system architectures
choose when you need C4 software-architecture model views maintained in code instead of general-purpose D2 diagrams.
Visualize, collaborate, and evolve the software architecture with always actual and live diagrams from your code
choose when you need architecture models type-checked and authored directly in Go rather than as free-form D2 text.
Create your software architecture models and diagrams in Go.
These projects were analysed and named d2 among their alternatives. The relationship is not symmetric — how d2 rates them is a separate judgement, made when d2 is analysed in its own right.
calls d2 “Choose when you want a deterministic diagramming language/compiler checked into version control rather than an AI-generated standalone HTML file.”
Generate beautiful dark-themed system architecture diagrams as standalone HTML/SVG files. Works as a Claude AI skill.