Technical diagrams

Technical Diagrams

Mermaid is the standard for all technical diagrams in this project. It renders natively in GitHub, GitLab, MkDocs (with Material theme), and most modern documentation platforms.

This skill provides:

• Critical styling rules to ensure readability (especially color contrast)
• Quick reference examples for common diagram types
• Reference files for advanced syntax when building complex diagrams

Always wrap Mermaid code in fenced code blocks with the mermaid language identifier.

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Why Mermaid

Native rendering — GitHub, GitLab, Notion, MkDocs, and Docusaurus render Mermaid blocks without plugins or build steps. No external image generation tools needed.

Text-based and diffable — Diagrams live alongside code in version control. Changes appear in pull request diffs, making reviews straightforward and history trackable.

No external tools — No Lucidchart exports, no draw.io XML files, no PNG screenshots that go stale. The diagram source is the single source of truth.

Maintainable — Updating a diagram means editing text, not wrestling with a GUI. Refactoring a component name? Find-and-replace works on diagrams too.

Consistent — A shared syntax produces visually consistent diagrams across all documentation, regardless of who authored them.

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Critical Styling Rules

This is the most important section. Light text on light backgrounds is the most common Mermaid readability issue. Follow these rules strictly.

Rule 1: Always use dark text on nodes

Every node must have color:#000 (or another dark color like #1a1a1a, #333). Never use white, light gray, or any light-colored text.

Caveat — this assumes a light page. color:#000 is correct for GitHub and MkDocs light mode, but it is not self-sufficient on renderers that auto-switch themes — most notably MkDocs Material's dark (slate) scheme, which flips Mermaid's theme colors and turns this dark text light-on-light. When a diagram will render on a dark-capable site, pair this palette with the dark-mode companion stylesheet in Dark-mode rendering below. Do not "fix" it by switching to light text — that just inverts the problem.

Rule 2: Use classDef for consistent styling

Define reusable styles at the bottom of the diagram and apply them with ::: syntax:

flowchart LR
    A[Input]:::primary --> B[Process]:::secondary --> C[Output]:::success

    classDef primary fill:#dbeafe,stroke:#2563eb,color:#000
    classDef secondary fill:#f3e8ff,stroke:#7c3aed,color:#000
    classDef success fill:#dcfce7,stroke:#16a34a,color:#000

Rule 3: Safe color palettes

Use these pre-tested combinations that guarantee readability:

Style Name	Fill	Stroke	Text	Use For
primary	#dbeafe	#2563eb	#000	Main components, entry points
secondary	#f3e8ff	#7c3aed	#000	Supporting components
success	#dcfce7	#16a34a	#000	Success states, outputs
warning	#fef3c7	#d97706	#000	Warnings, caution areas
danger	#fee2e2	#dc2626	#000	Errors, critical items
neutral	#f3f4f6	#6b7280	#000	Background, inactive items

Bad vs Good

Bad — light text is invisible on light background:

classDef bad fill:#dbeafe,stroke:#2563eb,color:#93c5fd

Good — dark text is always readable:

classDef good fill:#dbeafe,stroke:#2563eb,color:#000

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Supported Diagram Types

Diagram Type	Mermaid Keyword	Use Case	Reference File
Flowchart	flowchart	Process flows, decision trees, pipelines	references/flowcharts.md
Sequence	sequenceDiagram	API interactions, message passing, protocols	references/sequence-diagrams.md
Class	classDiagram	Object models, interfaces, relationships	references/class-diagrams.md
State	stateDiagram-v2	State machines, lifecycle management	references/state-diagrams.md
ER	erDiagram	Database schemas, entity relationships	references/er-diagrams.md
C4	C4Context / C4Container / etc.	System architecture, containers, components	references/c4-diagrams.md

To load a reference file:

Read ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/technical-diagrams/references/<file>.md

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Quick Reference

Minimal copy-paste examples for simple diagrams. For complex use cases, load the corresponding reference file.

Flowchart

flowchart TD
    A[Start]:::primary --> B{Decision}:::neutral
    B -->|Yes| C[Action A]:::success
    B -->|No| D[Action B]:::warning
    C --> E[End]:::primary
    D --> E

    classDef primary fill:#dbeafe,stroke:#2563eb,color:#000
    classDef success fill:#dcfce7,stroke:#16a34a,color:#000
    classDef warning fill:#fef3c7,stroke:#d97706,color:#000
    classDef neutral fill:#f3f4f6,stroke:#6b7280,color:#000

Sequence Diagram

sequenceDiagram
    participant C as Client
    participant S as Server
    participant D as Database

    C->>S: POST /api/resource
    activate S
    S->>D: INSERT INTO resources
    D-->>S: OK
    S-->>C: 201 Created
    deactivate S

Class Diagram

classDiagram
    class Service {
        -repository: Repository
        +create(data: CreateDTO): Entity
        +findById(id: string): Entity
    }
    class Repository {
        <<interface>>
        +save(entity: Entity): void
        +findById(id: string): Entity
    }
    Service --> Repository : uses

State Diagram

stateDiagram-v2
    [*] --> Draft
    Draft --> Review : submit
    Review --> Approved : approve
    Review --> Draft : reject
    Approved --> Published : publish
    Published --> [*]

ER Diagram

erDiagram
    USER ||--o{ ORDER : places
    ORDER ||--|{ LINE_ITEM : contains
    PRODUCT ||--o{ LINE_ITEM : "appears in"

    USER {
        int id PK
        string email UK
        string name
    }
    ORDER {
        int id PK
        int user_id FK
        date created_at
    }

C4 Context Diagram

C4Context
    title System Context Diagram

    Person(user, "User", "End user of the system")
    System(system, "Application", "Main system under design")
    System_Ext(ext, "External API", "Third-party service")

    Rel(user, system, "Uses", "HTTPS")
    Rel(system, ext, "Calls", "REST API")

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Styling and Theming

classDef — Reusable Style Classes

Define once, apply to many nodes:

flowchart LR
    A[Node A]:::primary --> B[Node B]:::secondary

    classDef primary fill:#dbeafe,stroke:#2563eb,color:#000
    classDef secondary fill:#f3e8ff,stroke:#7c3aed,color:#000

::: Shorthand — Apply Class Inline

A[Label]:::className

style — One-Off Inline Styling

For single-node overrides (prefer classDef for consistency):

style nodeId fill:#dbeafe,stroke:#2563eb,color:#000

Standard Style Classes

Define these at the bottom of any diagram that uses multiple styles:

classDef primary fill:#dbeafe,stroke:#2563eb,color:#000
classDef secondary fill:#f3e8ff,stroke:#7c3aed,color:#000
classDef success fill:#dcfce7,stroke:#16a34a,color:#000
classDef warning fill:#fef3c7,stroke:#d97706,color:#000
classDef danger fill:#fee2e2,stroke:#dc2626,color:#000
classDef neutral fill:#f3f4f6,stroke:#6b7280,color:#000

Subgraph Styling

Subgraphs can be styled via style directives:

flowchart LR
    subgraph backend["Backend Services"]
        A[API]:::primary --> B[Worker]:::secondary
    end
    style backend fill:#f8fafc,stroke:#94a3b8,color:#000

Edge Styling with linkStyle

Style specific edges by their index (0-based, in order of definition):

linkStyle 0 stroke:#2563eb,stroke-width:2px
linkStyle 1 stroke:#dc2626,stroke-width:2px,stroke-dasharray:5

Dark-mode rendering (MkDocs Material & other auto-theming renderers)

The standard palette above (light fills + color:#000 text) is correct on a light page. Renderers that auto-switch themes do not honor it in dark mode. MkDocs Material is the common case: it themes every Mermaid diagram through CSS custom properties — --md-mermaid-label-fg-color, --md-mermaid-edge-color, --md-mermaid-node-bg-color, --md-mermaid-sequence-*, … — that flip for its dark (slate) scheme. The diagram SVG is rendered into a closed shadow root, so you cannot reach it with ordinary .mermaid text { … } rules — but those custom properties inherit through the shadow boundary (that is exactly how Material themes the diagram), so the fix is to redefine them for the dark scheme.

Two failure modes appear in dark mode:

1. Text goes light-on-light — the flipped label color lands on your hard-coded light fills (nodes, subgraph backgrounds, ER entities), so titles and labels vanish.
2. Edges disappear on light fills — Material draws edges light so they show on the dark page, but a single edge often crosses both the dark page and a light node/subgraph fill, so neither a light nor a dark stroke works alone.

Fix: ship this companion stylesheet (e.g. docs/stylesheets/extra.css) and wire it via extra_css in mkdocs.yml. It restores readability in dark mode while leaving light mode untouched (the override is scoped to slate), and edits no diagram source:

/* Mermaid dark-mode companion for MkDocs Material.
   The standard diagram palette uses light fills + dark (color:#000) text, which
   is correct on a light page. Material's dark (slate) scheme flips the
   --md-mermaid-* custom properties to light values, so that dark text becomes
   light-on-light and edges crossing the light fills vanish. These variables
   inherit into Mermaid's (closed shadow-DOM) SVG — which is how Material themes
   it — so redefining them for slate restores readability without touching any
   diagram source. */
[data-md-color-scheme="slate"] {
  --md-mermaid-label-fg-color: #1b2330;            /* node + subgraph titles + edge-label text */
  --md-mermaid-label-bg-color: #eef1f6;            /* edge-label / actor / note chip backgrounds */
  --md-mermaid-node-fg-color: #5b4b86;             /* node / ER-entity / actor borders */
  --md-mermaid-node-bg-color: #ece9f6;             /* ER entity + attribute fills, sequence frames */
  --md-mermaid-edge-color: #737d91;                /* edges/arrows: mid-tone — one edge can cross BOTH the dark page and a light fill */
  --md-mermaid-sequence-message-fg-color: #cfd6e2; /* message text floats over the dark page — keep it light */
  --md-mermaid-sequence-note-fg-color: #1b2330;    /* note text sits on a light note box */
  --md-mermaid-sequence-loop-fg-color: #1b2330;    /* alt/par/loop labels on the now-light frame */
  --md-mermaid-sequence-box-fg-color: #1b2330;
}

Key, non-obvious choices: the edge color is a mid-tone (#737d91) so it reads on the dark page and the light fills at once; sequence message text stays light (it floats over the dark page); everything that sits on a light fill (node/subgraph/ER/note text) is re-darkened. Always verify by toggling the palette to dark and checking flowcharts, sequence diagrams (notes + alt/par frames), and ER diagrams.

When a site is scaffolded by the docs-manager skill this stylesheet is shipped and wired automatically; this section documents why it exists and what to adjust.

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Best Practices

Keep diagrams focused

Limit to 15-20 nodes maximum. If a diagram grows beyond that, split it into multiple diagrams or use subgraphs to manage complexity.

Choose direction deliberately

• TD (top-down) — Hierarchies, data flow, process steps
• LR (left-right) — Timelines, pipelines, request flows
• BT (bottom-up) — Dependency trees (leaves at top)
• RL (right-left) — Rarely used, avoid unless it matches a specific mental model

Use meaningful labels

A[User Service] --> B[Auth Service]    %% Good: descriptive
A --> B                                 %% Bad: meaningless

Label edges

A -->|validates| B    %% Good: explains the relationship
A --> B               %% Acceptable only if the relationship is obvious

Group with subgraphs

Use subgraphs to visually separate layers, domains, or subsystems:

flowchart TD
    subgraph frontend["Frontend"]
        A[React App]:::primary
    end
    subgraph backend["Backend"]
        B[API Server]:::secondary --> C[Database]:::neutral
    end
    A --> B

    classDef primary fill:#dbeafe,stroke:#2563eb,color:#000
    classDef secondary fill:#f3e8ff,stroke:#7c3aed,color:#000
    classDef neutral fill:#f3f4f6,stroke:#6b7280,color:#000

Use consistent arrow types

Within a single diagram, stick to one arrow style unless you need to distinguish different relationship types:

• --> solid arrow (primary flow)
• -.-> dotted arrow (optional or async)
• ==> thick arrow (critical path)

Prefer flowchart over graph

flowchart is the modern syntax with more features (subgraph styling, ::: shorthand, more shapes). graph is legacy — use flowchart for all new diagrams.

Platform compatibility

• GitHub/GitLab: Full support for flowcharts, sequence, class, state, ER, Gantt, pie
• C4 diagrams: Require Mermaid 10.6+ — verify platform support before using
• MkDocs: Requires pymdownx.superfences with custom Mermaid fence config

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When to Load Reference Files

Simple diagrams — The quick reference above is sufficient. Use it for:

• Basic flowcharts with fewer than 10 nodes
• Simple sequence diagrams with 2-3 participants
• Standard ER diagrams with straightforward relationships

Complex or unfamiliar diagrams — Load the reference file when:

• Using advanced features (composite states, parallel blocks, fork/join)
• Building class diagrams with generics, namespaces, or cardinality
• Needing the full set of node shapes, arrow types, or relationship notations
• Working with a diagram type for the first time

C4 diagrams — Always load the reference file. C4 uses a unique function-call syntax (Person(), System(), Container(), etc.) that differs significantly from other Mermaid diagrams.

Read ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/technical-diagrams/references/c4-diagrams.md