Export & Save

Draw.io Skill treats export as part of the offline bundle workflow, not as a browser-only step.

Canonical Artifact Bundle

Keep these files together whenever the diagram may be edited again:

• <name>.drawio
• <name>.spec.yaml
• <name>.arch.json

This bundle supports local iteration without requiring a live session.

For academic-paper output, this bundle plus .svg is the default delivery set. Add .png only when the request is thesis, A4, Word, raster-first, screenshot rebuild, or explicitly asks for PNG, and only when draw.io Desktop export is available.

Common Export Commands

Generate a .drawio file

node skills/drawio/scripts/cli.js input.yaml output.drawio --validate --write-sidecars

Generate a standalone SVG

node skills/drawio/scripts/cli.js input.yaml output.svg --validate --write-sidecars

Generate PNG, PDF, or JPG with draw.io Desktop

node skills/drawio/scripts/cli.js input.yaml output.pdf --validate --use-desktop
node skills/drawio/scripts/cli.js input.yaml output.png --validate --use-desktop

Import an Existing .drawio File

If you receive an existing .drawio file and want to edit it via the YAML-first workflow:

node skills/drawio/scripts/cli.js existing.drawio --input-format drawio --export-spec --write-sidecars

That generates an editable bundle you can version and re-render.

Embedded vs Standalone SVG

• Standalone SVG works fully offline
• Embedded .drawio.svg requires draw.io Desktop and keeps round-trip editing metadata in the export path

Use --use-desktop when embedded export matters.

Optional MCP Export

If you are already in a live browser session, export_diagram can still save .drawio, .png, or .svg.

That path is optional. The default export model remains local CLI generation.

Recommended Export Choices

Need	Best output
ongoing editing	.drawio bundle
paper figure	.svg
paper figure + editable source	.drawio + .spec.yaml + .arch.json + .svg
slide deck image	.png or .jpg with Desktop
printable handoff	.pdf with Desktop

Tips

• use --strict-warnings for paper-quality review
• keep SVG for vector workflows
• standalone SVG covers the built-in node families and the supported network semantic shapes; Desktop export is still the full-fidelity path for other draw.io stencil libraries
• keep the sidecars if the diagram will be edited later

Next Steps

• CLI Tool
• Editing Diagrams
• SVG Converter