drawio-skills

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.

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`
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
keep the sidecars if the diagram will be edited later