cli-anything-drawio
A CLI harness for Draw.io — create, edit, and export diagrams from the command line.
Installation
This CLI is installed as part of the cli-anything-drawio package:
pip install cli-anything-drawioPrerequisites:
- Python 3.10+
- drawio must be installed on your system
Usage
Basic Commands
# Show help
cli-anything-drawio --help
# Start interactive REPL mode
cli-anything-drawio
# Create a new project
cli-anything-drawio project new -o project.json
# Run with JSON output (for agent consumption)
cli-anything-drawio --json project info -p project.jsonREPL Mode
When invoked without a subcommand, the CLI enters an interactive REPL session:
cli-anything-drawio
# Enter commands interactively with tab-completion and historyCommand Groups
Project
Project management: new, open, save, info.
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
new | Create a new blank diagram |
open | Open an existing.drawio project file |
save | Save the current project |
info | Show detailed project information |
xml | Print the raw XML of the current project |
presets | List available page size presets |
Shape
Shape operations: add, remove, move, resize, style.
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
add | Add a shape to the diagram |
remove | Remove a shape by ID |
list | List all shapes on a page |
label | Update a shape's label text |
move | Move a shape to new coordinates |
resize | Resize a shape |
style | Set a style property on a shape |
info | Show detailed info about a shape |
types | List all available shape types |
Connect
Connector operations: add, remove, style.
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
add | Add a connector between two shapes |
remove | Remove a connector by ID |
label | Update a connector's label |
style | Set a style property on a connector |
list | List all connectors on a page |
styles | List available edge styles |
Page
Page operations: add, remove, rename, list.
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
add | Add a new page |
remove | Remove a page by index |
rename | Rename a page |
list | List all pages |
Export
Export operations: render to PNG, PDF, SVG.
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
render | Export the diagram to a file |
formats | List available export formats |
Session
Session management: status, undo, redo.
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
status | Show current session status |
undo | Undo the last operation |
redo | Redo the last undone operation |
save-state | Save session state to disk |
list | List all saved sessions |
Examples
Create a New Project
Create a new drawio project file.
cli-anything-drawio project new -o myproject.json
# Or with JSON output for programmatic use
cli-anything-drawio --json project new -o myproject.jsonInteractive REPL Session
Start an interactive session with undo/redo support.
cli-anything-drawio
# Enter commands interactively
# Use 'help' to see available commands
# Use 'undo' and 'redo' for history navigationExport Project
Export the project to a final output format.
cli-anything-drawio --project myproject.json export render output.pdf --overwriteState Management
The CLI maintains session state with:
- Undo/Redo: Up to 50 levels of history
- Project persistence: Save/load project state as JSON
- Session tracking: Track modifications and changes
Output Formats
All commands support dual output modes:
- Human-readable (default): Tables, colors, formatted text
- Machine-readable (
--jsonflag): Structured JSON for agent consumption
# Human output
cli-anything-drawio project info -p project.json
# JSON output for agents
cli-anything-drawio --json project info -p project.jsonFor AI Agents
When using this CLI programmatically:
- Always use
--jsonflag for parseable output - Check return codes - 0 for success, non-zero for errors
- Parse stderr for error messages on failure
- Use absolute paths for all file operations
- Verify outputs exist after export operations
More Information
- Full documentation: See README.md in the package
- Test coverage: See TEST.md in the package
- Methodology: See HARNESS.md in the cli-anything-plugin
Version
1.0.0