# Automatic Mermaid Visualization

**Completed**: 2026-01-10
**Branch**: 005-mermaid-visualization
**PR**: -

## Overview

Enhance the doit template system to automatically generate mermaid diagrams during specification, planning, task generation, and review phases. This transforms text-heavy documentation into visual, easily-understood artifacts that improve comprehension and communication.

## Requirements Implemented

| ID | Description | Status |
|----|-------------|--------|
| FR-001 | Generate User Journey Visualization flowchart in spec.md | Done |
| FR-002 | Generate Entity Relationship diagram when Key Entities defined | Done |
| FR-003 | Omit visualization sections when no relevant content exists | Done |
| FR-004 | Generate Architecture Overview flowchart in plan.md | Done |
| FR-005 | Generate Component Dependencies flowchart for multiple services | Done |
| FR-006 | Generate ER diagram at top of data-model.md | Done |
| FR-007 | Detect entities with status/state fields for State Machine diagrams | Done |
| FR-008 | Generate Task Dependencies flowchart showing execution order | Done |
| FR-009 | Generate Phase Timeline gantt chart showing phase sequencing | Done |
| FR-010 | Visually indicate parallel tasks ([P] markers) in dependency graph | Done |
| FR-011 | Generate Finding Distribution pie chart in review-report.md | Done |
| FR-012 | Generate Test Results visualization showing pass/fail | Done |
| FR-013 | Mark all auto-generated sections with AUTO-GENERATED comments | Done |
| FR-014 | Validate mermaid syntax before inserting diagrams | Done |
| FR-015 | Preserve manually-added content outside auto-generated sections | Done |
| FR-016 | Support flowchart, erDiagram, stateDiagram-v2, gantt, pie chart types | Done |

## Technical Details

- **Language/Version**: Markdown (template definitions only)
- **Dependencies**: None - mermaid syntax is native markdown
- **Testing**: Manual verification of diagram rendering

### Key Decisions

1. Templates use AUTO-GENERATED section markers for regeneration safety
2. Nested code fences use tildes (`~~~`) when containing backtick fences
3. Central documentation in `.doit/docs/diagram-patterns.md`
4. Size limits defined to maintain diagram readability

## Files Changed

### Added

- `.doit/docs/diagram-patterns.md` - Central reference for all diagram patterns
- `specs/005-mermaid-visualization/review-report.md` - Review report with pie charts

### Modified (Templates)

- `.doit/templates/spec-template.md` - Added User Journey and Entity Relationships sections
- `.doit/templates/plan-template.md` - Added Architecture Overview and Component Dependencies
- `.doit/templates/tasks-template.md` - Added Task Dependencies and Phase Timeline
- `.doit/templates/commands/doit.specit.md` - Instructions for spec diagrams
- `.doit/templates/commands/doit.planit.md` - Instructions for plan diagrams
- `.doit/templates/commands/doit.taskit.md` - Instructions for task diagrams
- `.doit/templates/commands/doit.reviewit.md` - Instructions for review pie charts
- `templates/` - Distribution copies synchronized

## Testing

### Automated Tests

N/A - Template enhancement feature

### Manual Tests

| Test | Result |
|------|--------|
| MT-001: User Journey Visualization in spec-template | PASS |
| MT-002: Entity Relationships in spec-template | PASS |
| MT-003: doit.specify remove section logic | PASS |
| MT-004: Architecture Overview in plan-template | PASS |
| MT-005: Component Dependencies in plan-template | PASS |
| MT-006: Task Dependencies in tasks-template | PASS |
| MT-007: Phase Timeline in tasks-template | PASS |
| MT-008: doit.tasks diagram generation instructions | PASS |
| MT-009: doit.review Finding Distribution pie chart | PASS |
| MT-010: doit.review Test Results pie chart | PASS |
| MT-011: diagram-patterns.md documentation | PASS |

### Issues Fixed During Testing

1. templates/commands/doit.reviewit.md was missing mermaid visualization instructions - fixed by re-copying from .doit/
2. Nested code fences with 4 backticks didn't render properly - switched to tildes
3. diagram-patterns.md had broken markdown rendering - fixed nested code fence style

## Success Criteria

| ID | Criterion | Status |
|----|-----------|--------|
| SC-001 | spec.md template contains User Journey diagram section | PASS |
| SC-002 | plan.md template contains Architecture diagram section | PASS |
| SC-003 | tasks.md template contains Task Dependency diagram section | PASS |
| SC-004 | All mermaid syntax examples validate correctly | PASS |
| SC-005 | Diagram documentation provides comprehensive patterns | PASS |

## Related Issues

N/A - GitHub remote not accessible
