name: "cli-anything-mermaid"
description: >-
Command-line interface for Mermaid Live Editor - Create, edit, and render Mermaid diagrams via stateful project files and mermaid.ink renderer URLs. Designed for AI agents and power users who need to generate flowcharts, sequence diagrams, and other visualizations without a GUI.

cli-anything-mermaid#

Create, edit, and render Mermaid diagrams via stateful project files and the mermaid.ink renderer. Designed for AI agents and power users who need to generate flowcharts, sequence diagrams, and other visualizations without a GUI.

Installation#

This CLI is installed as part of the cli-anything-mermaid package:

pip install cli-anything-mermaid

Prerequisites:

Python 3.10+
No external software required (rendering uses mermaid.ink cloud service)

Usage#

Basic Commands#

# Show help
cli-anything-mermaid --help

# Start interactive REPL mode
cli-anything-mermaid

# Create a new project
cli-anything-mermaid project new -o diagram.json

# Run with JSON output (for agent consumption)
cli-anything-mermaid --json project info

REPL Mode#

When invoked without a subcommand, the CLI enters an interactive REPL session:

cli-anything-mermaid
# Enter commands interactively with tab-completion and history

Command Groups#

Project#

Project lifecycle commands.

Command	Description
`new`	Create a new Mermaid project with optional sample preset and theme
`open`	Open an existing Mermaid project file
`save`	Save the current project to a file
`info`	Show current project information
`samples`	List available sample diagram presets

Diagram#

Diagram source manipulation commands.

Command	Description
`set`	Replace the Mermaid source text (inline or from file)
`show`	Print the current Mermaid source code

Export#

Render and share commands.

Command	Description
`render`	Render the diagram to SVG or PNG via mermaid.ink
`share`	Generate a Mermaid Live Editor URL for sharing

Session#

Session state commands.

Command	Description
`status`	Show current session state
`undo`	Undo the last diagram source change
`redo`	Redo the last undone change

Examples#

Create and Render a Flowchart#

# Create a project with flowchart sample
cli-anything-mermaid project new --sample flowchart -o flow.json

# Replace diagram source
cli-anything-mermaid --project flow.json diagram set --text "graph TD; A-->B; B-->C;"

# Render to SVG
cli-anything-mermaid --project flow.json export render output.svg --format svg

Create a Sequence Diagram#

# Create project with sequence sample
cli-anything-mermaid project new --sample sequence -o seq.json

# Set diagram from file
cli-anything-mermaid --project seq.json diagram set --file my_diagram.mmd

# Render to PNG
cli-anything-mermaid --project seq.json export render output.png --format png

# Generate an editable Mermaid Live URL
cli-anything-mermaid --project flow.json export share --mode edit

# Generate a view-only URL
cli-anything-mermaid --project flow.json export share --mode view

Interactive REPL Session#

cli-anything-mermaid
# new flowchart
# set graph TD; A-->B; B-->C;
# render output.svg
# share
# quit

State Management#

The CLI maintains session state with:

Undo/Redo: Revert or replay diagram source changes
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 (--json flag): Structured JSON for agent consumption

# Human output
cli-anything-mermaid project info

# JSON output for agents
cli-anything-mermaid --json project info

For AI Agents#

When using this CLI programmatically:

Always use --json flag 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 render 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