/template

drawio:template

Generate draw.io diagrams from intelligent templates with auto-populated content based on project context, tech stack detection, and user intent.

Overview

The template system provides a structured library of diagram starters organized by category. Each template contains draw.io XML with placeholder variables that are resolved at generation time. Templates can be composed together, inherited from base definitions, and selected automatically based on project analysis.

Flags

Flag	Alias	Type	Default	Description
--category <name>	-c	string	none	Filter templates by category (architecture, cloud, database, business, devops, network, uml, agile)
--list	-l	boolean	false	List all available templates (optionally filtered by --category)
--search <query>	-s	string	none	Search templates by name, description, or tags
--output <path>	-o	string	./<template-name>.drawio	Output file path for the generated diagram
--variables <json>	-V	string	{}	JSON object with template variable values
--preview	-p	boolean	false	Show template metadata and variable list without generating
--interactive	-i	boolean	false	Prompt for each template variable interactively
--verbose	-v	boolean	false	Show template resolution and variable substitution details
--dry-run	-n	boolean	false	Resolve variables and preview output without writing files

Flag Details

Discovery Flags

• --list (-l): Display all available templates with their names, categories, and descriptions. Combine with --category to filter: --list --category cloud.
• --search <query> (-s): Full-text search across template names, descriptions, and tags. Example: --search "kubernetes" finds K8s architecture, K8s deployment, and K8s monitoring templates.
• --category <name> (-c): Filter templates by category. Available categories:
  • architecture — Microservices, monolith, event-driven, hexagonal, clean architecture
  • cloud — AWS VPC, Azure VNET, GCP network, multi-cloud, serverless
  • database — ER diagrams, Prisma schema, MongoDB schema, migration flow
  • business — BPMN processes, swimlanes, org charts, journey maps
  • devops — CI/CD pipelines, Docker architecture, K8s clusters, monitoring
  • network — Topology, firewall rules, load balancers, DNS
  • uml — Class, sequence, state, activity, use case
  • agile — Sprint board, story map, kanban, retrospective

Generation Flags

• --output <path> (-o): Where to write the generated diagram. Defaults to the template name as the filename in the current directory.
• --variables <json> (-V): Provide values for template placeholders as a JSON string. Example: --variables '{"service_name": "API Gateway", "port": "8080", "replicas": "3"}'. Unknown variables are left as %variable% placeholders.
• --interactive (-i): The command lists all template variables and prompts for values one by one. Missing required variables cause an error; optional variables use defaults.

Preview Flags

• --preview (-p): Show template metadata: name, category, description, required variables, optional variables with defaults, and a text preview of the structure. Does not generate any file.
• --dry-run (-n): Resolve all variables and show the final XML that would be written, without creating the file.
• --verbose (-v): Show each variable substitution, template inheritance chain, and composition steps.

Examples with Flags

# List all templates
drawio:template --list

# Search for microservices templates
drawio:template --search "microservices"

# List templates in the cloud category
drawio:template --list --category cloud

# Preview a template before generating
drawio:template aws-vpc --preview

# Generate with variables
drawio:template microservices --variables '{"gateway_name": "Kong", "service_1_name": "Users", "service_2_name": "Orders", "service_3_name": "Payments"}' --output docs/architecture.drawio

# Interactive mode for variable filling
drawio:template er-diagram --interactive --output docs/data-model.drawio

# Dry run to see resolved template
drawio:template ci-pipeline --variables '{"repo": "myorg/myapp", "branch": "main"}' --dry-run

Template Categories

1. Software Architecture

Templates for system design, component diagrams, and architectural views.

Microservices Architecture

<mxfile host="app.diagrams.net" modified="%timestamp%" agent="drawio-template">
  <diagram id="microservices-%id%" name="Microservices Architecture">
    <mxGraphModel dx="1422" dy="762" grid="1" gridSize="10" guides="1"
      tooltips="1" connect="1" arrows="1" fold="1" page="1"
      pageScale="1" pageWidth="1169" pageHeight="827">
      <root>
        <mxCell id="0" />
        <mxCell id="1" parent="0" />

        <!-- API Gateway -->
        <mxCell id="gw-1" value="API Gateway&#xa;%gateway_name%" style="rounded=1;
          whiteSpace=wrap;html=1;fillColor=#dae8fc;strokeColor=#6c8ebf;
          fontSize=14;fontStyle=1;arcSize=20;" vertex="1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry x="400" y="40" width="200" height="60" as="geometry" />
        </mxCell>

        <!-- Service 1 -->
        <mxCell id="svc-1" value="%service_1_name%&#xa;Service" style="rounded=1;
          whiteSpace=wrap;html=1;fillColor=#d5e8d4;strokeColor=#82b366;
          fontSize=12;" vertex="1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry x="80" y="180" width="160" height="80" as="geometry" />
        </mxCell>

        <!-- Service 2 -->
        <mxCell id="svc-2" value="%service_2_name%&#xa;Service" style="rounded=1;
          whiteSpace=wrap;html=1;fillColor=#d5e8d4;strokeColor=#82b366;
          fontSize=12;" vertex="1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry x="320" y="180" width="160" height="80" as="geometry" />
        </mxCell>

        <!-- Service 3 -->
        <mxCell id="svc-3" value="%service_3_name%&#xa;Service" style="rounded=1;
          whiteSpace=wrap;html=1;fillColor=#d5e8d4;strokeColor=#82b366;
          fontSize=12;" vertex="1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry x="560" y="180" width="160" height="80" as="geometry" />
        </mxCell>

        <!-- Database layer -->
        <mxCell id="db-1" value="%db_1_name%" style="shape=cylinder3;
          whiteSpace=wrap;html=1;boundedLbl=1;backgroundOutline=1;size=15;
          fillColor=#f8cecc;strokeColor=#b85450;" vertex="1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry x="100" y="340" width="120" height="80" as="geometry" />
        </mxCell>

        <mxCell id="db-2" value="%db_2_name%" style="shape=cylinder3;
          whiteSpace=wrap;html=1;boundedLbl=1;backgroundOutline=1;size=15;
          fillColor=#f8cecc;strokeColor=#b85450;" vertex="1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry x="340" y="340" width="120" height="80" as="geometry" />
        </mxCell>

        <!-- Message Bus -->
        <mxCell id="bus-1" value="Message Bus&#xa;%message_bus%" style="shape=mxgraph.aws4.resourceIcon;
          resIcon=mxgraph.aws4.sqs;whiteSpace=wrap;html=1;fillColor=#E7157B;
          strokeColor=none;" vertex="1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry x="600" y="340" width="80" height="80" as="geometry" />
        </mxCell>

        <!-- Connections -->
        <mxCell id="e-gw-s1" style="edgeStyle=orthogonalEdgeStyle;" edge="1"
          source="gw-1" target="svc-1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry relative="1" as="geometry" />
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="e-gw-s2" style="edgeStyle=orthogonalEdgeStyle;" edge="1"
          source="gw-1" target="svc-2" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry relative="1" as="geometry" />
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="e-gw-s3" style="edgeStyle=orthogonalEdgeStyle;" edge="1"
          source="gw-1" target="svc-3" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry relative="1" as="geometry" />
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="e-s1-db1" style="edgeStyle=orthogonalEdgeStyle;dashed=1;"
          edge="1" source="svc-1" target="db-1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry relative="1" as="geometry" />
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="e-s2-db2" style="edgeStyle=orthogonalEdgeStyle;dashed=1;"
          edge="1" source="svc-2" target="db-2" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry relative="1" as="geometry" />
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="e-s3-bus" style="edgeStyle=orthogonalEdgeStyle;dashed=1;"
          edge="1" source="svc-3" target="bus-1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry relative="1" as="geometry" />
        </mxCell>
      </root>
    </mxGraphModel>
  </diagram>
</mxfile>

C4 Context Diagram

<mxfile host="app.diagrams.net" modified="%timestamp%">
  <diagram id="c4-context-%id%" name="C4 Context">
    <mxGraphModel dx="1422" dy="762" grid="1" gridSize="10" guides="1">
      <root>
        <mxCell id="0" />
        <mxCell id="1" parent="0" />

        <!-- System boundary -->
        <mxCell id="sys-1" value="%system_name%&#xa;[Software System]&#xa;&#xa;%system_description%"
          style="rounded=1;whiteSpace=wrap;html=1;fillColor=#438DD5;
          fontColor=#ffffff;strokeColor=#3C7FC0;fontSize=12;
          arcSize=5;verticalAlign=middle;" vertex="1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry x="350" y="250" width="240" height="140" as="geometry" />
        </mxCell>

        <!-- User persona -->
        <mxCell id="user-1" value="%user_persona%&#xa;[Person]&#xa;&#xa;%user_description%"
          style="shape=mxgraph.c4.person2;whiteSpace=wrap;html=1;
          fillColor=#08427B;fontColor=#ffffff;strokeColor=#073B6F;
          fontSize=12;" vertex="1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry x="400" y="20" width="140" height="140" as="geometry" />
        </mxCell>

        <!-- External system -->
        <mxCell id="ext-1" value="%external_system%&#xa;[External System]&#xa;&#xa;%ext_description%"
          style="rounded=1;whiteSpace=wrap;html=1;fillColor=#999999;
          fontColor=#ffffff;strokeColor=#8C8C8C;fontSize=12;arcSize=5;"
          vertex="1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry x="700" y="270" width="200" height="100" as="geometry" />
        </mxCell>

        <!-- Relationships -->
        <mxCell id="rel-1" value="Uses" style="edgeStyle=orthogonalEdgeStyle;
          rounded=1;html=1;fontSize=11;fontColor=#707070;"
          edge="1" source="user-1" target="sys-1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry relative="1" as="geometry" />
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="rel-2" value="Sends data to" style="edgeStyle=orthogonalEdgeStyle;
          rounded=1;html=1;fontSize=11;fontColor=#707070;dashed=1;"
          edge="1" source="sys-1" target="ext-1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry relative="1" as="geometry" />
        </mxCell>
      </root>
    </mxGraphModel>
  </diagram>
</mxfile>

2. Cloud Infrastructure

AWS Architecture

<mxfile host="app.diagrams.net" modified="%timestamp%">
  <diagram id="aws-%id%" name="AWS Architecture">
    <mxGraphModel dx="1422" dy="762" grid="1" gridSize="10" guides="1">
      <root>
        <mxCell id="0" />
        <mxCell id="1" parent="0" />

        <!-- VPC boundary -->
        <mxCell id="vpc-1" value="VPC: %vpc_cidr%" style="points=[[0,0],[0.25,0],
          [0.5,0],[0.75,0],[1,0],[1,0.25],[1,0.5],[1,0.75],[1,1],[0.75,1],
          [0.5,1],[0.25,1],[0,1],[0,0.75],[0,0.5],[0,0.25]];outlineConnect=0;
          gradientColor=none;html=1;whiteSpace=wrap;fontSize=12;fontStyle=1;
          fillColor=none;strokeColor=#248814;dashed=1;dashPattern=5 5;
          verticalAlign=top;align=left;spacingLeft=10;spacingTop=5;"
          vertex="1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry x="80" y="80" width="800" height="500" as="geometry" />
        </mxCell>

        <!-- Public subnet -->
        <mxCell id="pub-sub" value="Public Subnet&#xa;%public_cidr%"
          style="fillColor=#E6F2FF;strokeColor=#147EBA;dashed=1;
          verticalAlign=top;fontStyle=1;fontSize=11;" vertex="1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry x="100" y="120" width="360" height="200" as="geometry" />
        </mxCell>

        <!-- Private subnet -->
        <mxCell id="priv-sub" value="Private Subnet&#xa;%private_cidr%"
          style="fillColor=#FFF2E6;strokeColor=#B85400;dashed=1;
          verticalAlign=top;fontStyle=1;fontSize=11;" vertex="1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry x="100" y="360" width="760" height="200" as="geometry" />
        </mxCell>

        <!-- ALB -->
        <mxCell id="alb-1" value="ALB&#xa;%alb_name%"
          style="outlineConnect=0;fontColor=#232F3E;gradientColor=none;
          fillColor=#8C4FFF;strokeColor=none;dashed=0;verticalLabelPosition=bottom;
          verticalAlign=top;align=center;html=1;fontSize=11;fontStyle=0;
          aspect=fixed;pointerEvents=1;shape=mxgraph.aws4.application_load_balancer;"
          vertex="1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry x="240" y="160" width="60" height="60" as="geometry" />
        </mxCell>

        <!-- ECS/EKS cluster -->
        <mxCell id="compute-1" value="%compute_service%&#xa;%cluster_name%"
          style="outlineConnect=0;fontColor=#232F3E;gradientColor=none;
          fillColor=#ED7100;strokeColor=none;dashed=0;verticalLabelPosition=bottom;
          verticalAlign=top;align=center;html=1;fontSize=11;fontStyle=0;
          aspect=fixed;pointerEvents=1;shape=mxgraph.aws4.ecs_service;"
          vertex="1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry x="200" y="420" width="60" height="60" as="geometry" />
        </mxCell>

        <!-- RDS -->
        <mxCell id="rds-1" value="RDS&#xa;%rds_engine%"
          style="outlineConnect=0;fontColor=#232F3E;gradientColor=none;
          fillColor=#C925D1;strokeColor=none;dashed=0;verticalLabelPosition=bottom;
          verticalAlign=top;align=center;html=1;fontSize=11;fontStyle=0;
          aspect=fixed;pointerEvents=1;shape=mxgraph.aws4.rds;"
          vertex="1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry x="500" y="420" width="60" height="60" as="geometry" />
        </mxCell>

        <!-- S3 -->
        <mxCell id="s3-1" value="S3&#xa;%bucket_name%"
          style="outlineConnect=0;fontColor=#232F3E;gradientColor=none;
          fillColor=#3F8624;strokeColor=none;dashed=0;verticalLabelPosition=bottom;
          verticalAlign=top;align=center;html=1;fontSize=11;fontStyle=0;
          aspect=fixed;pointerEvents=1;shape=mxgraph.aws4.s3;"
          vertex="1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry x="700" y="420" width="60" height="60" as="geometry" />
        </mxCell>
      </root>
    </mxGraphModel>
  </diagram>
</mxfile>

Azure Architecture

Uses Azure-specific shapes from the draw.io Azure stencil library. Provide placeholders for resource group, region, and service names:

• %resource_group% - Azure resource group name
• %region% - Azure region (e.g., eastus2)
• %app_service_name% - App Service / Function App name
• %sql_server_name% - Azure SQL logical server
• %storage_account% - Storage account name
• %keyvault_name% - Key Vault name

GCP Architecture

Uses GCP-specific shapes. Placeholders include %project_id%, %region%, %gke_cluster%, %cloud_sql_instance%, %gcs_bucket%.

3. Business Process (BPMN)

<mxfile host="app.diagrams.net" modified="%timestamp%">
  <diagram id="bpmn-%id%" name="Business Process">
    <mxGraphModel dx="1422" dy="762" grid="1" gridSize="10" guides="1">
      <root>
        <mxCell id="0" />
        <mxCell id="1" parent="0" />

        <!-- Pool -->
        <mxCell id="pool-1" value="%process_name%" style="shape=mxgraph.bpmn.shape;
          perimeter=mxPerimeter.rectanglePerimeter;whiteSpace=wrap;html=1;
          isPool=1;horizontal=0;fontSize=14;fontStyle=1;" vertex="1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry x="40" y="40" width="900" height="300" as="geometry" />
        </mxCell>

        <!-- Lane 1 -->
        <mxCell id="lane-1" value="%lane_1_role%" style="shape=mxgraph.bpmn.shape;
          perimeter=mxPerimeter.rectanglePerimeter;whiteSpace=wrap;html=1;
          isLane=1;horizontal=0;fontSize=12;" vertex="1" parent="pool-1">
          <mxGeometry x="30" y="0" width="870" height="150" as="geometry" />
        </mxCell>

        <!-- Lane 2 -->
        <mxCell id="lane-2" value="%lane_2_role%" style="shape=mxgraph.bpmn.shape;
          perimeter=mxPerimeter.rectanglePerimeter;whiteSpace=wrap;html=1;
          isLane=1;horizontal=0;fontSize=12;" vertex="1" parent="pool-1">
          <mxGeometry x="30" y="150" width="870" height="150" as="geometry" />
        </mxCell>

        <!-- Start event -->
        <mxCell id="start-1" value="" style="shape=mxgraph.bpmn.shape;
          perimeter=mxPerimeter.ellipsePerimeter;symbol=general;
          isLooping=0;isSequential=0;isCompensation=0;isAdHoc=0;
          isCall=0;isInstantiating=0;outline=standard;fillColor=#dae8fc;
          strokeColor=#6c8ebf;" vertex="1" parent="lane-1">
          <mxGeometry x="40" y="50" width="40" height="40" as="geometry" />
        </mxCell>

        <!-- Task 1 -->
        <mxCell id="task-1" value="%task_1_name%" style="shape=mxgraph.bpmn.shape;
          perimeter=mxPerimeter.rectanglePerimeter;whiteSpace=wrap;html=1;
          rounded=1;fontSize=11;" vertex="1" parent="lane-1">
          <mxGeometry x="140" y="40" width="120" height="60" as="geometry" />
        </mxCell>

        <!-- Gateway -->
        <mxCell id="gw-1" value="" style="shape=mxgraph.bpmn.shape;
          perimeter=mxPerimeter.rhombusPerimeter;symbol=exclusiveGw;
          isMarkerVisible=1;fillColor=#fff2cc;strokeColor=#d6b656;"
          vertex="1" parent="lane-1">
          <mxGeometry x="320" y="45" width="50" height="50" as="geometry" />
        </mxCell>

        <!-- End event -->
        <mxCell id="end-1" value="" style="shape=mxgraph.bpmn.shape;
          perimeter=mxPerimeter.ellipsePerimeter;symbol=terminate;
          isLooping=0;isSequential=0;isCompensation=0;isAdHoc=0;
          isCall=0;isInstantiating=0;outline=end;fillColor=#f8cecc;
          strokeColor=#b85450;" vertex="1" parent="lane-1">
          <mxGeometry x="780" y="50" width="40" height="40" as="geometry" />
        </mxCell>
      </root>
    </mxGraphModel>
  </diagram>
</mxfile>

4. Database (ERD)

<mxfile host="app.diagrams.net" modified="%timestamp%">
  <diagram id="erd-%id%" name="Entity Relationship">
    <mxGraphModel dx="1422" dy="762" grid="1" gridSize="10" guides="1">
      <root>
        <mxCell id="0" />
        <mxCell id="1" parent="0" />

        <!-- Entity: %entity_1% -->
        <mxCell id="e1-header" value="%entity_1%" style="shape=table;
          startSize=30;container=1;collapsible=0;childLayout=tableLayout;
          fixedRows=1;rowLines=0;fontStyle=1;align=center;resizeLast=1;
          fillColor=#dae8fc;strokeColor=#6c8ebf;fontSize=13;"
          vertex="1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry x="80" y="80" width="220" height="180" as="geometry" />
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="e1-r1" value="" style="shape=tableRow;horizontal=0;
          startSize=0;swimlaneHead=0;swimlaneBody=0;fillColor=none;
          collapsible=0;dropTarget=0;points=[[0,0.5],[1,0.5]];
          portConstraint=eastwest;fontSize=11;" vertex="1" parent="e1-header">
          <mxGeometry y="30" width="220" height="30" as="geometry" />
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="e1-r1-k" value="PK" style="shape=partialRectangle;
          connectable=0;fillColor=none;top=0;left=0;bottom=0;right=0;
          fontStyle=1;overflow=hidden;fontSize=10;" vertex="1" parent="e1-r1">
          <mxGeometry width="40" height="30" as="geometry" />
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="e1-r1-v" value="id: %pk_type%" style="shape=partialRectangle;
          connectable=0;fillColor=none;top=0;left=0;bottom=0;right=0;
          overflow=hidden;fontSize=11;" vertex="1" parent="e1-r1">
          <mxGeometry x="40" width="180" height="30" as="geometry" />
        </mxCell>
      </root>
    </mxGraphModel>
  </diagram>
</mxfile>

5. DevOps / CI-CD Pipeline

<mxfile host="app.diagrams.net" modified="%timestamp%">
  <diagram id="cicd-%id%" name="CI/CD Pipeline">
    <mxGraphModel dx="1422" dy="762" grid="1" gridSize="10" guides="1">
      <root>
        <mxCell id="0" />
        <mxCell id="1" parent="0" />

        <!-- Pipeline header -->
        <mxCell id="header" value="%pipeline_name% Pipeline" style="text;
          html=1;fontSize=18;fontStyle=1;align=center;verticalAlign=middle;"
          vertex="1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry x="300" y="20" width="400" height="40" as="geometry" />
        </mxCell>

        <!-- Stage: Source -->
        <mxCell id="stage-src" value="Source" style="rounded=1;whiteSpace=wrap;
          html=1;fillColor=#e1d5e7;strokeColor=#9673a6;fontSize=12;
          fontStyle=1;" vertex="1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry x="40" y="100" width="140" height="60" as="geometry" />
        </mxCell>

        <!-- Stage: Build -->
        <mxCell id="stage-build" value="Build&#xa;%build_tool%" style="rounded=1;
          whiteSpace=wrap;html=1;fillColor=#dae8fc;strokeColor=#6c8ebf;
          fontSize=12;fontStyle=1;" vertex="1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry x="240" y="100" width="140" height="60" as="geometry" />
        </mxCell>

        <!-- Stage: Test -->
        <mxCell id="stage-test" value="Test&#xa;%test_framework%" style="rounded=1;
          whiteSpace=wrap;html=1;fillColor=#d5e8d4;strokeColor=#82b366;
          fontSize=12;fontStyle=1;" vertex="1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry x="440" y="100" width="140" height="60" as="geometry" />
        </mxCell>

        <!-- Stage: Deploy -->
        <mxCell id="stage-deploy" value="Deploy&#xa;%deploy_target%" style="rounded=1;
          whiteSpace=wrap;html=1;fillColor=#fff2cc;strokeColor=#d6b656;
          fontSize=12;fontStyle=1;" vertex="1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry x="640" y="100" width="140" height="60" as="geometry" />
        </mxCell>

        <!-- Stage: Monitor -->
        <mxCell id="stage-monitor" value="Monitor&#xa;%monitoring_tool%"
          style="rounded=1;whiteSpace=wrap;html=1;fillColor=#f8cecc;
          strokeColor=#b85450;fontSize=12;fontStyle=1;" vertex="1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry x="840" y="100" width="140" height="60" as="geometry" />
        </mxCell>

        <!-- Arrows -->
        <mxCell id="e1" style="edgeStyle=orthogonalEdgeStyle;" edge="1"
          source="stage-src" target="stage-build" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry relative="1" as="geometry" />
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="e2" style="edgeStyle=orthogonalEdgeStyle;" edge="1"
          source="stage-build" target="stage-test" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry relative="1" as="geometry" />
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="e3" style="edgeStyle=orthogonalEdgeStyle;" edge="1"
          source="stage-test" target="stage-deploy" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry relative="1" as="geometry" />
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="e4" style="edgeStyle=orthogonalEdgeStyle;" edge="1"
          source="stage-deploy" target="stage-monitor" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry relative="1" as="geometry" />
        </mxCell>
      </root>
    </mxGraphModel>
  </diagram>
</mxfile>

6. Network Topology

Placeholders: %network_name%, %firewall_name%, %switch_count%, %server_count%, %subnet_ranges%. Uses draw.io networking shapes (mxgraph.cisco, mxgraph.network).

7. UML (Class Diagram)

<mxfile host="app.diagrams.net" modified="%timestamp%">
  <diagram id="uml-%id%" name="UML Class Diagram">
    <mxGraphModel dx="1422" dy="762" grid="1" gridSize="10" guides="1">
      <root>
        <mxCell id="0" />
        <mxCell id="1" parent="0" />

        <!-- Class: %class_1% -->
        <mxCell id="cls-1" value="%class_1%"
          style="swimlane;fontStyle=1;align=center;startSize=26;
          fillColor=#dae8fc;strokeColor=#6c8ebf;" vertex="1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry x="200" y="80" width="200" height="160" as="geometry" />
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="cls-1-attrs" value="- %attr_1%: %type_1%&#xa;- %attr_2%: %type_2%&#xa;- %attr_3%: %type_3%"
          style="text;strokeColor=none;fillColor=none;align=left;
          verticalAlign=top;spacingLeft=4;spacingRight=4;overflow=hidden;
          rotatable=0;points=[[0,0.5],[1,0.5]];portConstraint=eastwest;"
          vertex="1" parent="cls-1">
          <mxGeometry y="26" width="200" height="64" as="geometry" />
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="cls-1-line" value=""
          style="line;strokeWidth=1;fillColor=none;align=left;
          verticalAlign=middle;spacingTop=-1;spacingLeft=3;spacingRight=10;
          rotatable=0;labelPosition=left;points=[];portConstraint=eastwest;"
          vertex="1" parent="cls-1">
          <mxGeometry y="90" width="200" height="8" as="geometry" />
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="cls-1-methods" value="+ %method_1%(): %return_1%&#xa;+ %method_2%(): %return_2%"
          style="text;strokeColor=none;fillColor=none;align=left;
          verticalAlign=top;spacingLeft=4;spacingRight=4;overflow=hidden;
          rotatable=0;points=[[0,0.5],[1,0.5]];portConstraint=eastwest;"
          vertex="1" parent="cls-1">
          <mxGeometry y="98" width="200" height="62" as="geometry" />
        </mxCell>
      </root>
    </mxGraphModel>
  </diagram>
</mxfile>

8. Agile / Project Management

Templates for sprint boards, roadmaps, user story maps, and Kanban flows. Placeholders: %project_name%, %sprint_name%, %team_name%, %epic_names%, %milestone_dates%.

Template Variables

Templates use the %variable_name% placeholder syntax compatible with draw.io's built-in placeholder system. Variables are resolved in this order:

1. Explicit arguments passed via command flags
2. Project detection from package.json, Dockerfile, etc.
3. Defaults defined in the template config

Variable Reference

Variable	Source	Description
%timestamp%	Auto	ISO timestamp of generation
%id%	Auto	Unique diagram identifier
%project_name%	package.json / pyproject.toml	Project name
%service_N_name%	Explicit	Service names for microservices
%db_N_name%	Explicit	Database names
%gateway_name%	Explicit	API gateway identifier
%message_bus%	Detection	Kafka, RabbitMQ, SQS, etc.
%vpc_cidr%	Explicit	VPC CIDR block
%public_cidr%	Explicit	Public subnet CIDR
%private_cidr%	Explicit	Private subnet CIDR
%compute_service%	Detection	ECS, EKS, Lambda, etc.
%build_tool%	Detection	Webpack, Vite, Maven, etc.
%test_framework%	Detection	Jest, Pytest, JUnit, etc.
%deploy_target%	Explicit	K8s, ECS, Lambda, etc.

Variable Resolution Script

#!/usr/bin/env bash
# resolve-template-vars.sh - Resolve template variables from project context

set -euo pipefail

TEMPLATE_FILE="$1"
OUTPUT_FILE="$2"

# Auto-detect project name
PROJECT_NAME=$(python3 -c "
import json, os
for f in ['package.json', 'pyproject.toml', 'Cargo.toml', 'pom.xml']:
    if os.path.isfile(f):
        if f == 'package.json':
            d = json.load(open(f))
            print(d.get('name', 'my-project'))
            break
print('my-project')
" 2>/dev/null || echo "my-project")

# Auto-detect build tool
BUILD_TOOL="unknown"
if [ -f "vite.config.ts" ] || [ -f "vite.config.js" ]; then
    BUILD_TOOL="Vite"
elif [ -f "webpack.config.js" ]; then
    BUILD_TOOL="Webpack"
elif [ -f "pom.xml" ]; then
    BUILD_TOOL="Maven"
elif [ -f "build.gradle" ]; then
    BUILD_TOOL="Gradle"
fi

# Auto-detect test framework
TEST_FW="unknown"
if grep -q "jest" package.json 2>/dev/null; then
    TEST_FW="Jest"
elif grep -q "vitest" package.json 2>/dev/null; then
    TEST_FW="Vitest"
elif [ -f "pytest.ini" ] || [ -f "pyproject.toml" ]; then
    TEST_FW="Pytest"
fi

TIMESTAMP=$(date -u +"%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ")
ID=$(head -c 8 /dev/urandom | od -An -tx1 | tr -d ' \n')

sed \
    -e "s/%timestamp%/$TIMESTAMP/g" \
    -e "s/%id%/$ID/g" \
    -e "s/%project_name%/$PROJECT_NAME/g" \
    -e "s/%build_tool%/$BUILD_TOOL/g" \
    -e "s/%test_framework%/$TEST_FW/g" \
    "$TEMPLATE_FILE" > "$OUTPUT_FILE"

echo "Generated: $OUTPUT_FILE"

Template Composition

Combine multiple templates into a single multi-page diagram. Each template becomes a separate page (tab) in the draw.io file.

#!/usr/bin/env bash
# compose-templates.sh - Merge multiple templates into one multi-page .drawio file

set -euo pipefail

OUTPUT="$1"
shift

echo '<mxfile host="app.diagrams.net">' > "$OUTPUT"

PAGE=0
for TEMPLATE in "$@"; do
    PAGE=$((PAGE + 1))
    # Extract the <diagram> element from each template and append
    sed -n '/<diagram /,/<\/diagram>/p' "$TEMPLATE" >> "$OUTPUT"
done

echo '</mxfile>' >> "$OUTPUT"
echo "Composed $PAGE pages into $OUTPUT"

Usage

# Compose architecture + database + pipeline into one file
./compose-templates.sh full-system.drawio \
    templates/microservices.drawio \
    templates/erd.drawio \
    templates/cicd-pipeline.drawio

Template Inheritance

Base templates define structure; specialized templates override specific sections.

Base Template (base-architecture.drawio.template)

Contains the common layout: title block, legend, version box, border. Child templates inherit these elements and add domain-specific content.

Specialization

#!/usr/bin/env python3
"""template-inherit.py - Merge base template with specialization."""

import xml.etree.ElementTree as ET
import sys

def merge_templates(base_path, child_path, output_path):
    base_tree = ET.parse(base_path)
    child_tree = ET.parse(child_path)

    base_root = base_tree.getroot()
    child_root = child_tree.getroot()

    # Get base diagram's root element
    base_diagram = base_root.find('.//diagram')
    base_model = base_diagram.find('.//root')

    # Get child elements (skip id=0 and id=1 which are structural)
    child_model = child_root.find('.//root')
    for cell in child_model:
        cell_id = cell.get('id', '')
        if cell_id not in ('0', '1'):
            # Check if this overrides a base element
            existing = base_model.find(f".//*[@id='{cell_id}']")
            if existing is not None:
                base_model.remove(existing)
            base_model.append(cell)

    base_tree.write(output_path, xml_declaration=True, encoding='UTF-8')
    print(f"Merged: {output_path}")

if __name__ == '__main__':
    merge_templates(sys.argv[1], sys.argv[2], sys.argv[3])

Template Config (Companion Files)

Each template can have a .config.json companion that defines its variables, defaults, and validation rules:

{
  "template": "microservices",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "category": "software-architecture",
  "variables": {
    "gateway_name": {
      "description": "API Gateway name",
      "default": "API Gateway",
      "required": false
    },
    "service_1_name": {
      "description": "First microservice name",
      "default": "Auth",
      "required": true
    },
    "service_2_name": {
      "description": "Second microservice name",
      "default": "Users",
      "required": true
    },
    "service_3_name": {
      "description": "Third microservice name",
      "default": "Orders",
      "required": true
    },
    "message_bus": {
      "description": "Message broker type",
      "default": "Kafka",
      "enum": ["Kafka", "RabbitMQ", "SQS", "NATS", "Redis Streams"]
    }
  },
  "detection": {
    "files": ["docker-compose.yml", "k8s/"],
    "patterns": ["microservice", "gateway", "service-mesh"]
  }
}

Custom Template Storage

Store custom templates in the project or globally:

# Project-local templates
.claude/drawio-templates/
  my-custom-arch.drawio.template
  my-custom-arch.config.json

# Plugin templates (shared)
plugins/drawio-diagramming/templates/
  software-architecture/
    microservices.drawio.template
    c4-context.drawio.template
    c4-container.drawio.template
    layered.drawio.template
  cloud-infrastructure/
    aws-three-tier.drawio.template
    azure-hub-spoke.drawio.template
    gcp-landing-zone.drawio.template
  business-process/
    bpmn-simple.drawio.template
    bpmn-collaboration.drawio.template
  database/
    erd-crow-foot.drawio.template
    erd-chen.drawio.template
  devops/
    cicd-github-actions.drawio.template
    cicd-azure-pipelines.drawio.template
    gitflow.drawio.template
  network/
    lan-topology.drawio.template
    wan-topology.drawio.template
  uml/
    class-diagram.drawio.template
    sequence-diagram.drawio.template
    state-machine.drawio.template
  agile/
    sprint-board.drawio.template
    user-story-map.drawio.template
    roadmap.drawio.template

Smart Template Selection

Automatically select the best template based on project analysis:

#!/usr/bin/env bash
# smart-select.sh - Suggest templates based on project context

set -euo pipefail

SUGGESTIONS=()

# Check for containerization
if [ -f "Dockerfile" ] || [ -f "docker-compose.yml" ]; then
    SUGGESTIONS+=("devops/cicd-github-actions")
fi

# Check for Kubernetes
if [ -d "k8s" ] || [ -d "helm" ] || [ -d "charts" ]; then
    SUGGESTIONS+=("cloud-infrastructure/aws-three-tier")
    SUGGESTIONS+=("devops/cicd-github-actions")
fi

# Check for database migrations
if [ -d "migrations" ] || [ -d "prisma" ] || [ -f "schema.prisma" ]; then
    SUGGESTIONS+=("database/erd-crow-foot")
fi

# Check for microservices patterns
if [ -f "docker-compose.yml" ]; then
    SVC_COUNT=$(grep -c "build:" docker-compose.yml 2>/dev/null || echo 0)
    if [ "$SVC_COUNT" -gt 2 ]; then
        SUGGESTIONS+=("software-architecture/microservices")
    fi
fi

# Check for monorepo
if [ -f "lerna.json" ] || [ -f "pnpm-workspace.yaml" ] || [ -d "packages" ]; then
    SUGGESTIONS+=("software-architecture/layered")
fi

# Check for API definitions
if ls ./*.openapi.* 1>/dev/null 2>&1 || ls ./openapi.* 1>/dev/null 2>&1; then
    SUGGESTIONS+=("software-architecture/c4-context")
fi

echo "Suggested templates for this project:"
for tmpl in "${SUGGESTIONS[@]}"; do
    echo "  - $tmpl"
done

Template Gallery

Browse available templates by category:

#!/usr/bin/env bash
# template-gallery.sh - List available templates grouped by category

TEMPLATE_DIR="${1:-plugins/drawio-diagramming/templates}"

echo "=== Draw.io Template Gallery ==="
echo ""

for category_dir in "$TEMPLATE_DIR"/*/; do
    category=$(basename "$category_dir")
    count=$(ls "$category_dir"/*.template 2>/dev/null | wc -l)
    echo "[$category] ($count templates)"

    for tmpl in "$category_dir"/*.template; do
        [ -f "$tmpl" ] || continue
        name=$(basename "$tmpl" .drawio.template)
        config="${tmpl%.template}.config.json"
        if [ -f "$config" ]; then
            desc=$(python3 -c "import json; print(json.load(open('$config')).get('description',''))" 2>/dev/null)
            echo "  - $name: $desc"
        else
            echo "  - $name"
        fi
    done
    echo ""
done

Execution Flow

1. User invokes drawio:template with optional category and variable overrides
2. If no category specified, run smart selection based on project context
3. Present matching templates from the gallery
4. User selects a template (or accepts the top suggestion)
5. Resolve template variables from project context and explicit arguments
6. Generate the .drawio XML file with resolved placeholders
7. Optionally compose multiple templates into a multi-page document
8. Report generated file path and variable resolution summary