draw.io XML Generation Reference

draw.io XML Generation Reference

XML Document Structure

Full Format (mxfile wrapper)

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<mxfile host="app.diagrams.net" modified="2026-03-14T00:00:00.000Z"
        agent="Claude" version="24.0.0" type="device">
  <diagram id="page-1" name="Page 1">
    <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"
                  math="0" shadow="0">
      <root>
        <mxCell id="0"/>
        <mxCell id="1" parent="0"/>
        <!-- diagram content here -->
      </root>
    </mxGraphModel>
  </diagram>
</mxfile>

Simplified Format (IMPORT ONLY — do NOT use for .drawio files)

The mxGraphModel-only format works for clipboard import but causes blank files when saved directly as .drawio. The draw.io desktop app and web editor both expect the full <mxfile> wrapper to render the diagram. Always use the full format above.

<!-- DO NOT save this as a .drawio file — it will appear blank -->
<mxGraphModel>
  <root>
    <mxCell id="0"/>
    <mxCell id="1" parent="0"/>
    <!-- only works for import/paste, not for .drawio files -->
  </root>
</mxGraphModel>

mxGraphModel Attributes

Attribute	Default	Description
dx	0	Horizontal scroll offset
dy	0	Vertical scroll offset
grid	1	Show grid (0/1)
gridSize	10	Grid spacing in px
guides	1	Enable alignment guides
tooltips	1	Show tooltips
connect	1	Enable connection points
arrows	1	Show arrows on edges
fold	1	Enable container folding
page	1	Show page boundaries
pageScale	1	Page zoom scale
pageWidth	1169	Page width (A4 landscape)
pageHeight	827	Page height (A4 landscape)
math	0	Enable LaTeX math rendering
shadow	0	Default shadow on shapes
background	none	Background color — always use none (transparent) for clean embedding

IMPORTANT: Always set background="none" on the <mxGraphModel> element. Transparent backgrounds ensure diagrams embed cleanly in any context (dark mode, light mode, wiki pages, PRs). Never use a solid white background unless explicitly requested.

Mandatory Structural Cells

Every diagram MUST begin with these two cells. They are never rendered but form the cell hierarchy root.

<mxCell id="0"/>                    <!-- Root cell (invisible) -->
<mxCell id="1" parent="0"/>         <!-- Default layer -->

• id="0" is the absolute root. It has no parent.
• id="1" is the default layer. All visible shapes/edges use parent="1" unless placed on a custom layer.
• Omitting either cell causes diagram corruption.

Vertex Cells (Shapes)

Vertices represent boxes, circles, and all other shapes. They require vertex="1" and an mxGeometry child.

<mxCell id="2" value="My Shape" style="rounded=1;whiteSpace=wrap;html=1;"
        vertex="1" parent="1">
  <mxGeometry x="100" y="50" width="120" height="60" as="geometry"/>
</mxCell>

Vertex Attributes

Attribute	Required	Description
id	Yes	Unique identifier (string)
value	No	Label text (plain or HTML)
style	No	Semicolon-delimited style string
vertex	Yes	Must be "1"
parent	Yes	Parent cell ID (usually "1")
connectable	No	"0" to disable connections

mxGeometry for Vertices

<mxGeometry x="100" y="50" width="120" height="60" as="geometry"/>

Attribute	Description
x	Left edge position (px from canvas origin)
y	Top edge position (px from canvas origin)
width	Shape width in px
height	Shape height in px
as	Must be "geometry"
relative	"1" for relative positioning inside parent

Edge Cells (Connectors)

Edges connect vertices. They require edge="1" and typically source/target attributes.

<mxCell id="3" value="connects to" style="edgeStyle=orthogonalEdgeStyle;"
        edge="1" source="2" target="4" parent="1">
  <mxGeometry relative="1" as="geometry"/>
</mxCell>

Edge Attributes

Attribute	Required	Description
id	Yes	Unique identifier
value	No	Edge label
style	No	Style string
edge	Yes	Must be "1"
source	No	Source vertex ID
target	No	Target vertex ID
parent	Yes	Parent cell ID

mxGeometry for Edges

Edge geometry uses relative="1" and may contain waypoints:

<mxGeometry relative="1" as="geometry">
  <Array as="points">
    <mxPoint x="200" y="150"/>
    <mxPoint x="300" y="150"/>
  </Array>
  <mxPoint x="100" y="100" as="sourcePoint"/>
  <mxPoint x="400" y="200" as="targetPoint"/>
</mxGeometry>

• sourcePoint / targetPoint: fallback when source/target cells are not set.
• Array as="points": intermediate waypoints for routing.

Edge Labels

Position labels along edge using mxGeometry inside a child cell:

<mxCell id="label1" value="0..*" style="edgeLabel;align=left;" vertex="1"
        connectable="0" parent="3">
  <mxGeometry x="-0.5" y="0" relative="1" as="geometry">
    <mxPoint x="-10" y="-10" as="offset"/>
  </mxGeometry>
</mxCell>

• x in [-1, 1]: position along edge (-1=source, 0=middle, 1=target).
• y: perpendicular offset.

Style String Format

Styles are semicolon-separated key=value pairs. Order does not matter. A trailing semicolon is conventional.

rounded=1;whiteSpace=wrap;html=1;fillColor=#dae8fc;strokeColor=#6c8ebf;fontSize=14;

Named styles can appear as the first token without =:

shape=hexagon;perimeter=hexagonPerimeter2;size=0.25;

Fill Properties

Property	Values	Description
fillColor	#hex, none	Shape fill color
gradientColor	#hex, none	Gradient end color
gradientDirection	south, north, east, west	Gradient direction
opacity	0-100	Overall opacity
fillOpacity	0-100	Fill-only opacity
glass	0/1	Glass/gloss effect
shadow	0/1	Drop shadow
swimlaneFillColor	#hex	Swimlane body fill

Stroke Properties

Property	Values	Description
strokeColor	#hex, none	Border/line color
strokeWidth	number	Border width in px
dashed	0/1	Dashed line
dashPattern	string	Dash pattern (e.g., "8 4")
strokeOpacity	0-100	Stroke-only opacity
fixDash	0/1	Keep dash pattern on zoom

Shape Properties

Property	Values	Description
shape	shape name	Shape type (see Shape Types below)
rounded	0/1	Round corners on rectangles
arcSize	number	Corner radius (0-50)
perimeter	perimeter name	Connection point calculation
aspect	fixed	Lock aspect ratio
direction	south, north, east, west	Shape rotation direction
rotation	degrees	Rotation angle
flipH	0/1	Flip horizontal
flipV	0/1	Flip vertical
size	number	Shape-specific size parameter
imageWidth, imageHeight	number	Embedded image dimensions
image	URL	Image source

Text Properties

Property	Values	Description
fontSize	number	Font size in pt
fontFamily	string	Font name (e.g., "Helvetica")
fontColor	#hex	Text color
fontStyle	bitmask	0=normal, 1=bold, 2=italic, 4=underline (combine with +)
align	left, center, right	Horizontal text alignment
verticalAlign	top, middle, bottom	Vertical text alignment
labelPosition	left, center, right	Label horizontal position relative to shape
verticalLabelPosition	top, middle, bottom	Label vertical position
labelBackgroundColor	#hex, none	Label background
labelBorderColor	#hex, none	Label border
html	0/1	Enable HTML label rendering
whiteSpace	wrap	Enable text wrapping
overflow	fill, width, hidden, visible	Text overflow behavior
spacing	number	Padding around text
spacingTop, spacingBottom, spacingLeft, spacingRight	number	Directional padding
textOpacity	0-100	Text-only opacity

fontStyle bitmask examples:

• fontStyle=1 = bold
• fontStyle=2 = italic
• fontStyle=3 = bold + italic
• fontStyle=5 = bold + underline
• fontStyle=7 = bold + italic + underline

Edge Properties

Property	Values	Description
edgeStyle	style name	Edge routing algorithm
curved	0/1	Curved edges
rounded	0/1	Rounded corners on orthogonal edges
jettySize	auto, number	Orthogonal edge segment length
startArrow	arrow name	Arrow at source end
endArrow	arrow name	Arrow at target end
startSize	number	Start arrow size
endSize	number	End arrow size
startFill	0/1	Fill start arrow (1=filled, 0=open)
endFill	0/1	Fill end arrow
jumpStyle	arc, gap, sharp, line, none	Line crossing style
jumpSize	number	Jump/gap size
exitX, exitY	0-1	Source connection point (relative)
entryX, entryY	0-1	Target connection point (relative)
exitDx, exitDy	number	Source connection offset
entryDx, entryDy	number	Target connection offset
exitPerimeter	0/1	Use perimeter for source
entryPerimeter	0/1	Use perimeter for target
sourcePortConstraint	north, south, east, west	Constrain source side
targetPortConstraint	north, south, east, west	Constrain target side

Container Properties

Property	Values	Description
container	0/1	Cell is a container/group
collapsible	0/1	Show collapse/expand button
swimlaneFillColor	#hex	Body fill of swimlane
startSize	number	Header height in swimlane
childLayout	stackLayout	Auto-layout children
horizontalStack	0/1	Stack direction
stackFill	0/1	Children fill container width
stackSpacing	number	Gap between stacked children
resizeParent	0/1	Resize parent to fit children
resizeParentMax	number	Max parent resize

Sketch Properties

Property	Values	Description
sketch	0/1	Hand-drawn/sketch appearance
comic	0/1	Comic/casual style (same as sketch)
fillStyle	solid, hachure, cross-hatch, dots, zigzag, dashes	Sketch fill pattern
hachureGap	number	Gap between fill lines
hachureAngle	number	Angle of fill lines
jiggle	number	Hand-drawn jiggle amount (1-5)
curveFitting	number	Curve smoothness

Behavior Properties

Property	Values	Description
movable	0/1	Can be moved
resizable	0/1	Can be resized
rotatable	0/1	Can be rotated
editable	0/1	Label can be edited
deletable	0/1	Can be deleted
connectable	0/1	Can have connections
cloneable	0/1	Can be cloned
pointerEvents	0/1	Responds to mouse events
locked	0/1	Locked in place

Shape Types

Core Shapes

These are built-in and do not require a shape= prefix when used as the default:

Shape	Style	Notes
Rectangle	(default, no shape needed)	Default shape
Rounded Rectangle	rounded=1;
Ellipse	shape=ellipse; or ellipse;	Also perimeter=ellipsePerimeter;
Rhombus (Diamond)	shape=rhombus; or rhombus;	Decision shape
Triangle	shape=triangle;	Points right by default
Hexagon	shape=hexagon;perimeter=hexagonPerimeter2;size=0.25;
Cloud	shape=cloud;
Cylinder	shape=cylinder3;whiteSpace=wrap;	Database shape
Circle	ellipse;aspect=fixed;	Fixed aspect ellipse
Line	shape=line;	Horizontal separator
Arrow	shape=singleArrow; or shape=doubleArrow;

Extended Shapes

Shape	Style
Cube	shape=cube;whiteSpace=wrap;
Isometric Cube	shape=isoCube;isoAngle=15;
Document	shape=document;
Folder	shape=folder;tabWidth=50;tabHeight=14;tabPosition=left;
Card	shape=card;size=18;
Tape	shape=tape;
Note	shape=note;size=15;
Process	shape=process;
Step	shape=step;size=0.2;perimeter=stepPerimeter;
Callout	shape=callout;size=20;position=0.5;position2=0.5;base=20;
Parallelogram	shape=parallelogram;perimeter=parallelogramPerimeter;size=0.2;
Trapezoid	shape=trapezoid;perimeter=trapezoidPerimeter;size=0.4;
Cross	shape=cross;size=0.2;
Star	shape=mxgraph.basic.star;
Heart	shape=mxgraph.basic.heart;
Delay	shape=delay;
Display	shape=display;
Data Storage	shape=dataStorage;
Internal Storage	shape=internalStorage;dx=20;dy=20;
Or	shape=or;
And	shape=mxgraph.electrical.logic_gates.and;
Manual Input	shape=manualInput;size=15;
Manual Operation	shape=manualOperation;size=15;
Predefined Process	shape=process;whiteSpace=wrap;

UML Shapes

Shape	Style
Actor	shape=umlActor;verticalLabelPosition=bottom;
Boundary	shape=umlBoundary;
Entity	shape=umlEntity;
Control	shape=umlControl;
Lifeline	shape=umlLifeline;perimeter=lifelinePerimeter;
Activation	points=[]; (narrow rectangle on lifeline)
Frame	shape=umlFrame;
Destroy	shape=umlDestroy;
Package	shape=folder;tabWidth=80;tabHeight=20;
Component	shape=component;
Interface	shape=providedRequiredInterface;
Class	See UML Class example below

Stencil Libraries

External shape libraries accessed via shape=mxgraph.<library>.<shape>:

Library Prefix	Domain
mxgraph.flowchart.*	Flowchart symbols
mxgraph.bpmn.*	BPMN 2.0 elements
mxgraph.aws4.*	AWS Architecture (v4)
mxgraph.azure.*	Microsoft Azure icons
mxgraph.gcp2.*	Google Cloud Platform
mxgraph.kubernetes.*	Kubernetes resources
mxgraph.cisco.*	Cisco network equipment
mxgraph.uml.*	UML 2.x extended
mxgraph.er.*	Entity-Relationship
mxgraph.basic.*	Basic shapes
mxgraph.arrows2.*	Arrow shapes
mxgraph.lean_mapping.*	Value stream mapping
mxgraph.electrical.*	Electrical engineering
mxgraph.floorplan.*	Floor plans
mxgraph.ios.*	iOS mockups
mxgraph.android.*	Android mockups
mxgraph.mockup.*	Web mockups
mxgraph.archimate3.*	ArchiMate 3.0
mxgraph.sysml.*	SysML
mxgraph.eip.*	Enterprise Integration Patterns
mxgraph.c4.*	C4 model

Common AWS Shapes

shape=mxgraph.aws4.resourceIcon;resIcon=mxgraph.aws4.ec2
shape=mxgraph.aws4.resourceIcon;resIcon=mxgraph.aws4.s3
shape=mxgraph.aws4.resourceIcon;resIcon=mxgraph.aws4.lambda
shape=mxgraph.aws4.resourceIcon;resIcon=mxgraph.aws4.rds
shape=mxgraph.aws4.resourceIcon;resIcon=mxgraph.aws4.dynamodb
shape=mxgraph.aws4.resourceIcon;resIcon=mxgraph.aws4.sqs
shape=mxgraph.aws4.resourceIcon;resIcon=mxgraph.aws4.sns
shape=mxgraph.aws4.resourceIcon;resIcon=mxgraph.aws4.api_gateway
shape=mxgraph.aws4.resourceIcon;resIcon=mxgraph.aws4.cloudfront
shape=mxgraph.aws4.group;grIcon=mxgraph.aws4.vpc
shape=mxgraph.aws4.group;grIcon=mxgraph.aws4.region

Common Azure Shapes

shape=mxgraph.azure.app_service
shape=mxgraph.azure.storage_blob
shape=mxgraph.azure.azure_functions
shape=mxgraph.azure.sql_database
shape=mxgraph.azure.virtual_machine
shape=mxgraph.azure.azure_active_directory
shape=mxgraph.azure.key_vaults
shape=mxgraph.azure.kubernetes_services

Common Kubernetes Shapes

shape=mxgraph.kubernetes.pod
shape=mxgraph.kubernetes.svc
shape=mxgraph.kubernetes.deploy
shape=mxgraph.kubernetes.rs
shape=mxgraph.kubernetes.ing
shape=mxgraph.kubernetes.cm
shape=mxgraph.kubernetes.secret
shape=mxgraph.kubernetes.ns
shape=mxgraph.kubernetes.node
shape=mxgraph.kubernetes.vol
shape=mxgraph.kubernetes.pv
shape=mxgraph.kubernetes.pvc

Edge Routing Styles

Style	Description
edgeStyle=orthogonalEdgeStyle	Right-angle routing (most common)
edgeStyle=segmentEdgeStyle	Manual segment routing
edgeStyle=elbowEdgeStyle	Single elbow bend
edgeStyle=entityRelationEdgeStyle	ER diagram routing
edgeStyle=isometricEdgeStyle	Isometric routing
edgeStyle=none	Straight line (no routing)
curved=1	Smooth curved connections

Recommended Edge Style (prevents ugly connections)

Always use this as the base edge style for clean, professional connections:

edgeStyle=orthogonalEdgeStyle;rounded=1;jettySize=auto;orthogonalLoop=1;

Why each property matters:

• rounded=1 — rounds corners at bends instead of sharp right angles
• jettySize=auto — automatically calculates segment length so edges don't overlap shapes
• orthogonalLoop=1 — prevents self-loop edges from collapsing

For edges between non-aligned shapes, specify explicit connection points:

<!-- Exit from right side of source, enter left side of target -->
<mxCell id="e1" style="edgeStyle=orthogonalEdgeStyle;rounded=1;jettySize=auto;
        exitX=1;exitY=0.5;exitDx=0;exitDy=0;
        entryX=0;entryY=0.5;entryDx=0;entryDy=0;"
        edge="1" source="a" target="b" parent="1">
  <mxGeometry relative="1" as="geometry"/>
</mxCell>

Connection point reference (exitX/exitY and entryX/entryY):

• (0, 0.5) = left center
• (1, 0.5) = right center
• (0.5, 0) = top center
• (0.5, 1) = bottom center

For crossing edges, add jump style:

jumpStyle=arc;jumpSize=16;

For primary/important flows, increase stroke width:

strokeWidth=2;

For return/response flows, use dashed:

dashed=1;dashPattern=8 4;

Perimeter Types

Perimeters determine where connection points sit on a shape:

Perimeter	For Shape
perimeter=rectanglePerimeter	Rectangle (default)
perimeter=ellipsePerimeter	Ellipse, circle
perimeter=rhombusPerimeter	Diamond
perimeter=trianglePerimeter	Triangle
perimeter=hexagonPerimeter2	Hexagon
perimeter=parallelogramPerimeter	Parallelogram
perimeter=trapezoidPerimeter	Trapezoid
perimeter=stepPerimeter	Step/chevron
perimeter=lifelinePerimeter	UML lifeline
perimeter=centerPerimeter	Connect to center only
perimeter=calloutPerimeter	Callout/speech bubble

Arrow Types

Used with startArrow and endArrow:

Arrow	Appearance
classic	Standard filled arrowhead
classicThin	Thin filled arrowhead
block	Filled block arrow
blockThin	Thin block arrow
open	Open (unfilled) arrowhead
openThin	Thin open arrowhead
oval	Filled circle
diamond	Filled diamond
diamondThin	Thin diamond
box	Square
halfCircle	Half circle
circle	Circle (used with endFill=0 for open)
cross	X mark
dash	Short perpendicular line
async	Half arrowhead (async message)
ERone	ER "one" notation
ERmandOne	ER "mandatory one" notation
ERmany	ER "many" notation
ERoneToMany	ER "one to many"
ERzeroToMany	ER "zero to many"
ERzeroToOne	ER "zero to one"
none	No arrow

Standard Color Palette

Fill / Stroke Pairs (draw.io defaults)

Name	Fill	Stroke
Blue	#dae8fc	#6c8ebf
Green	#d5e8d4	#82b366
Orange	#ffe6cc	#d6b656
Yellow	#fff2cc	#d6b656
Red	#f8cecc	#b85450
Purple	#e1d5e7	#9673a6
Gray	#f5f5f5	#666666
Dark Blue	#1ba1e2	#006eaf
White	#ffffff	#000000
Dark	#333333	#000000

Status Colors

Status	Fill	Stroke
Healthy / Success	#d5e8d4	#82b366
Warning	#fff2cc	#d6b656
Error / Critical	#f8cecc	#b85450
Info	#dae8fc	#6c8ebf
Disabled	#f5f5f5	#666666

HTML Labels

When html=1 is in the style, the value attribute supports HTML:

<mxCell id="5" value="&lt;b&gt;Bold&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;i&gt;Italic&lt;/i&gt;"
        style="html=1;whiteSpace=wrap;" vertex="1" parent="1">

Supported HTML tags:

• <b>, <strong> - bold
• <i>, <em> - italic
• <u> - underline
• <br> or <br/> - line break
• <font color="#hex" size="N" face="family"> - font styling
• <sup>, <sub> - superscript, subscript
• <hr> - horizontal rule
• <table>, <tr>, <td> - tables (for UML class boxes, etc.)
• <ul>, <ol>, <li> - lists
• <a href="url"> - hyperlinks
• <span style="..."> - inline CSS

HTML entities must be escaped in XML: < > & "

UML Class Box with HTML Table

<mxCell id="10" value="&lt;table style='border:0;'&gt;
  &lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style='font-weight:bold;border-bottom:1px solid #666;'&gt;ClassName&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
  &lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style='text-align:left;border-bottom:1px solid #ccc;'&gt;- name: String&lt;br&gt;- age: int&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
  &lt;tr&gt;&lt;td style='text-align:left;'&gt;+ getName(): String&lt;br&gt;+ setName(n: String): void&lt;/td&gt;&lt;/tr&gt;
&lt;/table&gt;"
style="shape=classBox;html=1;whiteSpace=wrap;overflow=fill;" vertex="1" parent="1">

Metadata with Object Tags

Wrap mxCell in <object> to add custom key-value metadata:

<object label="API Gateway" id="20" service-type="gateway"
        owner="platform-team" sla="99.99" environment="production">
  <mxCell style="shape=mxgraph.aws4.resourceIcon;resIcon=mxgraph.aws4.api_gateway;"
          vertex="1" parent="1">
    <mxGeometry x="200" y="100" width="60" height="60" as="geometry"/>
  </mxCell>
</object>

• Any attribute on <object> becomes searchable metadata.
• label replaces value (same purpose).
• id moves from mxCell to <object>.
• Use placeholders="1" in style to reference attributes: %owner%, %sla%.

Groups and Containers

Make a cell a container with container=1. Children reference it via parent:

<!-- Container group -->
<mxCell id="group1" value="VPC" style="container=1;collapsible=1;swimlane;
        startSize=30;fillColor=#e6d0de;strokeColor=#ae4132;" vertex="1" parent="1">
  <mxGeometry x="50" y="50" width="400" height="300" as="geometry"/>
</mxCell>

<!-- Child inside container -->
<mxCell id="child1" value="Subnet A" style="rounded=1;" vertex="1" parent="group1">
  <mxGeometry x="20" y="40" width="100" height="50" as="geometry"/>
</mxCell>

• Child x, y coordinates are relative to the container's top-left.
• collapsible=1 adds a collapse/expand toggle.
• swimlane style adds a header bar with startSize height.

Layers

Additional layers are cells with parent="0":

<mxCell id="0"/>
<mxCell id="1" parent="0"/>                            <!-- Layer 1 (default) -->
<mxCell id="layer2" value="Annotations" parent="0"/>    <!-- Layer 2 -->

<!-- Shape on default layer -->
<mxCell id="s1" value="Server" vertex="1" parent="1">...</mxCell>

<!-- Shape on layer 2 -->
<mxCell id="s2" value="Note" vertex="1" parent="layer2">...</mxCell>

Layers can be shown/hidden independently in draw.io.

Multiple Pages

Multiple <diagram> elements inside <mxfile>:

<mxfile>
  <diagram id="page1" name="Overview">
    <mxGraphModel>...</mxGraphModel>
  </diagram>
  <diagram id="page2" name="Detail View">
    <mxGraphModel>...</mxGraphModel>
  </diagram>
</mxfile>

Validation Checklist for AI-Generated Diagrams

Before outputting any draw.io XML, verify:

1. Full mxfile wrapper: XML starts with <mxfile> containing <diagram> containing <mxGraphModel> — bare <mxGraphModel> causes blank files
2. Structural cells present: <mxCell id="0"/> and <mxCell id="1" parent="0"/> exist
3. Unique IDs: Every cell has a unique id attribute
4. Valid parent references: Every parent attribute references an existing cell ID
5. Vertex/edge flag: Shapes have vertex="1", connectors have edge="1"
6. Edge targets exist: source and target on edges reference existing vertex IDs
7. Geometry present: Every vertex has <mxGeometry> with width and height
8. Edge geometry: Every edge has <mxGeometry relative="1" as="geometry"/>
9. Edge routing quality: Edges use rounded=1;jettySize=auto; for clean bends; non-aligned shapes specify exitX/exitY/entryX/entryY for precise connection points
10. Style spelling: All style properties use exact camelCase names from this reference
11. Perimeter matches shape: Hexagons use hexagonPerimeter2, not rectanglePerimeter
12. HTML escaping: If html=1, all < > & in value are XML-escaped
13. No overlapping shapes: Check that shapes have distinct x, y positions
14. Reasonable dimensions: Shapes are 40-300px wide, 30-200px tall typically
15. Connected graph: All edges connect to existing source/target vertices
16. Label readability: Font size >= 10pt for normal text
17. Layers used: At least 2 layers defined (content + annotations or semantic grouping)
18. Containers used: Related elements grouped using container=1 parent cells

Complete Examples

Example 1: Simple Flowchart

<mxfile host="Claude" modified="2026-03-17T00:00:00.000Z" agent="Claude Code" version="24.0.0" type="device">
  <diagram id="flowchart-1" name="Flowchart">
    <mxGraphModel dx="1422" dy="794" grid="1" gridSize="10" guides="1" tooltips="1" connect="1" arrows="1" fold="1" page="1" pageScale="1" pageWidth="1169" pageHeight="827" math="0" shadow="0" background="none">
      <root>
        <mxCell id="0"/>
        <mxCell id="1" value="Flow" parent="0"/>
        <mxCell id="layer-notes" value="Annotations" parent="0"/>
        <mxCell id="title" value="&lt;b&gt;Data Processing Flow&lt;/b&gt;" style="text;html=1;fontSize=16;align=left;" vertex="1" parent="layer-notes">
          <mxGeometry x="40" y="10" width="250" height="30" as="geometry"/>
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="2" value="Start" style="ellipse;fillColor=#d5e8d4;strokeColor=#82b366;fontStyle=1;shadow=1;html=1;" vertex="1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry x="200" y="50" width="100" height="50" as="geometry"/>
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="3" value="&lt;b&gt;Process Data&lt;/b&gt;" style="rounded=1;whiteSpace=wrap;html=1;fillColor=#dae8fc;strokeColor=#6c8ebf;shadow=1;" vertex="1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry x="175" y="140" width="150" height="60" as="geometry"/>
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="4" value="&lt;b&gt;Valid?&lt;/b&gt;" style="rhombus;whiteSpace=wrap;html=1;fillColor=#fff2cc;strokeColor=#d6b656;shadow=1;" vertex="1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry x="195" y="240" width="110" height="90" as="geometry"/>
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="5" value="&lt;b&gt;Save&lt;/b&gt;" style="rounded=1;whiteSpace=wrap;html=1;fillColor=#dae8fc;strokeColor=#6c8ebf;shadow=1;" vertex="1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry x="175" y="380" width="150" height="60" as="geometry"/>
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="6" value="&lt;b&gt;Handle Error&lt;/b&gt;" style="rounded=1;whiteSpace=wrap;html=1;fillColor=#f8cecc;strokeColor=#b85450;shadow=1;" vertex="1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry x="380" y="255" width="130" height="60" as="geometry"/>
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="7" value="End" style="ellipse;fillColor=#d5e8d4;strokeColor=#82b366;fontStyle=1;shadow=1;html=1;" vertex="1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry x="200" y="490" width="100" height="50" as="geometry"/>
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="e1" style="edgeStyle=orthogonalEdgeStyle;rounded=1;jettySize=auto;strokeWidth=2;" edge="1" source="2" target="3" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry relative="1" as="geometry"/>
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="e2" style="edgeStyle=orthogonalEdgeStyle;rounded=1;jettySize=auto;strokeWidth=2;" edge="1" source="3" target="4" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry relative="1" as="geometry"/>
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="e3" value="Yes" style="edgeStyle=orthogonalEdgeStyle;rounded=1;jettySize=auto;strokeWidth=2;exitX=0.5;exitY=1;exitDx=0;exitDy=0;" edge="1" source="4" target="5" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry relative="1" as="geometry"/>
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="e4" value="No" style="edgeStyle=orthogonalEdgeStyle;rounded=1;jettySize=auto;strokeWidth=2;exitX=1;exitY=0.5;exitDx=0;exitDy=0;entryX=0;entryY=0.5;entryDx=0;entryDy=0;" edge="1" source="4" target="6" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry relative="1" as="geometry"/>
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="e5" style="edgeStyle=orthogonalEdgeStyle;rounded=1;jettySize=auto;strokeWidth=2;" edge="1" source="5" target="7" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry relative="1" as="geometry"/>
        </mxCell>
      </root>
    </mxGraphModel>
  </diagram>
</mxfile>

Example 2: Architecture Diagram with Containers

<mxfile host="Claude" modified="2026-03-17T00:00:00.000Z" agent="Claude Code" version="24.0.0" type="device">
  <diagram id="arch-1" name="AWS Architecture">
    <mxGraphModel dx="1422" dy="794" grid="1" gridSize="10" guides="1" tooltips="1" connect="1" arrows="1" fold="1" page="1" pageScale="1" pageWidth="1169" pageHeight="827" math="0" shadow="0" background="none">
      <root>
        <mxCell id="0"/>
        <mxCell id="1" value="Infrastructure" parent="0"/>
        <mxCell id="layer-data" value="Data Layer" parent="0"/>
        <mxCell id="layer-notes" value="Annotations" parent="0"/>
        <!-- Title -->
        <mxCell id="title" value="&lt;b&gt;AWS VPC Architecture&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;&lt;font color=&quot;#666&quot; style=&quot;font-size:10px;&quot;&gt;Production Environment&lt;/font&gt;" style="text;html=1;fontSize=16;align=left;" vertex="1" parent="layer-notes">
          <mxGeometry x="50" y="10" width="300" height="40" as="geometry"/>
        </mxCell>
        <!-- VPC Container -->
        <mxCell id="vpc" value="&lt;b&gt;VPC&lt;/b&gt; (10.0.0.0/16)" style="swimlane;container=1;collapsible=0;startSize=30;fillColor=none;strokeColor=#ae4132;strokeWidth=2;rounded=1;dashed=1;dashPattern=5 5;html=1;fontStyle=1;" vertex="1" parent="1">
          <mxGeometry x="50" y="60" width="620" height="360" as="geometry"/>
        </mxCell>
        <!-- Public Subnet -->
        <mxCell id="pub" value="&lt;b&gt;Public Subnet&lt;/b&gt;" style="swimlane;container=1;startSize=25;fillColor=#dae8fc;fillOpacity=40;strokeColor=#6c8ebf;html=1;" vertex="1" parent="vpc">
          <mxGeometry x="20" y="50" width="270" height="290" as="geometry"/>
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="alb" value="&lt;b&gt;ALB&lt;/b&gt;" style="shape=mxgraph.aws4.resourceIcon;resIcon=mxgraph.aws4.elastic_load_balancing;html=1;shadow=1;" vertex="1" parent="pub">
          <mxGeometry x="95" y="40" width="60" height="60" as="geometry"/>
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="ec2a" value="&lt;b&gt;EC2&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;App-1" style="shape=mxgraph.aws4.resourceIcon;resIcon=mxgraph.aws4.ec2;html=1;shadow=1;" vertex="1" parent="pub">
          <mxGeometry x="30" y="150" width="60" height="60" as="geometry"/>
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="ec2b" value="&lt;b&gt;EC2&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;App-2" style="shape=mxgraph.aws4.resourceIcon;resIcon=mxgraph.aws4.ec2;html=1;shadow=1;" vertex="1" parent="pub">
          <mxGeometry x="160" y="150" width="60" height="60" as="geometry"/>
        </mxCell>
        <!-- Private Subnet on data layer -->
        <mxCell id="priv" value="&lt;b&gt;Private Subnet&lt;/b&gt;" style="swimlane;container=1;startSize=25;fillColor=#d5e8d4;fillOpacity=40;strokeColor=#82b366;html=1;" vertex="1" parent="vpc">
          <mxGeometry x="330" y="50" width="270" height="290" as="geometry"/>
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="rds" value="&lt;b&gt;RDS&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;Postgres" style="shape=mxgraph.aws4.resourceIcon;resIcon=mxgraph.aws4.rds;html=1;shadow=1;" vertex="1" parent="priv">
          <mxGeometry x="95" y="60" width="60" height="60" as="geometry"/>
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="cache" value="&lt;b&gt;ElastiCache&lt;/b&gt;&lt;br&gt;Redis" style="shape=mxgraph.aws4.resourceIcon;resIcon=mxgraph.aws4.elasticache;html=1;shadow=1;" vertex="1" parent="priv">
          <mxGeometry x="95" y="180" width="60" height="60" as="geometry"/>
        </mxCell>
        <!-- Edges with proper routing -->
        <mxCell id="e1" style="edgeStyle=orthogonalEdgeStyle;rounded=1;jettySize=auto;strokeWidth=2;exitX=0.25;exitY=1;exitDx=0;exitDy=0;" edge="1" source="alb" target="ec2a" parent="vpc">
          <mxGeometry relative="1" as="geometry"/>
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="e2" style="edgeStyle=orthogonalEdgeStyle;rounded=1;jettySize=auto;strokeWidth=2;exitX=0.75;exitY=1;exitDx=0;exitDy=0;" edge="1" source="alb" target="ec2b" parent="vpc">
          <mxGeometry relative="1" as="geometry"/>
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="e3" value="TCP/5432" style="edgeStyle=orthogonalEdgeStyle;rounded=1;jettySize=auto;dashed=1;dashPattern=8 4;strokeColor=#82b366;fontSize=9;jumpStyle=arc;jumpSize=16;" edge="1" source="ec2a" target="rds" parent="vpc">
          <mxGeometry relative="1" as="geometry"/>
        </mxCell>
        <mxCell id="e4" value="TCP/5432" style="edgeStyle=orthogonalEdgeStyle;rounded=1;jettySize=auto;dashed=1;dashPattern=8 4;strokeColor=#82b366;fontSize=9;jumpStyle=arc;jumpSize=16;" edge="1" source="ec2b" target="rds" parent="vpc">
          <mxGeometry relative="1" as="geometry"/>
        </mxCell>
      </root>
    </mxGraphModel>
  </diagram>
</mxfile>

Example 3: UML Sequence Diagram

<mxGraphModel>
  <root>
    <mxCell id="0"/>
    <mxCell id="1" parent="0"/>
    <!-- Lifelines -->
    <mxCell id="client" value="Client" style="shape=umlLifeline;perimeter=lifelinePerimeter;whiteSpace=wrap;container=1;collapsible=0;recursiveResize=0;outlineConnect=0;portConstraint=eastwest;size=40;" vertex="1" parent="1">
      <mxGeometry x="100" y="20" width="100" height="400" as="geometry"/>
    </mxCell>
    <mxCell id="server" value="API Server" style="shape=umlLifeline;perimeter=lifelinePerimeter;whiteSpace=wrap;container=1;collapsible=0;recursiveResize=0;outlineConnect=0;portConstraint=eastwest;size=40;" vertex="1" parent="1">
      <mxGeometry x="300" y="20" width="100" height="400" as="geometry"/>
    </mxCell>
    <mxCell id="db" value="Database" style="shape=umlLifeline;perimeter=lifelinePerimeter;whiteSpace=wrap;container=1;collapsible=0;recursiveResize=0;outlineConnect=0;portConstraint=eastwest;size=40;" vertex="1" parent="1">
      <mxGeometry x="500" y="20" width="100" height="400" as="geometry"/>
    </mxCell>
    <!-- Activation on server -->
    <mxCell id="act1" value="" style="points=[];fillColor=#dae8fc;strokeColor=#6c8ebf;" vertex="1" parent="server">
      <mxGeometry x="45" y="80" width="10" height="120" as="geometry"/>
    </mxCell>
    <!-- Messages -->
    <mxCell id="m1" value="POST /api/users" style="endArrow=block;endFill=1;html=1;" edge="1" parent="1">
      <mxGeometry width="160" relative="1" as="geometry">
        <mxPoint x="150" y="100" as="sourcePoint"/>
        <mxPoint x="345" y="100" as="targetPoint"/>
      </mxGeometry>
    </mxCell>
    <mxCell id="m2" value="INSERT INTO users" style="endArrow=block;endFill=1;html=1;" edge="1" parent="1">
      <mxGeometry width="160" relative="1" as="geometry">
        <mxPoint x="355" y="140" as="sourcePoint"/>
        <mxPoint x="545" y="140" as="targetPoint"/>
      </mxGeometry>
    </mxCell>
    <mxCell id="m3" value="result" style="endArrow=open;endFill=0;dashed=1;html=1;" edge="1" parent="1">
      <mxGeometry width="160" relative="1" as="geometry">
        <mxPoint x="545" y="180" as="sourcePoint"/>
        <mxPoint x="355" y="180" as="targetPoint"/>
      </mxGeometry>
    </mxCell>
    <mxCell id="m4" value="201 Created" style="endArrow=open;endFill=0;dashed=1;html=1;" edge="1" parent="1">
      <mxGeometry width="160" relative="1" as="geometry">
        <mxPoint x="345" y="200" as="sourcePoint"/>
        <mxPoint x="150" y="200" as="targetPoint"/>
      </mxGeometry>
    </mxCell>
  </root>
</mxGraphModel>

Example 4: Entity-Relationship Diagram

<mxGraphModel>
  <root>
    <mxCell id="0"/>
    <mxCell id="1" parent="0"/>
    <!-- User Entity -->
    <mxCell id="user" value="User" style="shape=table;startSize=30;container=1;collapsible=1;childLayout=tableLayout;fixedRows=1;rowLines=0;fontStyle=1;align=center;resizeLast=1;fillColor=#dae8fc;strokeColor=#6c8ebf;" vertex="1" parent="1">
      <mxGeometry x="80" y="80" width="200" height="150" as="geometry"/>
    </mxCell>
    <mxCell id="u1" value="id : INT PK" style="text;strokeColor=none;fillColor=none;align=left;verticalAlign=middle;spacingLeft=4;" vertex="1" parent="user">
      <mxGeometry y="30" width="200" height="30" as="geometry"/>
    </mxCell>
    <mxCell id="u2" value="name : VARCHAR(255)" style="text;strokeColor=none;fillColor=none;align=left;verticalAlign=middle;spacingLeft=4;" vertex="1" parent="user">
      <mxGeometry y="60" width="200" height="30" as="geometry"/>
    </mxCell>
    <mxCell id="u3" value="email : VARCHAR(255)" style="text;strokeColor=none;fillColor=none;align=left;verticalAlign=middle;spacingLeft=4;" vertex="1" parent="user">
      <mxGeometry y="90" width="200" height="30" as="geometry"/>
    </mxCell>
    <mxCell id="u4" value="created_at : TIMESTAMP" style="text;strokeColor=none;fillColor=none;align=left;verticalAlign=middle;spacingLeft=4;" vertex="1" parent="user">
      <mxGeometry y="120" width="200" height="30" as="geometry"/>
    </mxCell>
    <!-- Order Entity -->
    <mxCell id="order" value="Order" style="shape=table;startSize=30;container=1;collapsible=1;childLayout=tableLayout;fixedRows=1;rowLines=0;fontStyle=1;align=center;resizeLast=1;fillColor=#d5e8d4;strokeColor=#82b366;" vertex="1" parent="1">
      <mxGeometry x="420" y="80" width="200" height="150" as="geometry"/>
    </mxCell>
    <mxCell id="o1" value="id : INT PK" style="text;strokeColor=none;fillColor=none;align=left;verticalAlign=middle;spacingLeft=4;" vertex="1" parent="order">
      <mxGeometry y="30" width="200" height="30" as="geometry"/>
    </mxCell>
    <mxCell id="o2" value="user_id : INT FK" style="text;strokeColor=none;fillColor=none;align=left;verticalAlign=middle;spacingLeft=4;" vertex="1" parent="order">
      <mxGeometry y="60" width="200" height="30" as="geometry"/>
    </mxCell>
    <mxCell id="o3" value="total : DECIMAL" style="text;strokeColor=none;fillColor=none;align=left;verticalAlign=middle;spacingLeft=4;" vertex="1" parent="order">
      <mxGeometry y="90" width="200" height="30" as="geometry"/>
    </mxCell>
    <mxCell id="o4" value="status : ENUM" style="text;strokeColor=none;fillColor=none;align=left;verticalAlign=middle;spacingLeft=4;" vertex="1" parent="order">
      <mxGeometry y="120" width="200" height="30" as="geometry"/>
    </mxCell>
    <!-- Relationship -->
    <mxCell id="rel1" value="" style="edgeStyle=entityRelationEdgeStyle;endArrow=ERzeroToMany;startArrow=ERmandOne;endFill=0;startFill=0;strokeWidth=2;" edge="1" source="user" target="order" parent="1">
      <mxGeometry relative="1" as="geometry"/>
    </mxCell>
    <mxCell id="rel1_label" value="places" style="edgeLabel;align=center;" vertex="1" connectable="0" parent="rel1">
      <mxGeometry x="0" y="0" relative="1" as="geometry"/>
    </mxCell>
  </root>
</mxGraphModel>