Guide · Agent skill
How to use the Excalidraw Diagram Generator agent skill
Updated · written with AI from the project's own documentation and checked against our catalogue data
The Excalidraw Diagram Generator is an agent skill that lets an AI agent turn a written description of a process, system or idea into an Excalidraw diagram file. This guide explains what agent skills are, how to install this one, how to ask for diagrams in plain language, and what to check before you rely on the output. By the end you will be able to generate a .excalidraw file and open it in the free Excalidraw web app to refine it.
Excalidraw Diagram Generatorgithub/awesome-copilot · MIT Download the skill Quick start
- 1Download the skill ZIP. Download the ZIP of the excalidraw-diagram-generator skill from this page.
- 2Unzip into the skills folder. Unzip it into ~/.claude/skills/ for personal use, or into a project's .claude/skills/ folder.
- 3Or upload it in the Claude apps. In Settings, open Capabilities, then Skills, and upload the skill.
- 4Describe the diagram. Write a plain-language request naming the items and how they connect.
- 5Let the agent generate the file. The agent produces a .excalidraw file using the skill's workflow.
- 6Open in Excalidraw. Go to https://excalidraw.com, click Open or drag the file in.
- 7Refine by hand. Tidy spacing, labels and colours, since layouts are generated from text.
What is an agent skill and what does this one do?
An agent skill is a folder of instructions and optional helper files that an AI agent can load when a task matches the skill's description. This one is named excalidraw-diagram-generator and is listed in the github/awesome-copilot repository under skills/excalidraw-diagram-generator. It is released under the MIT licence.
When the skill is active, the agent can take a text description and produce an .excalidraw file. Excalidraw is a drawing format that you can open and edit in the Excalidraw web app at https://excalidraw.com.
- Flowcharts for sequential processes, workflows and decision trees
- Relationship diagrams for entities, components and dependencies
- Mind maps for concept hierarchies and brainstorming results
- System architecture diagrams showing components and data flow
- Other types in the skill: data flow, swimlane, class, sequence and ER diagrams
How do you install the Excalidraw Diagram Generator skill?
You can install the skill in one of two ways. For Claude Code, download the ZIP of the skill from our page and unzip it into ~/.claude/skills/ to make it available to you across projects. To limit it to one project, unzip it into that project's .claude/skills/ folder instead.
In the Claude apps, you can upload the skill instead. Open Settings, go to Capabilities, then Skills, and upload the skill there.
- Option A (personal): unzip into ~/.claude/skills/
- Option B (single project): unzip into the project's .claude/skills/ folder
- Option C (Claude apps): Settings → Capabilities → Skills, then upload
How do you trigger the skill with natural requests?
You do not need a special command. The skill's description lists phrases that should activate it, so ask for a diagram in ordinary language. Name the kind of diagram you want and describe the items and the order or connections between them.
Clear requests work best. Name the key steps or components, say how they connect, and say whether it is a process, a system or a set of ideas. The skill chooses a diagram type from your wording.
- "Create a diagram showing how a support ticket moves from intake to resolution."
- "Make a flowchart for our expense approval process with a manager decision point."
- "Draw the system architecture of a web app with a frontend, API, queue and database."
- "Create a mind map about the causes of churn, with five main branches."
- "Generate an Excalidraw file for the relationship between customers, orders and invoices."
What do you need before you start?
You need a clear description of what to visualise, the main entities or steps, and how they relate. The skill itself needs Python 3 only if you want to run its helper scripts. The core workflow of generating and saving the .excalidraw file does not depend on those scripts.
The helper scripts are add-arrow.py, add-icon-to-diagram.py and split-excalidraw-library.py. The icon script refers to an Excalidraw icon library folder, and the default aws-architecture-icons library is referenced but not included in the reviewed files. You must obtain that library yourself if you want those icons.
- Python 3 (only for the helper scripts)
- An Excalidraw icon library folder (only for add-icon-to-diagram.py)
- A web browser to open the result at https://excalidraw.com
python split-excalidraw-library.py <path-to-library-directory>What safety points should you know about?
This skill runs scripts, so read them before you run them. Its source states that it does not use the network. Review the files in the scripts folder and the scripts/README.md, which describes the setup steps for the library tools.
Generated coordinates can overlap or place labels in the wrong spot, so check the diagram before sharing it. Do not treat the output as a brand-approved graphic, because the skill does not check against a style guide.
- The skill runs Python scripts; review them before running
- The source states the skill uses no network access
- Check overlapping shapes and misplaced labels in the output
- Do not rely on it for brand-compliant or pixel-precise artwork
What tips improve the diagrams?
Keep diagrams focused. The skill's guidance suggests roughly 3 to 10 flowchart steps and 4 to 6 mind map branches, and recommends splitting larger requests into several diagrams. Ask for one diagram per question rather than one huge map.
After generation, open the file in Excalidraw and tidy the layout by hand. The skill uses fontFamily 5 (Excalifont) for text and a suggested colour scheme, so you can change colours and positions in the editor.
- Name the diagram type if you know it, such as swimlane or ER diagram
- Ask for 3 to 6 main branches in a mind map
- Split large processes into several smaller diagrams
- Open the .excalidraw file in Excalidraw and adjust layout by hand
What people use it for
- Sketching a software architecture from a written design note before a team review
- Turning meeting notes about a business process into a flowchart to edit
- Building a mind map of study topics as a starting outline for a student
- Drafting an ER diagram of database tables to refine in Excalidraw
- Creating a swimlane view of which team handles each step in a workflow
Frequently asked questions
Is the Excalidraw Diagram Generator skill free?
The skill is released under the MIT licence, as stated in the source. Excalidraw itself is described as free in our assessment, through its web app at https://excalidraw.com.
How do I install the Excalidraw agent skill?
Download the ZIP from this page and unzip it into ~/.claude/skills/ for personal use or into a project's .claude/skills/ folder. In the Claude apps you can instead upload it under Settings, Capabilities, Skills.
What do I need to run it?
The core skill needs no extra software beyond an agent that can load skills. Python 3 is needed only to run the helper scripts, and the icon script also needs an Excalidraw icon library folder that is not included in the reviewed files.
How do I open the generated .excalidraw file?
Visit https://excalidraw.com, click Open, or drag and drop the file onto the page. The source also mentions an Excalidraw VS Code extension as another option.
Does the skill use the internet?
The source states that the skill does not use the network. It does run Python scripts, so review those files before running them.
Why does my diagram have overlapping boxes or misplaced labels?
Layouts are generated from text, so coordinates can overlap or labels can land in the wrong place. Move elements by hand in Excalidraw, or ask the agent to regenerate with fewer elements.
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Our verdict
This skill suits developers, students and teams who want a quick editable starting diagram from a written description. It is a poor fit for final, pixel-precise or brand-compliant graphics, or for anyone who cannot check the output for overlaps. If you need exact design control, draw in Excalidraw directly or use a dedicated design tool.
Download the skill