The AI Diagram Maker MCP Server generates professional software engineering diagrams from various inputs directly within AI agents like Cursor or Claude.
Natural language to diagrams — Describe your system, flow, or architecture in plain English to create flowcharts, sequence diagrams, ERDs, system/network architecture, UML, mindmaps, or workflows
JSON to diagrams — Visualize API responses, database schemas, config files, or any structured JSON data
ASCII art to diagrams — Convert text-based ASCII art (box-drawing characters, arrows, etc.) into polished visuals
Images to diagrams — Turn whiteboard photos, screenshots, or hand-drawn sketches (via public URL or base64 data URI) into clean diagrams
Mermaid to D2 diagrams — Convert Mermaid definitions (flowchart, sequenceDiagram, erDiagram, etc.) into D2 format rendered as PNG images
Inline rendering — Diagrams appear directly in the chat interface via MCP Apps UI, no downloads needed
Browser editing — Every generated diagram includes a URL to view and edit it in your browser
Customizable output — Add styling/layout instructions via a
promptparameter; optionally include iconsFlexible deployment — Works via stdio (local) or HTTP/Streamable HTTP (remote), compatible with Cursor, Claude Desktop, and Claude Code
Requires an API key — An AI Diagram Maker account and API key are needed for operation
AI Diagram Maker MCP Server
MCP server for AI Diagram Maker — generate beautiful software engineering diagrams directly inside Cursor, Claude Desktop, Claude Code, or any MCP-compatible AI agent.
ai-diagram-maker-mcp 🌐 ☁️ - Generate professional software diagrams from plain English descriptions.
Features
5 tools covering every input type: natural language text, JSON, ASCII art, images, and Mermaid
**Inline rendering ** — diagrams appear directly in the chat using MCP Apps UI, no downloads
Diagram URL in responses — open it in your browser to view and edit the diagram
5 diagram types: flowchart, sequence, ERD, system architecture, UML
Supports both stdio (local) and HTTP/Streamable HTTP (remote) transports
Prerequisites
Node.js 18+
An AI Diagram Maker account and API key
Installation
Option A — remote server (recommended)
Use our hosted MCP server — nothing to install. Add the config below to your MCP client (see step 3).
{
"mcpServers": {
"ai-diagram-maker": {
"url": "https://mcp.aidiagrammaker.com/mcp",
"headers": {
"X-ADM-API-Key": "<your api key>"
}
}
}
}Replace <your api key> with your API key from step 1.
Option B — run directly with npx
Run the MCP server locally. Nothing to install permanently — npx runs it on demand.
The command below is a standalone example to test the server works with any MCP-compatible client:
ADM_API_KEY=your_api_key npx ai-diagram-maker-mcp@latestMCP Client Configuration
Cursor
Remote server (recommended)
Use the hosted MCP server on Railway with your API key sent in the X-ADM-API-Key header. Add to ~/.cursor/mcp.json or Settings → MCP:
{
"mcpServers": {
"ai-diagram-maker": {
"url": "https://mcp.aidiagrammaker.com/mcp",
"headers": {
"X-ADM-API-Key": "your_api_key_here"
}
}
}
}Replace your_api_key_here with your AI Diagram Maker API key. No environment variables are required for this setup.
Local (stdio)
To run the server locally instead, use:
{
"mcpServers": {
"ai-diagram-maker": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "ai-diagram-maker-mcp"],
"env": {
"ADM_API_KEY": "your_api_key_here"
}
}
}
}To enable debug logging (request params and API payload), add "ADM_DEBUG": "1" to the env object. View output in Cursor → Output panel, then select the MCP or ai-diagram-maker channel so you see the server’s stderr logs.
Claude Desktop
Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows):
{
"mcpServers": {
"ai-diagram-maker": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "ai-diagram-maker-mcp"],
"env": {
"ADM_API_KEY": "your_api_key_here"
}
}
}
}Claude Code
claude mcp add ai-diagram-maker \
--command "npx" \
--args "-y,ai-diagram-maker-mcp" \
--env ADM_API_KEY=your_api_key_hereHTTP transport (remote / hosted)
A hosted instance runs at https://mcp.aidiagrammaker.com/mcp. Configure your MCP client with the server URL and pass the API key in request headers (not as an env var):
X-ADM-API-Key: <api_key>(recommended), orAuthorization: Bearer <api_key>
See the Cursor remote config above for a ready-to-use example.
To run your own HTTP server locally:
npx ai-diagram-maker-mcp --transport httpThe server listens on $PORT (or 3001). Send the API key in every request to /mcp via the headers above.
Environment Variables
Variable | Required | Default | Description |
| Yes (stdio only) | — | Your AI Diagram Maker API key (used only for stdio transport) |
| No |
| Override for local/staging API; also used as the base for diagram URLs in tool responses |
| No | — | Set to |
Tools
generate_diagram_from_text
Generate a diagram from a natural language description.
Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
| string | Yes | Natural language description of the diagram |
| enum | No | flowchart, sequence, erd, system_architecture, network_architecture, uml, mindmap, workflow |
| string | No | Additional styling/layout instruction |
Example prompts:
"Create a microservices architecture with API gateway, auth service, user service, and PostgreSQL database"
"Draw a sequence diagram for user login flow with JWT token generation"
"adm show the CI/CD pipeline for a Next.js app deployed to Vercel"
generate_diagram_from_json
Convert a JSON structure into a diagram (great for API responses, database schemas, config files).
Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
| string | Yes | JSON string to visualise |
| string | No | How to interpret the JSON |
| enum | No | Preferred diagram type |
generate_diagram_from_ascii
Convert ASCII art into a polished diagram.
Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
| string | Yes | Raw ASCII art diagram |
| string | No | Rendering instructions |
| enum | No | Preferred diagram type |
generate_diagram_from_image
Convert a whiteboard photo, screenshot, or any image into a clean diagram.
Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
| string | Yes | Public image URL or base64 data URI |
| string | No | What to extract or how to render |
| enum | No | Preferred output diagram type |
generate_diagram_from_mermaid
Convert a Mermaid diagram definition to D2 and return a PNG image.
Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
| string | Yes | Mermaid diagram source (e.g. flowchart, sequenceDiagram, erDiagram) |
| string | No | Optional layout or styling instruction |
| enum | No | Preferred diagram type for the converted output |
Trigger Keywords
The AI agent will automatically select the right tool when you use phrases like:
adm ...ai diagram maker ...create a diagram of ...show me a flowchart / sequence diagram / ERD / architecture ...visualise / draw / diagram ...
Local developer setup
Use these steps to clone the repo, build locally, and run the MCP server with Node.
1. Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/erajasekar/ai-diagram-maker-mcp.git
cd ai-diagram-maker-mcp2. Install dependencies
npm install3. (Optional) Regenerate API client
If you change the AI Diagram Maker OpenAPI spec or config, regenerate the client:
npm run generate4. Build
npm run buildThis compiles TypeScript and builds the MCP app UI into dist/. The server entrypoint is dist/index.js.
5. Run the local MCP server
stdio (default) — for use with Cursor, Claude Desktop, etc.:
ADM_API_KEY=your_api_key node dist/index.jsOr use the npm script:
ADM_API_KEY=your_api_key npm startHTTP transport — for remote clients or testing:
ADM_API_KEY=your_api_key node dist/index.js --transport httpOr:
ADM_API_KEY=your_api_key npm run start:httpThe HTTP server listens on $PORT (default 3001). Send the API key in request headers: X-ADM-API-Key or Authorization: Bearer <key>.
6. Use the local server in Cursor
Point Cursor at your built server via Settings → MCP (or ~/.cursor/mcp.json):
{
"mcpServers": {
"ai-diagram-maker": {
"command": "node",
"args": ["/absolute/path/to/ai-diagram-maker-mcp/dist/index.js"],
"env": {
"ADM_API_KEY": "your_api_key_here"
}
}
}
}Replace /absolute/path/to/ai-diagram-maker-mcp with the actual path to your cloned repo. After changing the config, restart Cursor or reload the MCP servers.
Add "ADM_DEBUG": "1" to env to see request logs in Cursor → Output (MCP channel).
License
MIT