Introduction
Mermaid is a diagramming and charting tool:
JavaScript based diagramming and charting tool that renders Markdown-inspired text definitions to create and modify diagrams dynamically.
and Markdown editor Typora naturally supported using Mermaid syntax to make diagrams. Take the first example, Sequence Diagram, on Typora documentation. If we type the following code snippet in Typora editor:
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| ```mermaid
%% Example of sequence diagram
sequenceDiagram
Alice->>Bob: Hello Bob, how are you?
alt is sick
Bob->>Alice: Not so good :(
else is well
Bob->>Alice: Feeling fresh like a daisy
end
opt Extra response
Bob->>Alice: Thanks for asking
end
```
|
NOTE: the code for diagramming must be wrapped in fenced code block whose name is mermaid
.
%% Example of sequence diagram
sequenceDiagram
Alice->>Bob: Hello Bob, how are you?
alt is sick
Bob->>Alice: Not so good :(
else is well
Bob->>Alice: Feeling fresh like a daisy
end
opt Extra response
Bob->>Alice: Thanks for asking
end
correspondingly, we’ll have a rendered diagram in Typora:

On the other hand, static website generator Jekyll can render Markdown files into webpages, but at this time, it can’t interpret above Mermaid diagramming code well:

To make Mermaid available in webpages, it is a method to add Mermaid JavaScript file by CDN:
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| <head>
<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/mermaid@10.9.1/dist/mermaid.min.js"></script>
</head>
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and then use HTML <div>
element to wrap Mermaid code, that is:
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| <div class="mermaid">
%% Example of sequence diagram
sequenceDiagram
Alice->>Bob: Hello Bob, how are you?
alt is sick
Bob->>Alice: Not so good :(
else is well
Bob->>Alice: Feeling fresh like a daisy
end
opt Extra response
Bob->>Alice: Thanks for asking
end
</div>
|
%% Example of sequence diagram
sequenceDiagram
Alice->>Bob: Hello Bob, how are you?
alt is sick
Bob->>Alice: Not so good :(
else is well
Bob->>Alice: Feeling fresh like a daisy
end
opt Extra response
Bob->>Alice: Thanks for asking
end
As can be seen, it works. But, Typora can’t render this division with class="mermaid"
correctly:

So, my next goal is to find a way to render Mermaid code normally in both Typora editor and Jekyll webpages. It sounds more difficult for me to make Typora correctly interpret those <div>
elements with a certain class name, "mermaid"
is this case, because to this end I should add some extra configurations for Typora that is installed locally. So, I decided to make browser be able to understand the Mermaid diagramming code in Markdown form well.
I inspect the element rendered by the Markdown code in browser, and find its HTML source code is:
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| <code class="language-mermaid">%% Example of sequence diagram
sequenceDiagram
Alice->>Bob: Hello Bob, how are you?
alt is sick
Bob->>Alice: Not so good :(
else is well
Bob->>Alice: Feeling fresh like a daisy
end
opt Extra response
Bob->>Alice: Thanks for asking
end
</code>
|
So, I thought of using JavaScript code to find those <code>
elements with class="language-mermaid"
, and change their class name to "mermaid"
by:
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| <script type="text/javascript">
const codeElements = document.querySelectorAll('code[class*="language-mermaid"]');
codeElements.forEach(function (element) {
if (element.classList.contains('language-mermaid')) {
element.classList.replace('language-mermaid', 'mermaid');
}
});
</script>
|
After it, the Markdown code can generate Mermaid diagram successfully in Typora and webpages.
In documentations and there are some Mermaid examples, showing how to use Mermaid syntax to generate different kinds of diagrams. So, in the following text I’ll record some of them.
Mermaid Examples
Sequence Diagrams
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| ```mermaid
%% Example of sequence diagram
sequenceDiagram
Alice->>Bob: Hello Bob, how are you?
alt is sick
Bob->>Alice: Not so good :(
else is well
Bob->>Alice: Feeling fresh like a daisy
end
opt Extra response
Bob->>Alice: Thanks for asking
end
```
|
%% Example of sequence diagram
sequenceDiagram
Alice->>Bob: Hello Bob, how are you?
alt is sick
Bob->>Alice: Not so good :(
else is well
Bob->>Alice: Feeling fresh like a daisy
end
opt Extra response
Bob->>Alice: Thanks for asking
end
Flowcharts
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| ```mermaid
graph LR
A[Hard edge] -->B(Round edge)
B --> C{Decision}
C -->|One| D[Result one]
C -->|Two| E[Result two]
```
|
graph LR
A[Hard edge] -->B(Round edge)
B --> C{Decision}
C -->|One| D[Result one]
C -->|Two| E[Result two]
Gantt Charts
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| ```mermaid
%% Example with selection of syntaxes
gantt
dateFormat YYYY-MM-DD
title Adding GANTT diagram functionality to mermaid
section A section
Completed task :done, des1, 2014-01-06,2014-01-08
Active task :active, des2, 2014-01-09, 3d
Future task : des3, after des2, 5d
Future task2 : des4, after des3, 5d
section Critical tasks
Completed task in the critical line :crit, done, 2014-01-06,24h
Implement parser and jison :crit, done, after des1, 2d
Create tests for parser :crit, active, 3d
Future task in critical line :crit, 5d
Create tests for renderer :2d
Add to mermaid :1d
section Documentation
Describe gantt syntax :active, a1, after des1, 3d
Add gantt diagram to demo page :after a1 , 20h
Add another diagram to demo page :doc1, after a1 , 48h
section Last section
Describe gantt syntax :after doc1, 3d
Add gantt diagram to demo page : 20h
Add another diagram to demo page : 48h
```
|
%% Example with selection of syntaxes
gantt
dateFormat YYYY-MM-DD
title Adding GANTT diagram functionality to mermaid
section A section
Completed task :done, des1, 2014-01-06,2014-01-08
Active task :active, des2, 2014-01-09, 3d
Future task : des3, after des2, 5d
Future task2 : des4, after des3, 5d
section Critical tasks
Completed task in the critical line :crit, done, 2014-01-06,24h
Implement parser and jison :crit, done, after des1, 2d
Create tests for parser :crit, active, 3d
Future task in critical line :crit, 5d
Create tests for renderer :2d
Add to mermaid :1d
section Documentation
Describe gantt syntax :active, a1, after des1, 3d
Add gantt diagram to demo page :after a1 , 20h
Add another diagram to demo page :doc1, after a1 , 48h
section Last section
Describe gantt syntax :after doc1, 3d
Add gantt diagram to demo page : 20h
Add another diagram to demo page : 48h
Bar Charts (using gantt chart)
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| ```mermaid
gantt
title Git Issues - days since last update
dateFormat X
axisFormat %s
section Issue19062
71 : 0, 71
section Issue19401
36 : 0, 36
section Issue193
34 : 0, 34
section Issue7441
9 : 0, 9
section Issue1300
5 : 0, 5
```
|
gantt
title Git Issues - days since last update
dateFormat X
axisFormat %s
section Issue19062
71 : 0, 71
section Issue19401
36 : 0, 36
section Issue193
34 : 0, 34
section Issue7441
9 : 0, 9
section Issue1300
5 : 0, 5
Class Diagrams
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| ```mermaid
classDiagram
Animal <|-- Duck
Animal <|-- Fish
Animal <|-- Zebra
Animal : +int age
Animal : +String gender
Animal: +isMammal()
Animal: +mate()
class Duck{
+String beakColor
+swim()
+quack()
}
class Fish{
-int sizeInFeet
-canEat()
}
class Zebra{
+bool is_wild
+run()
}
```
|
classDiagram
Animal <|-- Duck
Animal <|-- Fish
Animal <|-- Zebra
Animal : +int age
Animal : +String gender
Animal: +isMammal()
Animal: +mate()
class Duck{
+String beakColor
+swim()
+quack()
}
class Fish{
-int sizeInFeet
-canEat()
}
class Zebra{
+bool is_wild
+run()
}
State Diagrams
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| ```mermaid
stateDiagram
[*] --> Still
Still --> [*]
Still --> Moving
Moving --> Still
Moving --> Crash
Crash --> [*]
```
|
stateDiagram
[*] --> Still
Still --> [*]
Still --> Moving
Moving --> Still
Moving --> Crash
Crash --> [*]
Pie Charts
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| ```mermaid
pie
title Pie Chart
"Dogs" : 386
"Cats" : 85
"Rats" : 150
```
|
pie
title Pie Chart
"Dogs" : 386
"Cats" : 85
"Rats" : 150
Requirement Diagrams
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| ```mermaid
requirementDiagram
requirement test_req {
id: 1
text: the test text.
risk: high
verifymethod: test
}
element test_entity {
type: simulation
}
test_entity - satisfies -> test_req
```
|
requirementDiagram
requirement test_req {
id: 1
text: the test text.
risk: high
verifymethod: test
}
element test_entity {
type: simulation
}
test_entity - satisfies -> test_req
Gitgraph Diagrams / Commit Flow Diagrams
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| ```mermaid
gitGraph
commit
commit
branch develop
checkout develop
commit
commit
checkout main
merge develop
commit
commit
```
|
gitGraph
commit
commit
branch develop
checkout develop
commit
commit
checkout main
merge develop
commit
commit
Mindamp
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| ```mermaid
mindmap
root((mindmap))
Origins
Long history
::icon(fa fa-book)
Popularisation
British popular psychology author Tony Buzan
Research
On effectiveness<br/>and features
On Automatic creation
Uses
Creative techniques
Strategic planning
Argument mapping
Tools
Pen and paper
Mermaid
```
|
mindmap
root((mindmap))
Origins
Long history
::icon(fa fa-book)
Popularisation
British popular psychology author Tony Buzan
Research
On effectiveness<br/>and features
On Automatic creation
Uses
Creative techniques
Strategic planning
Argument mapping
Tools
Pen and paper
Mermaid
Timeline
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| ```mermaid
timeline
title History of Social Media Platform
2002 : LinkedIn
2004 : Facebook : Google
2005 : Youtube
2006 : Twitter
```
|
timeline
title History of Social Media Platform
2002 : LinkedIn
2004 : Facebook : Google
2005 : Youtube
2006 : Twitter
Quadrant Charts
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| ```mermaid
quadrantChart
title Reach and engagement of campaigns
x-axis Low Reach --> High Reach
y-axis Low Engagement --> High Engagement
quadrant-1 We should expand
quadrant-2 Need to promote
quadrant-3 Re-evaluate
quadrant-4 May be improved
Campaign A: [0.3, 0.6]
Campaign B: [0.45, 0.23]
Campaign C: [0.57, 0.69]
Campaign D: [0.78, 0.34]
Campaign E: [0.40, 0.34]
Campaign F: [0.35, 0.78]
```
|
quadrantChart
title Reach and engagement of campaigns
x-axis Low Reach --> High Reach
y-axis Low Engagement --> High Engagement
quadrant-1 We should expand
quadrant-2 Need to promote
quadrant-3 Re-evaluate
quadrant-4 May be improved
Campaign A: [0.3, 0.6]
Campaign B: [0.45, 0.23]
Campaign C: [0.57, 0.69]
Campaign D: [0.78, 0.34]
Campaign E: [0.40, 0.34]
Campaign F: [0.35, 0.78]
Sankey Diagrams
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| ```mermaid
---
config:
sankey:
showValues: false
---
sankey-beta
Agricultural 'waste',Bio-conversion,124.729
Bio-conversion,Liquid,0.597
Bio-conversion,Losses,26.862
Bio-conversion,Solid,280.322
Bio-conversion,Gas,81.144
Biofuel imports,Liquid,35
Biomass imports,Solid,35
Coal imports,Coal,11.606
Coal reserves,Coal,63.965
Coal,Solid,75.571
District heating,Industry,10.639
District heating,Heating and cooling - commercial,22.505
District heating,Heating and cooling - homes,46.184
Electricity grid,Over generation / exports,104.453
Electricity grid,Heating and cooling - homes,113.726
Electricity grid,H2 conversion,27.14
Electricity grid,Industry,342.165
Electricity grid,Road transport,37.797
Electricity grid,Agriculture,4.412
Electricity grid,Heating and cooling - commercial,40.858
Electricity grid,Losses,56.691
Electricity grid,Rail transport,7.863
Electricity grid,Lighting & appliances - commercial,90.008
Electricity grid,Lighting & appliances - homes,93.494
Gas imports,Ngas,40.719
Gas reserves,Ngas,82.233
Gas,Heating and cooling - commercial,0.129
Gas,Losses,1.401
Gas,Thermal generation,151.891
Gas,Agriculture,2.096
Gas,Industry,48.58
Geothermal,Electricity grid,7.013
H2 conversion,H2,20.897
H2 conversion,Losses,6.242
H2,Road transport,20.897
Hydro,Electricity grid,6.995
Liquid,Industry,121.066
Liquid,International shipping,128.69
Liquid,Road transport,135.835
Liquid,Domestic aviation,14.458
Liquid,International aviation,206.267
Liquid,Agriculture,3.64
Liquid,National navigation,33.218
Liquid,Rail transport,4.413
Marine algae,Bio-conversion,4.375
Ngas,Gas,122.952
Nuclear,Thermal generation,839.978
Oil imports,Oil,504.287
Oil reserves,Oil,107.703
Oil,Liquid,611.99
Other waste,Solid,56.587
Other waste,Bio-conversion,77.81
Pumped heat,Heating and cooling - homes,193.026
Pumped heat,Heating and cooling - commercial,70.672
Solar PV,Electricity grid,59.901
Solar Thermal,Heating and cooling - homes,19.263
Solar,Solar Thermal,19.263
Solar,Solar PV,59.901
Solid,Agriculture,0.882
Solid,Thermal generation,400.12
Solid,Industry,46.477
Thermal generation,Electricity grid,525.531
Thermal generation,Losses,787.129
Thermal generation,District heating,79.329
Tidal,Electricity grid,9.452
UK land based bioenergy,Bio-conversion,182.01
Wave,Electricity grid,19.013
Wind,Electricity grid,289.366
```
|
---
config:
sankey:
showValues: false
---
sankey-beta
Agricultural 'waste',Bio-conversion,124.729
Bio-conversion,Liquid,0.597
Bio-conversion,Losses,26.862
Bio-conversion,Solid,280.322
Bio-conversion,Gas,81.144
Biofuel imports,Liquid,35
Biomass imports,Solid,35
Coal imports,Coal,11.606
Coal reserves,Coal,63.965
Coal,Solid,75.571
District heating,Industry,10.639
District heating,Heating and cooling - commercial,22.505
District heating,Heating and cooling - homes,46.184
Electricity grid,Over generation / exports,104.453
Electricity grid,Heating and cooling - homes,113.726
Electricity grid,H2 conversion,27.14
Electricity grid,Industry,342.165
Electricity grid,Road transport,37.797
Electricity grid,Agriculture,4.412
Electricity grid,Heating and cooling - commercial,40.858
Electricity grid,Losses,56.691
Electricity grid,Rail transport,7.863
Electricity grid,Lighting & appliances - commercial,90.008
Electricity grid,Lighting & appliances - homes,93.494
Gas imports,Ngas,40.719
Gas reserves,Ngas,82.233
Gas,Heating and cooling - commercial,0.129
Gas,Losses,1.401
Gas,Thermal generation,151.891
Gas,Agriculture,2.096
Gas,Industry,48.58
Geothermal,Electricity grid,7.013
H2 conversion,H2,20.897
H2 conversion,Losses,6.242
H2,Road transport,20.897
Hydro,Electricity grid,6.995
Liquid,Industry,121.066
Liquid,International shipping,128.69
Liquid,Road transport,135.835
Liquid,Domestic aviation,14.458
Liquid,International aviation,206.267
Liquid,Agriculture,3.64
Liquid,National navigation,33.218
Liquid,Rail transport,4.413
Marine algae,Bio-conversion,4.375
Ngas,Gas,122.952
Nuclear,Thermal generation,839.978
Oil imports,Oil,504.287
Oil reserves,Oil,107.703
Oil,Liquid,611.99
Other waste,Solid,56.587
Other waste,Bio-conversion,77.81
Pumped heat,Heating and cooling - homes,193.026
Pumped heat,Heating and cooling - commercial,70.672
Solar PV,Electricity grid,59.901
Solar Thermal,Heating and cooling - homes,19.263
Solar,Solar Thermal,19.263
Solar,Solar PV,59.901
Solid,Agriculture,0.882
Solid,Thermal generation,400.12
Solid,Industry,46.477
Thermal generation,Electricity grid,525.531
Thermal generation,Losses,787.129
Thermal generation,District heating,79.329
Tidal,Electricity grid,9.452
UK land based bioenergy,Bio-conversion,182.01
Wave,Electricity grid,19.013
Wind,Electricity grid,289.366
ZenUML
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| ```mermaid
zenuml
title Demo
Alice->John: Hello John, how are you?
John->Alice: Great!
Alice->John: See you later!
```
|
zenuml
title Demo
Alice->John: Hello John, how are you?
John->Alice: Great!
Alice->John: See you later!
As can be seen, an error occurs, but it renders well in Typora. As in the documentation:
Mermaid can render sequence diagrams with ZenUML. Note that ZenUML uses a different syntax than the original Sequence Diagram in mermaid.
……
Integrating with your library/website.
Zenuml uses the experimental lazy loading & async rendering features which could change in the future.
You can use this method to add mermaid including the zenuml diagram to a web page:
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| <script type="module">
import mermaid from 'https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/mermaid@10/dist/mermaid.esm.min.mjs';
import zenuml from 'https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/@mermaid-js/mermaid-zenuml@0.1.0/dist/mermaid-zenuml.esm.min.mjs';
await mermaid.registerExternalDiagrams([zenuml]);
</script>
|
ZenUML seems relatively standalone and needs to import other modules from CDN. If I replace Script 1 with Script 2, this ZenUML diagram appears normally in webpage, but meanwhile, many elements, such as Caption and Back-To-Top button (along with some others), happen to change:

I haven’t found any other way to correct it, so finally I choose Script 1, rather than Script 2, to import Mermaid from CDN, leaving aside this error.
XY Charts
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| ```mermaid
xychart-beta
title "Sales Revenue"
x-axis [jan, feb, mar, apr, may, jun, jul, aug, sep, oct, nov, dec]
y-axis "Revenue (in $)" 4000 --> 11000
bar [5000, 6000, 7500, 8200, 9500, 10500, 11000, 10200, 9200, 8500, 7000, 6000]
line [5000, 6000, 7500, 8200, 9500, 10500, 11000, 10200, 9200, 8500, 7000, 6000]
```
|
xychart-beta
title "Sales Revenue"
x-axis [jan, feb, mar, apr, may, jun, jul, aug, sep, oct, nov, dec]
y-axis "Revenue (in $)" 4000 --> 11000
bar [5000, 6000, 7500, 8200, 9500, 10500, 11000, 10200, 9200, 8500, 7000, 6000]
line [5000, 6000, 7500, 8200, 9500, 10500, 11000, 10200, 9200, 8500, 7000, 6000]
User Journey Diagrams
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| ```mermaid
journey
title My working day
section Go to work
Make tea: 5: Me
Go upstairs: 3: Me
Do work: 1: Me, Cat
section Go home
Go downstairs: 5: Me
Sit down: 3: Me
```
|
journey
title My working day
section Go to work
Make tea: 5: Me
Go upstairs: 3: Me
Do work: 1: Me, Cat
section Go home
Go downstairs: 5: Me
Sit down: 3: Me
C4 Diagrams
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| ```mermaid
C4Context
title System Context diagram for Internet Banking System
Person(customerA, "Banking Customer A", "A customer of the bank, with personal bank accounts.")
Person(customerB, "Banking Customer B")
Person_Ext(customerC, "Banking Customer C")
System(SystemAA, "Internet Banking System", "Allows customers to view information about their bank accounts, and make payments.")
Person(customerD, "Banking Customer D", "A customer of the bank, <br/> with personal bank accounts.")
Enterprise_Boundary(b1, "BankBoundary") {
SystemDb_Ext(SystemE, "Mainframe Banking System", "Stores all of the core banking information about customers, accounts, transactions, etc.")
System_Boundary(b2, "BankBoundary2") {
System(SystemA, "Banking System A")
System(SystemB, "Banking System B", "A system of the bank, with personal bank accounts.")
}
System_Ext(SystemC, "E-mail system", "The internal Microsoft Exchange e-mail system.")
SystemDb(SystemD, "Banking System D Database", "A system of the bank, with personal bank accounts.")
Boundary(b3, "BankBoundary3", "boundary") {
SystemQueue(SystemF, "Banking System F Queue", "A system of the bank, with personal bank accounts.")
SystemQueue_Ext(SystemG, "Banking System G Queue", "A system of the bank, with personal bank accounts.")
}
}
BiRel(customerA, SystemAA, "Uses")
BiRel(SystemAA, SystemE, "Uses")
Rel(SystemAA, SystemC, "Sends e-mails", "SMTP")
Rel(SystemC, customerA, "Sends e-mails to")
```
|
C4Context
title System Context diagram for Internet Banking System
Person(customerA, "Banking Customer A", "A customer of the bank, with personal bank accounts.")
Person(customerB, "Banking Customer B")
Person_Ext(customerC, "Banking Customer C")
System(SystemAA, "Internet Banking System", "Allows customers to view information about their bank accounts, and make payments.")
Person(customerD, "Banking Customer D", "A customer of the bank, <br/> with personal bank accounts.")
Enterprise_Boundary(b1, "BankBoundary") {
SystemDb_Ext(SystemE, "Mainframe Banking System", "Stores all of the core banking information about customers, accounts, transactions, etc.")
System_Boundary(b2, "BankBoundary2") {
System(SystemA, "Banking System A")
System(SystemB, "Banking System B", "A system of the bank, with personal bank accounts.")
}
System_Ext(SystemC, "E-mail system", "The internal Microsoft Exchange e-mail system.")
SystemDb(SystemD, "Banking System D Database", "A system of the bank, with personal bank accounts.")
Boundary(b3, "BankBoundary3", "boundary") {
SystemQueue(SystemF, "Banking System F Queue", "A system of the bank, with personal bank accounts.")
SystemQueue_Ext(SystemG, "Banking System G Queue", "A system of the bank, with personal bank accounts.")
}
}
BiRel(customerA, SystemAA, "Uses")
BiRel(SystemAA, SystemE, "Uses")
Rel(SystemAA, SystemC, "Sends e-mails", "SMTP")
Rel(SystemC, customerA, "Sends e-mails to")
References