# Paperchart Sankey

> Render a two-column Sankey diagram. Source nodes on the left, target nodes on the right, flows drawn as smooth ribbons whose thickness encodes value. Use for traffic-source attribution, token-budget allocation, error-origin routing, and any allocation story where inputs split into outputs.

- Skill: `shuakami/paperchart-sankey` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add shuakami/paperchart-sankey`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/shuakami/paperchart-sankey/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Finance & Business
- License: MIT
- Author: shuakami (https://skillmd.com/u/shuakami)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/shuakami/paperchart-sankey

---


# paperchart — sankey

Two columns. Source nodes on the left stack top-to-bottom proportional to their total out-flow. Target nodes on the right stack proportional to their total in-flow. Each flow is a Bézier ribbon between one source and one target; its thickness equals its value.

## When to use

- Traffic source → landing bucket attribution.
- Token allocation (query tokens → index postings vs. corrections vs. doc headers).
- Error routing (exception class → handler).

## Input shape

```json
{
  "data": {
    "sources": [
      { "key": "direct",  "label": "direct users",   "caption": "7.4M sessions/mo", "total": 7400000 },
      { "key": "organic", "label": "organic search", "caption": "Google + Bing",    "total": 8000000, "accent": true }
    ],
    "targets": [
      { "key": "docs", "label": "/docs", "caption": "reference" },
      { "key": "api",  "label": "/api",  "caption": "sdk + http" }
    ],
    "flows": [
      { "from": "direct",  "to": "docs", "value": 3800000 },
      { "from": "organic", "to": "docs", "value": 3050000 }
    ]
  }
}
```

## Visual rules

- One source or target node can carry `accent: true`; ribbons starting or ending there inherit the accent tint.
- Ribbons use multiply/darken blending so overlap is readable.
- Labels sit outside the column bars, never on the ribbons.

## CLI

```bash
paperchart sankey -i data.json -o sankey.png
paperchart sankey --defaults -o sankey.png
```