Draw

/draw — Create Diagrams in YuzuDraw

Use this as the single entrypoint for diagram work. Select one family, open the matching reference, then write DSL.

Workflow

1. Classify the request into one primary diagram family.
2. Open the matching reference file under references/.
3. Follow that reference's defaults instead of improvising a generic style.
4. Pass DSL to CLI commands using a heredoc with --dsl-stdin (see CLI Invocation Rules below). Every command MUST start with yuzudraw-cli — never use pipes, cat, or echo.
5. Always display the rendered ASCII output in a fenced code block in your response so the user can see it directly without expanding tool results.
6. After rendering, ask the user if they'd like to save the diagram (via create-diagram or update-diagram). Always prompt — don't assume they only wanted a preview.

If a yuzudraw-cli command fails with "command not found", ask the user to install it with curl -fsSL https://www.yuzudraw.com/install.sh | sh, then retry.

CLI Invocation Rules

Every CLI call MUST start with yuzudraw-cli so it can be allowlisted. Pass DSL inline via heredoc — no temp files, no pipes, no cat/echo.

• Render:

  yuzudraw-cli render-ascii --dsl-stdin <<'EOF'
  rect "hello" id box at 5,5 size 10x3
  EOF
  

• Create:

  yuzudraw-cli create-diagram --name <name> --dsl-stdin <<'EOF'
  ...DSL...
  EOF
  

• Update:

  yuzudraw-cli update-diagram --name <name> --dsl-stdin <<'EOF'
  ...DSL...
  EOF
  

Do NOT use pipes (cat file | yuzudraw-cli), --dsl-file, or any command that does not start with yuzudraw-cli.

Family Selection

Open architecture.md when the request is about:

• system topology
• regions, zones, groups, tiers
• cross-boundary relationships
• repeated nodes and framed areas
• high-level runtime structure

Open components.md when the request is about:

• modules, packages, services, subsystems
• interfaces, APIs, dependencies
• internal product structure
• ownership or containment boundaries

Open flow.md when the request is about:

• workflows, pipelines, lifecycles
• request or response paths
• ordered steps
• branching, retries, approvals, state transitions

Open bar-chart.md when the request is about:

• comparisons across categories
• ranked values
• before or after metrics
• stacked composition bars

Open ascii-art.md when the request is about:

• illustrations, icons, scenes, mascots
• title art or decorative callouts
• “draw” / “sketch” / “ASCII art” requests

Explicit Overrides

If the user explicitly names a family, use it instead of re-classifying.

Mixed Requests

Choose one dominant family:

• architecture if structure and regions matter most
• components if internal parts matter most
• flow if order matters most
• bar-chart if comparison matters most
• ascii-art if illustration is the deliverable

Shared Rules

• Prefer a clear house style for the selected family over generic box-and-arrow output.
• Leave a small buffer on the top and left by default. Start around col 2-4 and row 1-2 unless the prompt or composition needs a different origin.
• Use groups to organize related elements whenever a diagram has 2+ logical categories (e.g., services vs data stores, frontend vs backend, internal vs external). Framed regions with style double or style heavy make diagrams far more readable than flat layouts. When in doubt, group.
• For diagrams that may grow incrementally, prefer one top-level group per subsystem so local coordinates can be introduced cleanly later.
• Use shading semantically, not decoratively.
• Use pencil sparingly unless the selected reference calls for it.
• If the user asks for “a diagram like X”, match X's composition first, then map it into YuzuDraw DSL.

Scoped Groups (Proposed vNext)

This section is a design target for upcoming DSL work. Do not assume the parser supports it yet unless the codebase has been updated to do so.

Proposed group syntax

group "Payments" id payments at 72,2
  rect "API" id api at 0,0
  rect "DB" id db below api gap 2

Rules:

• group stays non-rendering; use rect for visible boundaries
• group ... at ... defines a local origin for all nested shapes and child groups
• bare coordinates inside a positioned group are relative to that group origin
• nested groups are relative to the parent group origin
• group IDs are intended to be reusable anchors for snippet composition

Proposed CLI addition

Preferred future composition command:

yuzudraw-cli merge-diagram --name system --at 72,2 --dsl-stdin <<'EOF'
group "Payments" id payments at 0,0
  rect "API" id api at 0,0
  rect "DB" id db below api gap 2
EOF

Intent:

• update-diagram keeps full-replacement semantics
• merge-diagram appends a new subsystem snippet into an existing document

Full rationale: group-origin-dsl-vnext.md

DSL Reference

The sections below describe the current DSL. The scoped-group syntax above is proposed, not current, unless parser and CLI support have been added.

Document Structure

layer “Layer Name” visible|hidden [locked]
  [group “Group Name”]
    <shapes...>

• One or more layers; each layer has shapes and optional groups
• Indentation is 2 spaces per level
• Rects must be defined before arrows that reference them

Rectangle (rect)

rect “Label” [id NAME] [at col,row] [size WxH] [POSITION] [PROPERTIES...]

Also accepts rectangle and box as aliases.

Positioning (pick one):

• at col,row — absolute position
• at REF.SIDE+colOffset,rowOffset — reference coordinates (see below)
• right-of REF [gap N] — to the right of another rect (default gap: 4)
• below REF [gap N] — below another rect (default gap: 2)
• left-of REF [gap N] — to the left (accounts for self width)
• above REF [gap N] — above (accounts for self height)
• Omitted → defaults to 0,0

Auto-sizing (when size is omitted):

• width = max(longestLine + 4, 10)
• height = lineCount + 2
• Use \n for multiline labels

Properties (all optional, defaults shown):

Arrow

arrow from ENDPOINT to ENDPOINT [style single|double|heavy] [label “text”] [strokeColor #RRGGBB] [labelColor #RRGGBB] [float]

Endpoint formats:

• ”Label”.side — named attachment (side: left, right, top, bottom)
• ”Label” — auto-infers side from relative position
• col,row — absolute coordinates
• ID.side or bare ID — reference by element ID

Arrow style defaults to single (omitted in serialized output).

Text

text “content” at col,row [textColor #RRGGBB]

Use \n for newlines. Supports reference coordinates in at.

Pencil

pencil at col,row cells [col,row,”char”;col,row,”char”,#color;...]

Freeform characters at relative offsets. Supports reference coordinates in at.

Element IDs

Optional id keyword for naming elements:

rect “Server” id srv1 at 0,0 size 14x3
rect “Server” id srv2 at 20,0 size 14x3

Rules:

• Format: [a-zA-Z_][a-zA-Z0-9_]* (no keywords like at, size, style, etc.)
• Unquoted reference = ID lookup: at srv1.right+4,0
• Quoted reference = label lookup: at “Server”.right+4,0
• Required for: empty labels, duplicate labels
• Optional for: unique non-empty labels

Reference Coordinates

Position any element relative to a rect's edges:

at REF.SIDE+colOffset,rowOffset

Edge reference points:

• .right → (ref.col + ref.width, ref.row)
• .bottom → (ref.col, ref.row + ref.height)
• .left → (ref.col, ref.row) (same as origin, for readability)
• .top → (ref.col, ref.row) (same as origin, for readability)

Offset can be omitted (defaults to +0,0):

text “→” at “A”.right
rect “B” at “A”.right+4,0

Origin reference (no .side):

rect “E” at “A”+16,0

Negative offsets:

rect “F” at “A”.right-4,0
rect “G” at “A”.bottom+0,-2

Arrow Side Inference

When arrow endpoints are bare references (no .side), sides are auto-inferred:

arrow from “A” to “B”              # auto-picks sides
arrow from “A”.right to “B”.left   # explicit sides

Algorithm: compare center points. Dominant axis wins (larger absolute delta). Each endpoint uses the side facing the other rect. Tied → prefer horizontal.

Defaults Table

Properties at default values are omitted from serialized output:

Source: agavra/yuzudraw — distributed by TomeVault.