PlantUML — The Complete Guide: Diagrams From Text, Kept Under Version Control
PlantUML turns a simple text description into a diagram. Instead of dragging shapes, you write who talks to whom or what states a system has, and the tool lays out the drawing. For control, automation and software teams it is a way to keep diagrams right next to the documentation and the code.
PlantUML
PlantUML project
Diagrams from text — sequence, state, component and Gantt diagrams written as code and kept under version control.
Get it from the vendorWhat you get
- All UML diagrams — sequence, class, activity, state, component and deployment.
- Other diagrams — Gantt charts, mind maps, networks, ER diagrams and org charts.
- Version control — a text file managed in Git and reviewed like code.
- Documentation embedding — include diagrams in documents and documentation sites.
- Flexible licensing — GPL-3.0, plus LGPL, Apache, EPL, BSD and MIT.
What to know
PlantUML runs on Java and uses Graphviz for some diagram types. Some of the alternatively licensed builds come with fewer features. It fits a controller state machine or a communication sequence between components very well; for free-form drawing a graphical tool is better.
Related tools
The layout engine — Graphviz. For text diagrams inside Markdown — Mermaid. For graphical drawing — diagrams.net.
Graphviz
Graphviz Project
Draws graphs and network diagrams automatically from a text description.
Get it from the vendor
Mermaid
Mermaid open-source project
Diagrams from text — flowcharts, Gantt, sequence and state charts written as code and rendered in Markdown, GitHub and docs.
Get it from the vendor
diagrams.net (draw.io)
JGraph
A full diagram editor in the browser, with no account required.
Get it from the vendor
yEd Graph Editor
yWorks
A diagram editor with smart automatic layout — flowcharts, org charts, networks and BPMN, including import from Excel.
Get it from the vendorThe bottom line
When a diagram needs to stay in step with the system it describes, writing it as text is the right approach.