spillwavesolutions/agent_rulez/design-doc-mermaid

Mermaid Architect - Hierarchical Diagram and Documentation Skill

Mermaid diagram and documentation system with specialized guides and code-to-diagram capabilities.

Table of Contents

• Decision Tree
• Available Guides and Resources
• Usage Patterns
• Resilient Workflow
• Unicode Semantic Symbols
• Python Utilities
• Decision Tree Examples
• High-Contrast Styling
• File Organization
• Workflow Summary
• When to Use What
• Best Practices
• Learning Path

Decision Tree

How this skill works:

1. User makes a request → Skill analyzes intent
2. Skill determines diagram/document type → Loads appropriate guide(s)
3. AI reads specialized guide → Generates diagram/document using templates
4. Result delivered → With validation and export options

User Intent Analysis:

flowchart TD
    Start([User Request]) --> Analyze{Analyze Intent}
 
    Analyze -->|"workflow, process, business logic"| Activity[Load Activity Diagram Guide<br/>references/guides/diagrams/activity-diagrams.md]
    Analyze -->|"infrastructure, deployment, cloud"| Deploy[Load Deployment Diagram Guide<br/>references/guides/diagrams/deployment-diagrams.md]
    Analyze -->|"system architecture, components"| Arch[Load Architecture Guide<br/>references/guides/diagrams/architecture-diagrams.md]
    Analyze -->|"API flow, interactions"| Sequence[Load Sequence Diagram Guide<br/>references/guides/diagrams/sequence-diagrams.md]
    Analyze -->|"code to diagram"| CodeToDiag[Load Code-to-Diagram Guide<br/>references/guides/code-to-diagram/ + examples/]
    Analyze -->|"design document, full docs"| DesignDoc[Load Design Document Template<br/>assets/*-design-template.md]
    Analyze -->|"unicode symbols, icons"| Unicode[Load Unicode Symbols Guide<br/>references/guides/unicode-symbols/guide.md]
    Analyze -->|"extract, validate, convert"| Scripts[Use Python Scripts<br/>scripts/extract_mermaid.py<br/>scripts/mermaid_to_image.py]
 
    Activity --> Generate[Generate Diagram]
    Deploy --> Generate
    Arch --> Generate
    Sequence --> Generate
    CodeToDiag --> Generate
    DesignDoc --> Generate
    Unicode --> Generate
    Scripts --> Execute[Execute Script]
 
    Generate --> Validate{Validate?}
    Validate -->|Yes| RunValidation[Run mmdc validation]
    Validate -->|No| Output
    RunValidation --> Output[Output Result]
    Execute --> Output
 
    classDef decision fill:#FFD700,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px,color:black
    classDef guide fill:#90EE90,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px,color:darkgreen
    classDef action fill:#87CEEB,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px,color:darkblue
 
    class Analyze,Validate decision
    class Activity,Deploy,Arch,Sequence,CodeToDiag,DesignDoc,Unicode,Scripts guide
    class Generate,Execute,RunValidation,Output action

Available Guides and Resources

Diagram Type Guides (references/guides/diagrams/)

Code-to-Diagram Guide & Examples

Design Document Templates

Unicode Symbols Guide

Full Path: references/guides/unicode-symbols/guide.md

Load when user mentions: "unicode symbols", "emoji in diagrams", "semantic icons", "add symbols"

Quick Reference:

• 📦 Infrastructure: ☁️ 🌐 🔌 📡 🗄️
• ⚙️ Compute: ⚙️ ⚡ 🔄 ♻️ 🚀 💨
• 💾 Data: 💾 📦 📊 📈 🗃️ 🧊
• 📨 Messaging: 📨 📬 📤 📥 🐰 📢
• 🔐 Security: 🔐 🔑 🛡️ 🚪 👤 🎫
• 📝 Monitoring: 📝 📊 🚨 ⚠️ ✅ ❌

Python Scripts (scripts/)

Usage Patterns

Common request patterns and guide selection. See When to Use What for complete mapping.

Resilient Workflow

CRITICAL: This is the recommended approach for ALL diagram generation. It ensures validation, error recovery, and consistent file organization.

Full Guide: references/guides/resilient-workflow.md

Workflow Overview

flowchart LR
    A[1. Identify Type] --> B[2. Save .mmd + Image]
    B --> C{3. Valid?}
    C -->|Yes| D[4. Add to Markdown]
    C -->|No| E[5. Error Recovery]
    E --> F{Fix Found?}
    F -->|Yes| A
    F -->|No| G[Search External]
    G --> A
 
    classDef step fill:#90EE90,stroke:#333,color:darkgreen
    classDef decision fill:#FFD700,stroke:#333,color:black
    class A,B,D,E,G step
    class C,F decision

Key Principle

NEVER add a diagram to markdown until it passes validation. This prevents broken diagrams in documentation.

Using the Script (Recommended)

# Generate with full error recovery
python scripts/resilient_diagram.py \
    --code "flowchart TD; A-->B" \
    --markdown-file design_doc \
    --diagram-num 1 \
    --title "process_flow" \
    --format png \
    --json

Output: Both .mmd and .png files in ./diagrams/ directory.

File Naming Convention

./diagrams/<markdown_file>_<num>_<type>_<title>.mmd
./diagrams/<markdown_file>_<num>_<type>_<title>.png

Example: ./diagrams/api_design_01_sequence_auth_flow.png

Error Recovery Priority

When validation fails, the workflow automatically:

1. Check troubleshooting guide - references/guides/troubleshooting.md (28 documented errors)
2. Search with perplexity - perplexity_ask MCP for syntax questions
3. Search with brave - brave_web_search MCP for recent solutions
4. Ask gemini - gemini skill for alternative perspective
5. General search - WebSearch tool as fallback

Manual Fallback Steps

If the script is unavailable:

1. Identify diagram type from first line (flowchart, sequence, etc.)
2. Load reference guide from references/guides/diagrams/
3. Save to ./diagrams/<markdown_file>_<num>_<type>_<title>.mmd
4. Validate: mmdc -i file.mmd -o file.png -b transparent
5. On error: Search references/guides/troubleshooting.md for matching error
6. If not found: Use search tools in priority order above
7. Add reference: ![Description](./diagrams/filename.png)

Pattern 6: Resilient Diagram Generation

User: "Create a sequence diagram and add it to the design doc"

Skill Actions:

1. Identify intent: diagram generation + markdown integration
2. Load workflow guide: references/guides/resilient-workflow.md
3. Identify diagram type: sequence
4. Load diagram guide: references/guides/diagrams/sequence-diagrams.md
5. Generate Mermaid code using templates
6. Execute resilient workflow:

``bash python scripts/resilient_diagram.py \ --code "[generated code]" \ --markdown-file design_doc \ --diagram-num 1 \ --title "api_sequence" \ --json ``

1. If validation fails → Apply troubleshooting fix → Retry
2. On success → Add ![API Sequence](./diagrams/design_doc_01_sequence_api_sequence.png) to markdown

Unicode Semantic Symbols

Always use Unicode symbols to enhance diagram clarity. Common patterns:

Infrastructure & Deployment

graph TB
    Client[👤 User] --> LB[🌐 Load Balancer]
    LB --> App1[⚙️ App Server 1]
    LB --> App2[⚙️ App Server 2]
    App1 --> DB[(💾 Database)]
    App1 --> Cache[(⚡ Redis)]

Activity Flow with States

flowchart TD
    Start([🚀 Start]) --> Process[⚙️ Process Data]
    Process --> Check{✓ Valid?}
    Check -->|Yes| Save[💾 Save]
    Check -->|No| Error[❌ Error]
    Save --> Complete([✅ Complete])

Microservices Architecture

graph TB
    API[🌐 API Gateway] --> Auth[🔐 Auth Service]
    API --> Orders[📋 Order Service]
    Orders --> Queue[📬 Message Queue]
    Queue --> Worker[⚙️ Background Worker]
    Worker --> Storage[📦 Object Storage]

For complete symbol reference, load: references/guides/unicode-symbols/guide.md

Python Utilities

Extract Mermaid Diagrams

# List all diagrams
python scripts/extract_mermaid.py document.md --list-only
 
# Extract to separate files
python scripts/extract_mermaid.py document.md --output-dir diagrams/