Agent skill

Excalidraw Architecture Diagram

by mergisi in mergisi/awesome-openclaw-agents

Generates or updates a whiteboard-style architecture diagram of the current codebase as an Excalidraw JSON file, showing services and data flow.

MITAuto-check passedDevelopment

Install Excalidraw Architecture Diagram

skills CLI

$ npx skills add mergisi/awesome-openclaw-agents --skill excalidraw-architecture -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install mergisi/awesome-openclaw-agents excalidraw-architecture --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/mergisi/awesome-openclaw-agents.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/claude/excalidraw-architecture .claude/skills/excalidraw-architecture && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Paste into Claude Code

Install the "excalidraw-architecture" agent skill from https://github.com/mergisi/awesome-openclaw-agents/tree/main/skills/claude/excalidraw-architecture into .claude/skills/excalidraw-architecture/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "excalidraw-architecture", then confirm the skill loads.

Claude Code copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

$skill-installer

$skill-installer install https://github.com/mergisi/awesome-openclaw-agents/tree/main/skills/claude/excalidraw-architecture

Type this inside Codex. $skill-installer <name> installs a curated skill from openai/skills. The installer writes to $CODEX_HOME/skills (default ~/.codex/skills). Restart Codex if the skill does not show up.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add mergisi/awesome-openclaw-agents --skill excalidraw-architecture -a codex

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install mergisi/awesome-openclaw-agents excalidraw-architecture --agent codex

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/mergisi/awesome-openclaw-agents.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/claude/excalidraw-architecture .agents/skills/excalidraw-architecture && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.

Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/

Paste into Codex

Install the "excalidraw-architecture" agent skill from https://github.com/mergisi/awesome-openclaw-agents/tree/main/skills/claude/excalidraw-architecture into .agents/skills/excalidraw-architecture/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "excalidraw-architecture", then confirm the skill loads.

Codex copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add mergisi/awesome-openclaw-agents --skill excalidraw-architecture -a cursor

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install mergisi/awesome-openclaw-agents excalidraw-architecture --agent cursor

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/mergisi/awesome-openclaw-agents.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/claude/excalidraw-architecture .cursor/skills/excalidraw-architecture && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.cursor/skills/ instead of .cursor/skills for a personal install.

Cursor skills documentation · loads skills from .cursor/skills/, .agents/skills/, .claude/skills/, .codex/skills/

Paste into Cursor

Install the "excalidraw-architecture" agent skill from https://github.com/mergisi/awesome-openclaw-agents/tree/main/skills/claude/excalidraw-architecture into .cursor/skills/excalidraw-architecture/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "excalidraw-architecture", then confirm the skill loads.

Cursor copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

gemini skills install

$ gemini skills install https://github.com/mergisi/awesome-openclaw-agents.git --path skills/claude/excalidraw-architecture

--scope user (default) or --scope workspace; --path is the subfolder of the repo that holds the skill; --consent skips the security confirmation prompt.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add mergisi/awesome-openclaw-agents --skill excalidraw-architecture -a gemini-cli

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install mergisi/awesome-openclaw-agents excalidraw-architecture --agent gemini-cli

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/mergisi/awesome-openclaw-agents.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/claude/excalidraw-architecture .gemini/skills/excalidraw-architecture && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.gemini/skills/ instead of .gemini/skills for a personal install, then run /skills reload.

Gemini CLI skills documentation · loads skills from .gemini/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into Gemini CLI

Install the "excalidraw-architecture" agent skill from https://github.com/mergisi/awesome-openclaw-agents/tree/main/skills/claude/excalidraw-architecture into .gemini/skills/excalidraw-architecture/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "excalidraw-architecture", then confirm the skill loads.

Gemini CLI copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install mergisi/awesome-openclaw-agents excalidraw-architecture

Installs for Copilot at project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Preview a skill first with gh skill preview. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

skills CLI

$ npx skills add mergisi/awesome-openclaw-agents --skill excalidraw-architecture -a github-copilot

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/mergisi/awesome-openclaw-agents.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/claude/excalidraw-architecture .github/skills/excalidraw-architecture && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.copilot/skills/ instead of .github/skills for a personal install. Commit .github/skills so cloud agent and code review can use it.

GitHub Copilot skills documentation · loads skills from .github/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into GitHub Copilot

Install the "excalidraw-architecture" agent skill from https://github.com/mergisi/awesome-openclaw-agents/tree/main/skills/claude/excalidraw-architecture into .github/skills/excalidraw-architecture/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "excalidraw-architecture", then confirm the skill loads.

GitHub Copilot copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add mergisi/awesome-openclaw-agents --skill excalidraw-architecture -a opencode

OpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install mergisi/awesome-openclaw-agents excalidraw-architecture --agent opencode

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/mergisi/awesome-openclaw-agents.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/claude/excalidraw-architecture .opencode/skills/excalidraw-architecture && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.config/opencode/skills/ instead of .opencode/skills for a personal install.

OpenCode skills documentation · loads skills from .opencode/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into OpenCode

Install the "excalidraw-architecture" agent skill from https://github.com/mergisi/awesome-openclaw-agents/tree/main/skills/claude/excalidraw-architecture into .opencode/skills/excalidraw-architecture/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "excalidraw-architecture", then confirm the skill loads.

OpenCode copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

Facts

Skill name: excalidraw-architecture
GitHub stars: 4k
Token cost: ~1.1k tokens
SKILL.md length: 479 words
Files: 1
Skills in repo: 16
Repo updated: Sep 26, 2026
First seen: Oct 7, 2026
Licence: MIT

At a glance

Generates or updates a whiteboard-style architecture diagram of the current codebase as an Excalidraw JSON file, showing services and data flow.

Works in 7 steps: Survey the codebase. Use Glob and Grep… → Sketch the model mentally. List nodes… → Generate the Excalidraw JSON. The file… → …
Documenting a new contributor's mental model of the codebase
SKILL.md covers When to use, Instructions, Style guidelines and Example invocations
Reaches excalidraw.com

What it does

It surveys the codebase with targeted glob and grep searches rather than reading everything, looking for entry points such as main or index files, API routes and Dockerfile commands, data stores like Postgres, Redis or MongoDB, external services such as Stripe or Twilio, and the top-level module folders; it reads only three to five key files to confirm how the pieces actually connect.

It sketches the model as nodes and labeled arrows, grouping related nodes into clusters, then writes that out as a standard Excalidraw JSON file at a fixed docs path. Every element needs a full set of Excalidraw-specific fields such as position, style and a stable id, with arrows additionally carrying their points and start and end bindings, laid out left to right by data flow on a consistent pixel grid.

When your agent uses it

Documenting a new contributor's mental model of the codebase
Refreshing a stale architecture diagram after a refactor
Preparing a canonical system diagram for a design document

Example prompts

“Draw the system architecture for this repository.”
“Update our architecture diagram after the recent refactor.”
“Give me an Excalidraw diagram of how this backend connects to its services.”

Workflow steps

7 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.

Survey the codebase. Use Glob and Grep to identify
Sketch the model mentally. List nodes (rectangles) and edges (arrows with labels like "HTTP", "SQL", "pub/sub"). Group related nodes into…
Generate the Excalidraw JSON. The file format is standard Excalidraw
Do not hand-forge exotic fields you're unsure about. If a field is optional and you're not confident, omit it — Excalidraw is forgiving on…
Write the file to docs/architecture.excalidraw using the Write tool. If the directory doesn't exist, create it first with mkdir -p docs.
Offer to open it. Suggest the user run
Update vs regenerate. If docs/architecture.excalidraw already exists, read it first. If the existing layout still fits, only add/move the…

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 05820c5. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

Tool permissions
Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.
From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.
Runs code
No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md (its code samples are json and bash).
From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.
Network
Hosts in commands or code, which the agent is likely to contact:
- excalidraw.com
Also links to:
- medium.com
From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.
Credentials
Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.
From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Excalidraw Architecture Diagram loads about 1.1k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 83 tokens; SKILL.md has 479 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it: ~83
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches: ~1.1k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from mergisi/awesome-openclaw-agents at commit 05820c5, republished under its MIT licence (© mergisi). 479 words, ~1,088 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/excalidraw-architecture/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).

name: excalidraw-architecture
description: Trigger when the user asks for an architecture diagram, says "draw the system", "update the architecture diagram", "give me an excalidraw of this codebase", or "/excalidraw-architecture". Generates or updates an Excalidraw JSON file at docs/architecture.excalidraw by reading the codebase's key entry points.

Excalidraw Architecture

Produce an architecture diagram of the current project as an Excalidraw file (docs/architecture.excalidraw). The diagram shows services, entry points, data stores, and the edges between them — the kind of whiteboard sketch you'd draw in a design review.

Inspired by Bilgin Ibryam's Medium post on "Architecture diagrams as code with Claude Code + Excalidraw" — credit: @bibryam. This skill is a lightweight reimplementation for OpenClaw-style repos.

When to use

New contributor asks "what does this repo look like?"
User wants to update a stale architecture diagram after a refactor
User says "draw me the system", "excalidraw the backend", "/excalidraw-architecture"
Preparing a design doc and needs a canonical diagram

Instructions

Survey the codebase. Use Glob and Grep to identify:
- Entry points: main.*, index.*, server.*, api/**/route.*, cmd/*/main.go, package.json "scripts" field, Dockerfile CMD.
- Data stores: mentions of postgres, redis, convex, sqlite, s3, mongodb, prisma.
- External services: Stripe, OpenAI, Anthropic, Twilio, SendGrid, webhook handlers.
- Internal modules: top-level folders under src/, app/, lib/, agents/. Read at most 3-5 key files to confirm how the pieces connect — don't try to read the whole repo.
Sketch the model mentally. List nodes (rectangles) and edges (arrows with labels like "HTTP", "SQL", "pub/sub"). Group related nodes into clusters.
Generate the Excalidraw JSON. The file format is standard Excalidraw:
json
```
{
  "type": "excalidraw",
  "version": 2,
  "source": "https://excalidraw.com",
  "elements": [ /* rectangle, arrow, text elements */ ],
  "appState": { "viewBackgroundColor": "#ffffff", "gridSize": 20 },
  "files": {}
}
```
Each element needs at minimum: id, type (rectangle / arrow / text / ellipse), x, y, width, height, angle: 0, strokeColor, backgroundColor, fillStyle, strokeWidth, roughness, opacity, seed, versionNonce, isDeleted: false, groupIds: [], boundElements, updated, link: null, locked: false. For text elements add text, fontSize, fontFamily, textAlign, verticalAlign. For arrows add points, startBinding, endBinding. Use integer pixel coordinates on a ~20px grid. Arrange nodes left-to-right by data flow.
Do not hand-forge exotic fields you're unsure about. If a field is optional and you're not confident, omit it — Excalidraw is forgiving on load. When in doubt, open the resulting file in the Excalidraw web app and confirm it renders; fix any errors it reports.
Write the file to docs/architecture.excalidraw using the Write tool. If the directory doesn't exist, create it first with mkdir -p docs.

Offer to open it. Suggest the user run:

bash

open docs/architecture.excalidraw   # macOS — opens in Excalidraw desktop app if installed

Or drag-drop into excalidraw.com.

Update vs regenerate. If docs/architecture.excalidraw already exists, read it first. If the existing layout still fits, only add/move the nodes that changed. If the shape of the system has changed significantly, tell the user and regenerate from scratch.

Show full SKILL.md (85 more words)Show less

Style guidelines

Rectangles for services, ellipses for datastores, small rectangles with dashed stroke for external SaaS.
Arrows labelled with the protocol (HTTP, gRPC, SQL, webhook).
Max ~15 nodes. If the system is bigger, produce a top-level diagram and suggest follow-up per-subsystem diagrams.
Leave a title text element at the top: <repo name> — architecture (generated <date>).

Example invocations

/excalidraw-architecture
"Draw the architecture of this repo"
"Update docs/architecture.excalidraw — I just added a Redis queue"
"Give me an excalidraw diagram of how the OpenClaw gateway talks to agents"

Files

Just SKILL.md in skills/claude/excalidraw-architecture of mergisi/awesome-openclaw-agents.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 05820c5

Compare with similar skills

Excalidraw Architecture Diagram next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Excalidraw Architecture Diagram compared with similar skills
Skill	Stars	Used in	Tokens	Auto-check	Licence	Repo updated
Excalidraw Architecture Diagram this skillmergisi/awesome-openclaw-agents	4k	—	~1.1k	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	14 days ago
Diagram Designcathrynlavery/diagram-design	49k	1 repos	~7.6k	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	today
Excalidraw Diagramcoleam00/excalidraw-diagram-skill	5k	2 repos	~6.1k	Automated safety check: Pass	None	7 mo ago
Excalidraw Diagrambreferrari/obsidian-mind	5k	—	~3.9k	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	5 days ago
Excalidraw Skillyctimlin/mcp_excalidraw	2.5k	—	~4.6k	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	yesterday
Lanshu Animated Architecture Diagramcclank/lanshu-animated-architecture-diagram	995	—	~1.1k	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	1 mo ago

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Questions about Excalidraw Architecture Diagram

What does Excalidraw Architecture Diagram do?

Generates or updates a whiteboard-style architecture diagram of the current codebase as an Excalidraw JSON file, showing services and data flow. It surveys the codebase with targeted glob and grep searches rather than reading everything, looking for entry points such as main or index files, API routes and Dockerfile commands, data stores like Postgres, Redis or MongoDB, external services such as Stripe or Twilio, and the top-level module folders; it reads only three to five key files to confirm how the pieces actually connect.

When should I use Excalidraw Architecture Diagram?

Excalidraw Architecture Diagram fits situations like: documenting a new contributor's mental model of the codebase; refreshing a stale architecture diagram after a refactor; preparing a canonical system diagram for a design document.

How do I install Excalidraw Architecture Diagram in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add mergisi/awesome-openclaw-agents --skill excalidraw-architecture -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/claude/excalidraw-architecture in mergisi/awesome-openclaw-agents) into .claude/skills/excalidraw-architecture in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Excalidraw Architecture Diagram in Codex?

Run `npx skills add mergisi/awesome-openclaw-agents --skill excalidraw-architecture -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/claude/excalidraw-architecture in mergisi/awesome-openclaw-agents) into .agents/skills/excalidraw-architecture in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Excalidraw Architecture Diagram in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add mergisi/awesome-openclaw-agents --skill excalidraw-architecture -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/excalidraw-architecture, .gemini/skills/excalidraw-architecture, .github/skills/excalidraw-architecture and .opencode/skills/excalidraw-architecture in your project.

What does Excalidraw Architecture Diagram need to run?

SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Excalidraw Architecture Diagram is instructions for the agent only.

Does Excalidraw Architecture Diagram access the network?

SKILL.md names 2 domains. In commands or code: excalidraw.com; the agent is likely to contact it when it follows the instructions. As links in the text: medium.com. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Excalidraw Architecture Diagram safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Excalidraw Architecture Diagram use?

Excalidraw Architecture Diagram is published under the MIT licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Excalidraw Architecture Diagram use?

About 1.1k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 4.4k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.

What are the alternatives to Excalidraw Architecture Diagram?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Excalidraw Architecture Diagram: Diagram Design (cathrynlavery/diagram-design, 49k stars), Excalidraw Diagram (coleam00/excalidraw-diagram-skill, 5k stars), Excalidraw Diagram (breferrari/obsidian-mind, 5k stars) and Excalidraw Skill (yctimlin/mcp_excalidraw, 2.5k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Excalidraw Architecture Diagram?

mergisi (a GitHub user) maintains it in mergisi/awesome-openclaw-agents, which has 4,000 GitHub stars. The repository holds 16 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on September 26, 2026.

Source: mergisi/awesome-openclaw-agents on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.

Excalidraw Architecture Diagram

Install Excalidraw Architecture Diagram

Facts

At a glance

What it does

When your agent uses it

Example prompts

Workflow steps

What it can do on your machine

Tool permissions

Runs code

Network

Credentials

Context cost

Safety

SKILL.md

Excalidraw Architecture

When to use

Instructions

Style guidelines

Example invocations

Files

Compare with similar skills

Similar skills

Diagram Design

Excalidraw Diagram

Excalidraw Diagram

Excalidraw Skill

Lanshu Animated Architecture Diagram

Excalidraw Diagram Studio

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Questions about Excalidraw Architecture Diagram

Install Excalidraw Architecture Diagram

Facts

At a glance

What it does

When your agent uses it

Example prompts

Workflow steps

What it can do on your machine

Tool permissions

Runs code

Network

Credentials

Context cost

Safety

SKILL.md

Excalidraw Architecture

When to use

Instructions

Style guidelines

Example invocations

Files

Compare with similar skills

Similar skills

More from mergisi/awesome-openclaw-agents

Related

Questions about Excalidraw Architecture Diagram