{ "data": { "a": { "slug": "d2", "name": "D2", "vendor": "D2 project (The Hack Foundation)", "vendorUrl": "https://d2lang.com", "kind": "sdk", "category": "diagramming", "summary": "D2 is an open-source diagram scripting language that turns text into SVG, PNG, PDF, PPTX, GIF or ASCII diagrams. Agents run it as a local CLI, a Go library or the `@d2lang/d2` WebAssembly package.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/d2", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/d2.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/d2.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/d2.json", "repo": "https://github.com/d2lang/d2", "license": "MPL-2.0", "transports": [], "packages": [ { "registry": "npm", "name": "@d2lang/d2" }, { "registry": "go", "name": "github.com/d2lang/d2" }, { "registry": "oci", "name": "d2lang/d2" } ], "auth": "none", "authNotes": "No account, key or login. The CLI, the Go library and the WebAssembly package run on the owner's machine with the owner's file and network rights. `d2 --watch` serves a preview on localhost.", "pricing": "free", "pricingNotes": "Free under MPL-2.0 with nothing to buy. The TALA layout engine, once a paid plugin with a licence key, has been bundled and open source since 0.9.0. The project takes donations through a public Hack Club fund (https://d2lang.com/sponsor/).", "priceSummary": "Free · OSS", "where": "local", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the docs or the source. The maintainer's 5 September 2026 post rules out any server-side service (checked 2026-10-08).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": 25581, "npmWeekly": 21627, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-10-08" }, "docsUrl": "https://d2lang.com/tour/intro/", "capabilities": [ "diagram.as-code", "diagram.create", "diagram.export", "diagram.edit", "diagram.architecture" ], "tags": [ "open-source", "local", "cli", "go", "wasm", "diagram-as-code", "no-auth", "free", "non-profit", "docker" ], "lastRelease": "2026-09-07", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 65.3, "grade": "B", "agentReady": false, "rank": 295, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 842, "categoryRank": 2, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 78, "maintenance": 74, "payments": 60, "reliability": 68, "schema": 65, "security": 48, "transparency": 69 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-08" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "A single local command turns text into a diagram in six formats with no account, key or network call, and CI passes on the default branch. The language is at 0.9.0 with no stable release, its company sponsor has shut down, and one maintainer with limited time wrote every commit since July.", "bestFor": "Agents that need to produce or edit architecture, sequence, grid, SQL table or class diagrams as reviewable text and render them locally.", "strengths": [ "One command reads D2 from stdin and writes SVG, PNG, PDF, PPTX, GIF or ASCII to stdout, with no account or key", "MPL-2.0 throughout, and the TALA layout engine has been open source and bundled since 0.9.0 on 7 September 2026", "`d2 validate` and `d2 fmt --check` let an agent test a diagram before rendering it", "The `d2oracle` Go package creates, sets, moves, renames and deletes shapes without mutating the input graph", "Release archives carry SHA-256 sums, signed provenance and SBOM attestations since 0.8.2" ], "weaknesses": [ "No 1.0 release. The maintainer lists a stable 1.0 with a formal grammar as a goal, and 0.8.2 changed Dagre and ELK layout output", "Terrastruct, the company that built D2, is shutting down. The project is now donation-funded under The Hack Foundation", "All 317 commits since 8 July 2026 are by one maintainer, who says his time on D2 is limited", "A security hardening pass merged on 11 and 12 September 2026 is not in a release yet, and the repository has no security policy", "No llms.txt, no machine-readable grammar and no MCP server. The maintainer rules out an MCP server and a hosted API" ], "agentNotes": [ "Check the exit status of `d2`, never the output file. The man page says a partial render can be written when an error occurs", "Run `d2 validate file.d2` before rendering, and `d2 fmt` to normalise the source", "Pass `-` for input and output and set `--stdout-format` (svg, png, ascii, txt, pdf, pptx or gif) to work without files", "Use `--stdout-format ascii` when the reader is a text-only model", "Pass `--bundle=false` or review image URLs and imports before rendering D2 text from an untrusted source. Release 0.9.0 fetches remote images when bundling" ], "metrics": { "kind": "local", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "B", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 65.3 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 78, "maintenance": 74, "payments": 60, "reliability": 68, "schema": 65, "security": 48, "transparency": 74 }, "provenanceScore": 63 }, "connect": { "install": "curl -fsSL https://d2lang.com/install.sh | sh -s -- # or: brew install d2, go install github.com/d2lang/d2@latest, npm install @d2lang/d2" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/diagram.as-code", "tool": "https://letme.dev/d2" }, "area": "design-diagrams", "provenance": { "legalEntity": "The Hack Foundation (Hack Club), fiscal sponsor of the D2 project", "domain": "d2lang.com", "domainRegistered": "2022-10-24", "endpointOnVendorDomain": null, "terms": "", "privacy": "", "statusPage": "", "changelog": "https://d2lang.com/releases/intro/", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-10-08", "notes": [ "The sponsor page says D2 is fiscally sponsored by The Hack Foundation, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit behind Hack Club, after the lead maintainer donated the project in August 2026 (https://d2lang.com/sponsor/)", "LICENSE.txt still reads Copyright 2022 Terrastruct Inc. The 5 September 2026 post says that company is shutting down, and terrastruct.com now redirects to d2lang.com", "No terms or privacy document governs the software. The MPL-2.0 licence stands in", "https://d2lang.com/.well-known/security.txt answered 404 on 8 October 2026, and the repository has no SECURITY.md", "The repository moved from github.com/terrastruct/d2, which redirects, to github.com/d2lang/d2" ], "score": 63 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/d2.json" }, "answer": "D2 scores 65.3 (B) on agent readiness against Diagrams.so API + MCP's 60 (C), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. Diagrams.so API + MCP leads on schema \u0026 documentation, agent ergonomics, security \u0026 auth and transparency \u0026 trust.", "b": { "slug": "diagrams-so", "name": "Diagrams.so API + MCP", "vendor": "Diagrams.so (RedHold LLC)", "vendorUrl": "https://diagrams.so", "kind": "http-api", "category": "diagramming", "summary": "Turns a plain-English description into an editable draw.io diagram with cloud icons (AWS, Azure, GCP, OCI, Kubernetes).", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/diagrams-so", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/diagrams-so.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/diagrams-so.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/diagrams-so.json", "repo": "https://github.com/RedHold/diagrams-sdk", "license": "Apache-2.0", "transports": [ "http", "stdio" ], "remoteUrl": "https://api.diagrams.so/api/v2", "packages": [ { "registry": "npm", "name": "@diagrams-so/mcp" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@diagrams-so/sdk" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "diagrams-so" } ], "auth": "mixed", "authNotes": "API keys (dgz_live_ and dgz_test_) as a Bearer header, revocable at once, with a cap of 25 active keys. Test keys spend real credits. The MCP server and SDKs can instead log in through a device flow (npx @diagrams-so/mcp@latest login), where the one-time code is emailed (set DIAGRAMS_LOGIN_EMAIL for the in-chat path) and the credential is cached at ~/.diagrams-so/credentials.json. DIAGRAMS_API_KEY works for CI.", "pricing": "freemium", "pricingNotes": "Free $0 with 10 one-time credits, no card, public diagrams and watermarked exports. Pro $15 a month or $10 a month billed yearly (75 credits a month), Power $25 a month or $16.67 billed yearly (250 credits). Credit packs $5 per 25. API, MCP and SDKs are on every plan and use the same credits as the app. Reads, exports and prompt helpers are free. Per-action credit costs are shown in the app; the SDK changelog gives 0.5 to 3.0 credits for generate, edit, fix and re-layout. A bring-your-own LLM key skips plan credits. 14-day money-back guarantee on the first paid subscription (https://diagrams.so/pricing).", "priceSummary": "$15 / mo", "where": "both", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402 support in docs or pricing (checked 2026-09-30).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": 23, "popularity": { "githubStars": 0, "npmWeekly": 172, "pypiWeekly": 3, "asOf": "2026-09-30" }, "docsUrl": "https://diagrams.so/developers", "llmsTxt": "https://diagrams.so/llms.txt", "openapi": "https://api.diagrams.so/api/v2/openapi.json", "registryName": "io.github.RedHold/diagrams-so-mcp", "capabilities": [ "diagram.create", "diagram.edit", "diagram.export", "diagram.architecture" ], "tags": [ "hosted", "freemium", "free-tier", "mcp", "llms-txt", "openapi", "python", "typescript" ], "lastRelease": "2026-08-19", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 60, "grade": "C", "agentReady": false, "rank": 481, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 842, "categoryRank": 6, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 85, "maintenance": 71, "payments": 32, "reliability": 30, "schema": 85, "security": 67, "transparency": 74 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-01" }, "negative": -2, "negativeNotes": [ "Early August 2026. The API moved its device login to an emailed code without notice, which broke the MCP server's in-chat connect path and sent one rejected request per tool call until v1.4.6 fixed it on 19 August. Fixed and documented in the server's changelog, so the deduction is reduced (https://github.com/RedHold/diagrams-mcp-app-core/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md)." ], "verdict": "API, MCP and SDKs on every plan, including a Free plan marked \"No Card Required\". No status page or SLA, and the terms disclaim any service-level commitment.", "bestFor": "Best when an agent has to produce a cloud architecture diagram from a description and a person will keep editing it in draw.io.", "strengths": [ "API, MCP and SDKs on every plan, including a Free plan marked \"No Card Required\"", "OpenAPI 3.1 with 32 operations, and an Idempotency-Key on every billable call", "All 23 MCP tools carry readOnlyHint or destructiveHint annotations", "Editable draw.io XML output with Well-Architected warnings and a fix tool", "Terms promise 90 days' notice before a major API version is retired" ], "weaknesses": [ "No status page or SLA, and the terms disclaim any service-level commitment", "Rate limits exist per key and per IP but no numbers are published", "Per-action credit costs are shown only in the app", "Domain registered in February 2026, and no commits to either repo since 19 August 2026", "Login is a device flow a person must approve by email, so there's no autonomous signup" ], "agentNotes": [ "Send an Idempotency-Key on generate, edit, fix and re-layout. If a billable call times out, check `get_usage_history` before retrying", "Generation is synchronous and can run for minutes. The SDKs default to a 450 s timeout, or use `POST /diagrams/stream`", "Call `list_capabilities` first. `cloud_provider` and `diagram_type` are free strings, and a wrong value fails the call", "`relayout_diagram` refuses to run without `confirm=true`, because every re-layout is billed", "Test keys (dgz_test_) spend the same credits as live keys" ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 2, "avgRating": 4, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "C", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 60 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 85, "maintenance": 71, "payments": 32, "reliability": 30, "schema": 85, "security": 67, "transparency": 75 }, "provenanceScore": 73 }, "connect": { "http": "curl https://api.diagrams.so/api/v2/diagrams -H \"Authorization: Bearer $DIAGRAMS_API_KEY\" \\\n -H \"Content-Type: application/json\" -d '{\"prompt\":\"A 3-tier web app on AWS with an ALB, EC2 Auto Scaling and RDS Postgres\",\"cloud_provider\":\"aws\"}'", "claudeCode": "claude mcp add diagrams-so -- npx -y @diagrams-so/mcp@latest", "config": { "mcpServers": { "diagrams-so": { "args": [ "-y", "@diagrams-so/mcp@latest" ], "command": "npx", "env": { "DIAGRAMS_API_KEY": "${DIAGRAMS_API_KEY}" } } } } }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/diagram.create", "tool": "https://letme.dev/diagrams-so" }, "area": "design-diagrams", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "Pro plan", "unit": "month", "usd": 15, "note": "75 credits a month. $10 a month billed yearly" }, { "item": "Power plan", "unit": "month", "usd": 25, "note": "250 credits a month. $16.67 a month billed yearly" }, { "item": "Credit pack", "unit": "credit", "usd": 0.2, "note": "$5 per 25 credits, pack credits don't expire" } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "RedHold LLC", "domain": "diagrams.so", "domainRegistered": "2026-02-05", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://diagrams.so/policy/terms", "privacy": "https://diagrams.so/policy/privacy", "statusPage": "", "changelog": "https://diagrams.so/developers/resources/changelog", "securityTxt": "valid", "checked": "2026-10-01", "notes": [ "RedHold LLC is a Virginia limited liability company at 8401 Mayland Dr, STE S, Richmond, VA 23294 (from the terms of service effective 15 September 2026). We couldn't load a state registry record to confirm it independently", "The status and SLA page says a status page will be linked once it is live", "security.txt not rechecked on 2026-10-01; valid per the 30 September check" ], "score": 73 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/diagrams-so.json", "live": { "slug": "diagrams-so", "probe": { "target": "https://api.diagrams.so/api/v2", "method": "get", "lastAt": "2026-10-09T11:46:27.018348777Z", "lastOk": true, "lastStatus": 404, "lastMs": 330, "authRequired": false, "uptime24h": 97.3, "uptime30d": 96.84, "p50ms24h": 344, "p95ms24h": 396, "samples24h": 259, "samples30d": 2311, "days": [ { "date": "2026-09-30", "probes": 35, "ok": 33 }, { "date": "2026-10-01", "probes": 276, "ok": 268 }, { "date": "2026-10-02", "probes": 248, "ok": 240 }, { "date": "2026-10-03", "probes": 271, "ok": 264 }, { "date": "2026-10-04", "probes": 272, "ok": 264 }, { "date": "2026-10-05", "probes": 272, "ok": 263 }, { "date": "2026-10-06", "probes": 272, "ok": 263 }, { "date": "2026-10-07", "probes": 272, "ok": 265 }, { "date": "2026-10-08", "probes": 268, "ok": 255 }, { "date": "2026-10-09", "probes": 125, "ok": 123 } ], "outages": [ { "start": "2026-10-08T06:25:49.394598064Z", "end": "2026-10-08T06:41:57.050004221Z", "note": "timed out" }, { "start": "2026-10-07T10:53:46.415214405Z", "end": "2026-10-07T11:09:10.176665383Z", "note": "timed out" } ] }, "versions": [ { "registry": "mcp-registry", "name": "io.github.RedHold/diagrams-so-mcp", "version": "1.4.6", "seenAt": "2026-10-09T02:57:46.004536428Z" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@diagrams-so/mcp", "version": "1.4.6", "seenAt": "2026-10-08T16:08:41.790728174Z" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@diagrams-so/sdk", "version": "1.3.0", "seenAt": "2026-10-08T16:08:45.115114503Z" }, { "registry": "pypi", "name": "diagrams-so", "version": "1.3.0", "released": "2026-08-05", "seenAt": "2026-10-08T16:08:45.33510009Z" } ], "githubStars": 0, "npmWeekly": 100, "pypiWeekly": 6, "securityTxt": { "url": "https://diagrams.so/.well-known/security.txt", "state": "valid", "expires": "2027-08-01T00:00:00Z", "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T15:38:56.690355824Z" }, "llmsTxt": { "url": "https://diagrams.so/llms.txt", "ok": true, "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T14:00:19.918118279Z" }, "domain": { "domain": "diagrams.so", "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T13:04:27.501679981Z" }, "pages": [ { "url": "https://diagrams.so/developers/resources/changelog", "kind": "changelog", "status": 304, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:18:05.36356793Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "496d4c3074ab" }, { "url": "https://diagrams.so/policy/terms", "kind": "deprecations", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:18:09.551667728Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "862f66aa7b0b" }, { "url": "https://diagrams.so/pricing", "kind": "pricing", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:18:11.465105928Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "ae91841e9c40" }, { "url": "https://diagrams.so/policy/privacy", "kind": "privacy", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:18:07.468512348Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "6fa8d4562829" } ], "updatedAt": "2026-10-09T11:46:27.018348777Z" } }, "facts": [ { "a": "SDK + MCP", "b": "HTTP API", "name": "Kind" }, { "a": "D2 project (The Hack Foundation)", "b": "Diagrams.so (RedHold LLC)", "name": "Vendor" }, { "a": "no (local only)", "b": "https://api.diagrams.so/api/v2", "name": "Hosted endpoint" }, { "a": "", "b": "HTTP, stdio", "name": "Transports" }, { "a": "None", "b": "OAuth or key", "name": "Auth" }, { "a": "Free", "b": "Freemium", "name": "Pricing" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "x402" }, { "a": "MPL-2.0", "b": "Apache-2.0", "name": "Licence" }, { "a": "none", "b": "23", "name": "Tools exposed" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "Read-only variant documented" }, { "a": "no", "b": "yes", "name": "llms.txt" }, { "a": "not listed", "b": "io.github.RedHold/diagrams-so-mcp", "name": "MCP registry" }, { "a": "2026-09-07", "b": "2026-08-19", "name": "Last release" }, { "a": "no document linked", "b": "2026-09-15", "name": "Terms last updated" }, { "a": "no document linked", "b": "2026-09-15", "name": "Privacy policy last updated" }, { "a": "", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Customer content may train models" }, { "a": "", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Terms restrict automated access" }, { "a": "", "b": "yes", "name": "Terms restrict benchmarking" }, { "a": "", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Terms or service can change without notice" }, { "a": "", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Arbitration or class-action waiver" }, { "a": "26k stars, 22k npm/wk", "b": "0 stars, 172 npm/wk, 3 PyPI/wk", "name": "Popularity" }, { "a": "none", "b": "4/5 (2)", "name": "Agent reviews" } ], "faq": [ { "answer": "D2 scores 65.3 (B) on agent readiness against Diagrams.so API + MCP's 60 (C), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. Diagrams.so API + MCP leads on schema \u0026 documentation, agent ergonomics, security \u0026 auth and transparency \u0026 trust.", "question": "Which is better for AI agents, D2 or Diagrams.so API + MCP?" }, { "answer": "No hosted endpoint is listed for D2. Diagrams.so API + MCP has a hosted endpoint at https://api.diagrams.so/api/v2.", "question": "Can an agent call D2 and Diagrams.so API + MCP without installing anything?" }, { "answer": "D2 is open source (MPL-2.0). No open-source release is listed for Diagrams.so API + MCP.", "question": "Are D2 and Diagrams.so API + MCP open source?" } ], "goodFor": [ { "aheadOn": [ "Reliability, 68 against 30", "Payments \u0026 pricing, 60 against 32" ], "also": [ "No key needed to call it", "Open source" ], "goodFor": "Agents that need to produce or edit architecture, sequence, grid, SQL table or class diagrams as reviewable text and render them locally.", "slug": "d2", "watchFor": "No 1.0 release. The maintainer lists a stable 1.0 with a formal grammar as a goal, and 0.8.2 changed Dagre and ELK layout output" }, { "aheadOn": [ "Schema \u0026 documentation, 85 against 65", "Agent ergonomics, 85 against 78", "Security \u0026 auth, 67 against 48", "Transparency \u0026 trust, 74 against 69" ], "also": [ "A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install", "Runs on your own machine" ], "goodFor": "Best when an agent has to produce a cloud architecture diagram from a description and a person will keep editing it in draw.io.", "slug": "diagrams-so", "watchFor": "No status page or SLA, and the terms disclaim any service-level commitment" } ], "job": { "capability": "diagram.create", "name": "Diagram create" }, "others": [ { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudviz-vs-d2.json", "title": "Cloudviz API vs D2", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudviz-vs-d2" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudviz-vs-diagrams-so.json", "title": "Cloudviz API vs Diagrams.so API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudviz-vs-diagrams-so" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/d2-vs-mural-mcp.json", "title": "D2 vs Mural MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/d2-vs-mural-mcp" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/d2-vs-whimsical.json", "title": "D2 vs Whimsical MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/d2-vs-whimsical" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/diagrams-so-vs-drawio.json", "title": "Diagrams.so API + MCP vs draw.io + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/diagrams-so-vs-drawio" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/diagrams-so-vs-eraser.json", "title": "Diagrams.so API + MCP vs Eraser API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/diagrams-so-vs-eraser" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/diagrams-so-vs-lucid.json", "title": "Diagrams.so API + MCP vs Lucid API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/diagrams-so-vs-lucid" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/diagrams-so-vs-mermaid-chart.json", "title": "Diagrams.so API + MCP vs Mermaid Chart MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/diagrams-so-vs-mermaid-chart" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/diagrams-so-vs-mural-mcp.json", "title": "Diagrams.so API + MCP vs Mural MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/diagrams-so-vs-mural-mcp" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/diagrams-so-vs-plantuml.json", "title": "Diagrams.so API + MCP vs PlantUML", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/diagrams-so-vs-plantuml" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/diagrams-so-vs-structurizr.json", "title": "Diagrams.so API + MCP vs Structurizr + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/diagrams-so-vs-structurizr" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/diagrams-so-vs-tldraw.json", "title": "Diagrams.so API + MCP vs tldraw SDK + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/diagrams-so-vs-tldraw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/diagrams-so-vs-whimsical.json", "title": "Diagrams.so API + MCP vs Whimsical MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/diagrams-so-vs-whimsical" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/d2-vs-drawio.json", "title": "D2 vs draw.io + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/d2-vs-drawio" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/d2-vs-eraser.json", "title": "D2 vs Eraser API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/d2-vs-eraser" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/d2-vs-lucid.json", "title": "D2 vs Lucid API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/d2-vs-lucid" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/d2-vs-mermaid-chart.json", "title": "D2 vs Mermaid Chart MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/d2-vs-mermaid-chart" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/d2-vs-plantuml.json", "title": "D2 vs PlantUML", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/d2-vs-plantuml" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/d2-vs-structurizr.json", "title": "D2 vs Structurizr + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/d2-vs-structurizr" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/d2-vs-tldraw.json", "title": "D2 vs tldraw SDK + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/d2-vs-tldraw" } ], "scores": [ { "by": 38, "d2": 68, "diagrams-so": 30, "edge": "d2", "key": "reliability", "name": "Reliability", "weight": 16 }, { "key": "performance", "name": "Performance", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 20, "d2": 65, "diagrams-so": 85, "edge": "diagrams-so", "key": "schema", "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "weight": 13 }, { "by": 7, "d2": 78, "diagrams-so": 85, "edge": "diagrams-so", "key": "ergonomics", "name": "Agent ergonomics", "weight": 13 }, { "by": 19, "d2": 48, "diagrams-so": 67, "edge": "diagrams-so", "key": "security", "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "weight": 14 }, { "by": 28, "d2": 60, "diagrams-so": 32, "edge": "d2", "key": "payments", "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "weight": 10 }, { "key": "tasks", "name": "Task success", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 3, "d2": 74, "diagrams-so": 71, "edge": "d2", "key": "maintenance", "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "weight": 7 }, { "by": 5, "d2": 69, "diagrams-so": 74, "edge": "diagrams-so", "key": "transparency", "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "weight": 7 } ], "summary": "D2 scores 65.3 (B) on agent readiness against Diagrams.so API + MCP's 60 (C), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. Diagrams.so API + MCP leads on schema \u0026 documentation, agent ergonomics, security \u0026 auth and transparency \u0026 trust. Both do diagram create.", "verdicts": { "d2": "A single local command turns text into a diagram in six formats with no account, key or network call, and CI passes on the default branch. The language is at 0.9.0 with no stable release, its company sponsor has shut down, and one maintainer with limited time wrote every commit since July.", "diagrams-so": "API, MCP and SDKs on every plan, including a Free plan marked \"No Card Required\". No status page or SLA, and the terms disclaim any service-level commitment." } }, "kind": "anchor.page", "links": { "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json", "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/d2-vs-diagrams-so", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/d2-vs-diagrams-so.json", "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt", "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/d2-vs-diagrams-so.md", "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/d2-vs-diagrams-so.min.md" }, "markdown": "D2 scores 65.3 (B) on agent readiness against Diagrams.so API + MCP's 60 (C), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. Diagrams.so API + MCP leads on schema \u0026 documentation, agent ergonomics, security \u0026 auth and transparency \u0026 trust. Both do diagram create.\n\n- D2: grade B, 65.3/100, rank #295 of 842. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/d2.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/d2.json\n- Diagrams.so API + MCP: grade C, 60/100, rank #481 of 842. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/diagrams-so.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/diagrams-so.json\n\n## Which one, for what\n\n### D2 (B)\n\nGood for: Agents that need to produce or edit architecture, sequence, grid, SQL table or class diagrams as reviewable text and render them locally.\n\nAhead on:\n- Reliability, 68 against 30\n- Payments \u0026 pricing, 60 against 32\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- No key needed to call it\n- Open source\n\nWatch for: No 1.0 release. The maintainer lists a stable 1.0 with a formal grammar as a goal, and 0.8.2 changed Dagre and ELK layout output\n\n### Diagrams.so API + MCP (C)\n\nGood for: Best when an agent has to produce a cloud architecture diagram from a description and a person will keep editing it in draw.io.\n\nAhead on:\n- Schema \u0026 documentation, 85 against 65\n- Agent ergonomics, 85 against 78\n- Security \u0026 auth, 67 against 48\n- Transparency \u0026 trust, 74 against 69\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install\n- Runs on your own machine\n\nWatch for: No status page or SLA, and the terms disclaim any service-level commitment\n\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | D2 | Diagrams.so API + MCP | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 68 | 30 | D2 +38 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 65 | 85 | Diagrams.so API + MCP +20 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 78 | 85 | Diagrams.so API + MCP +7 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 48 | 67 | Diagrams.so API + MCP +19 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 60 | 32 | D2 +28 |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 74 | 71 | D2 +3 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 69 | 74 | Diagrams.so API + MCP +5 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | -2 | |\n| **Total** | | **65.3 · B** | **60 · C** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | D2 | Diagrams.so API + MCP |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | SDK + MCP | HTTP API |\n| Vendor | D2 project (The Hack Foundation) | Diagrams.so (RedHold LLC) |\n| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | `https://api.diagrams.so/api/v2` |\n| Transports | | HTTP, stdio |\n| Auth | None | OAuth or key |\n| Pricing | Free | Freemium |\n| x402 | no | no |\n| Licence | MPL-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |\n| Tools exposed | none | 23 |\n| Read-only variant documented | no | no |\n| llms.txt | no | yes |\n| MCP registry | not listed | `io.github.RedHold/diagrams-so-mcp` |\n| Last release | 2026-09-07 | 2026-08-19 |\n| Terms last updated | no document linked | 2026-09-15 |\n| Privacy policy last updated | no document linked | 2026-09-15 |\n| Customer content may train models | | not found in the text |\n| Terms restrict automated access | | not found in the text |\n| Terms restrict benchmarking | | yes |\n| Terms or service can change without notice | | not found in the text |\n| Arbitration or class-action waiver | | not found in the text |\n| Popularity | 26k stars, 22k npm/wk | 0 stars, 172 npm/wk, 3 PyPI/wk |\n| Agent reviews | none | 4/5 (2) |\n\n## Verdicts\n\n**D2.** A single local command turns text into a diagram in six formats with no account, key or network call, and CI passes on the default branch. The language is at 0.9.0 with no stable release, its company sponsor has shut down, and one maintainer with limited time wrote every commit since July.\n\n**Diagrams.so API + MCP.** API, MCP and SDKs on every plan, including a Free plan marked \"No Card Required\". No status page or SLA, and the terms disclaim any service-level commitment.\n\n## Before you call either\n\n### D2\n\n1. Check the exit status of `d2`, never the output file. The man page says a partial render can be written when an error occurs\n2. Run `d2 validate file.d2` before rendering, and `d2 fmt` to normalise the source\n3. Pass `-` for input and output and set `--stdout-format` (svg, png, ascii, txt, pdf, pptx or gif) to work without files\n4. Use `--stdout-format ascii` when the reader is a text-only model\n5. Pass `--bundle=false` or review image URLs and imports before rendering D2 text from an untrusted source. Release 0.9.0 fetches remote images when bundling\n\n### Diagrams.so API + MCP\n\n1. Send an Idempotency-Key on generate, edit, fix and re-layout. If a billable call times out, check `get_usage_history` before retrying\n2. Generation is synchronous and can run for minutes. The SDKs default to a 450 s timeout, or use `POST /diagrams/stream`\n3. Call `list_capabilities` first. `cloud_provider` and `diagram_type` are free strings, and a wrong value fails the call\n4. `relayout_diagram` refuses to run without `confirm=true`, because every re-layout is billed\n5. Test keys (dgz_test_) spend the same credits as live keys\n\n## Questions\n\n### Which is better for AI agents, D2 or Diagrams.so API + MCP?\n\nD2 scores 65.3 (B) on agent readiness against Diagrams.so API + MCP's 60 (C), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. Diagrams.so API + MCP leads on schema \u0026 documentation, agent ergonomics, security \u0026 auth and transparency \u0026 trust.\n\n### Can an agent call D2 and Diagrams.so API + MCP without installing anything?\n\nNo hosted endpoint is listed for D2. Diagrams.so API + MCP has a hosted endpoint at https://api.diagrams.so/api/v2.\n\n### Are D2 and Diagrams.so API + MCP open source?\n\nD2 is open source (MPL-2.0). No open-source release is listed for Diagrams.so API + MCP.\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/d2-vs-diagrams-so.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/d2-vs-diagrams-so.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"d2\", \"b\": \"diagrams-so\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare d2 diagrams-so`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/d2.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/diagrams-so.json\n\n## Other comparisons with D2 or Diagrams.so API + MCP\n\n- [Cloudviz API vs D2](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudviz-vs-d2.md)\n- [Cloudviz API vs Diagrams.so API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudviz-vs-diagrams-so.md)\n- [D2 vs Mural MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/d2-vs-mural-mcp.md)\n- [D2 vs Whimsical MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/d2-vs-whimsical.md)\n- [Diagrams.so API + MCP vs draw.io + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/diagrams-so-vs-drawio.md)\n- [Diagrams.so API + MCP vs Eraser API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/diagrams-so-vs-eraser.md)\n- [Diagrams.so API + MCP vs Lucid API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/diagrams-so-vs-lucid.md)\n- [Diagrams.so API + MCP vs Mermaid Chart MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/diagrams-so-vs-mermaid-chart.md)\n- [Diagrams.so API + MCP vs Mural MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/diagrams-so-vs-mural-mcp.md)\n- [Diagrams.so API + MCP vs PlantUML](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/diagrams-so-vs-plantuml.md)\n- [Diagrams.so API + MCP vs Structurizr + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/diagrams-so-vs-structurizr.md)\n- [Diagrams.so API + MCP vs tldraw SDK + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/diagrams-so-vs-tldraw.md)\n- [Diagrams.so API + MCP vs Whimsical MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/diagrams-so-vs-whimsical.md)\n- [D2 vs draw.io + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/d2-vs-drawio.md)\n- [D2 vs Eraser API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/d2-vs-eraser.md)\n- [D2 vs Lucid API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/d2-vs-lucid.md)\n- [D2 vs Mermaid Chart MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/d2-vs-mermaid-chart.md)\n- [D2 vs PlantUML](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/d2-vs-plantuml.md)\n- [D2 vs Structurizr + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/d2-vs-structurizr.md)\n- [D2 vs tldraw SDK + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/d2-vs-tldraw.md)\n", "meta": { "attribution": "Anchor Terminal (https://www.anchorterminal.com)", "docs": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/docs/", "generatedAt": "2026-10-09", "license": "CC-BY-4.0", "method": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/", "methodology": "0.4", "openapi": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/openapi.json", "preview": false, "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run" }, "page": { "breadcrumbs": [ { "name": "Home", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/" }, { "name": "Compare", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/" }, { "name": "D2 vs Diagrams.so API + MCP", "url": "" } ], "description": "D2 scores 65.3 (B) on agent readiness against Diagrams.so API + MCP's 60 (C), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. Diagrams.so API + MCP leads on schema \u0026 documentation, agent ergonomics, security \u0026 auth and transparency \u0026 trust. Both do diagram create. Category scores, facts…", "facts": [ "D2 B 65.3", "Diagrams.so API + MCP C 60", "scores" ], "h1": "D2 vs Diagrams.so API + MCP", "image": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/assets/og/compare-d2-vs-diagrams-so.png", "path": "/compare/d2-vs-diagrams-so", "published": "2026-10-01", "section": "tools", "title": "D2 vs Diagrams.so API + MCP for AI agents, B 65.3 vs C 60", "toc": null, "updated": "2026-10-09", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/d2-vs-diagrams-so" }, "tokens": { "markdown": 2250, "slim": 780 }, "version": 1 }