{ "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": 322, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 950, "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", "live": { "slug": "d2", "versions": [ { "registry": "github", "name": "d2lang/d2", "version": "v0.9.0", "released": "2026-09-07", "seenAt": "2026-10-09T16:48:21.247085679Z" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@d2lang/d2", "version": "0.1.34", "seenAt": "2026-10-09T16:48:20.267156647Z" } ], "githubStars": 25589, "npmWeekly": 14992, "securityTxt": { "url": "https://d2lang.com/.well-known/security.txt", "state": "none", "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T15:39:21.206946684Z" }, "pages": [ { "url": "https://d2lang.com/releases/intro/", "kind": "changelog", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T18:34:34.851222156Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "9eb891f2acbe" } ], "updatedAt": "2026-10-09T18:34:34.851222156Z" } }, "answer": "D2 scores 65.3 (B) on agent readiness against Excalidraw's 54.5 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Excalidraw leads on security \u0026 auth.", "b": { "slug": "excalidraw", "name": "Excalidraw", "vendor": "Excalidraw s.r.o.", "vendorUrl": "https://plus.excalidraw.com", "kind": "http-api", "category": "diagramming", "summary": "Excalidraw is a hand-drawn style whiteboard and diagram editor from Excalidraw s.r.o. in Brno. Agents reach it through the Excalidraw+ REST API and MCP server (public beta), a free keyless MCP App, and the open-source editor on npm (MIT).", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/excalidraw", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/excalidraw.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/excalidraw.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/excalidraw.json", "repo": "https://github.com/excalidraw/excalidraw", "license": "Excalidraw+ is a proprietary service under Excalidraw's terms of use. The editor and the MCP App on GitHub are MIT", "transports": [ "http", "streamable-http" ], "remoteUrl": "https://api.excalidraw.com/api/v1/mcp", "packages": [ { "registry": "npm", "name": "@excalidraw/excalidraw" } ], "auth": "api-key", "authNotes": "A person creates an API key in Excalidraw+ workspace settings, and the full key is shown once. Keys are sent as `Authorization: Bearer \u003cAPI_KEY\u003e`, belong to one workspace, take `read` or `full` permission or specific routes, and expire on a set date. Personal keys act as one member and need a workspace admin to enable them. Workspace keys act as the workspace. The free MCP App at https://mcp.excalidraw.com takes no credential.", "pricing": "freemium", "pricingNotes": "API and MCP access is listed under the Plus plan at $6 a user a month, 14 per cent less billed yearly, with a 14-day trial. The page does not say whether the trial takes a card. The Free plan, the free MCP App and the npm editor cost nothing, so an agent can draw without a contract but cannot reach a workspace (checked 2026-10-09).", "priceSummary": "$6 / seat-mo", "where": "hosted", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "No x402, MPP or L402 in the docs dump, the pricing page or the MCP App source (checked 2026-10-09).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": 37, "popularity": { "githubStars": 133534, "npmWeekly": 675606, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-10-09" }, "docsUrl": "https://plus.excalidraw.com/docs", "llmsTxt": "https://plus.excalidraw.com/llms.txt", "capabilities": [ "diagram.create", "diagram.edit", "diagram.export", "diagram.as-code" ], "tags": [ "hosted", "mcp", "api-key", "llms-txt", "freemium", "beta", "status-page", "soc2", "open-source", "typescript", "eu" ], "lastRelease": "2026-09-01", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 54.5, "grade": "C", "agentReady": false, "rank": 683, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 950, "categoryRank": 9, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 58, "maintenance": 44, "payments": 35, "reliability": 50, "schema": 65, "security": 73, "transparency": 63 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-09" }, "negative": -2, "negativeNotes": [ "Checked 2026-10-09. GHSA-39h7-pwv7-rc3x (CVE-2025-54881, medium), cross-site scripting in the Mermaid to Excalidraw conversion step, was published on 21 April 2026 and fixed in `@excalidraw/excalidraw` 0.18.1 and `@excalidraw/mermaid-to-excalidraw` 1.1.3. Fixed and published, so 2 points (https://github.com/excalidraw/excalidraw/security/advisories/GHSA-39h7-pwv7-rc3x)." ], "verdict": "Excalidraw+ keys carry read or full permission, route restrictions and an expiry, and the MCP server shows a key only the tools its routes allow. The API and MCP server are in public beta with breaking changes expected, sit behind the $6 Plus plan, and have no published OpenAPI file, SDK or idempotency keys.", "bestFor": "Teams already on Excalidraw+ that want agents to create and edit hand-drawn diagrams, slides and wireframes in a shared workspace, and one-off sketches through the free MCP App.", "strengths": [ "API keys take `read` or `full` permission, route restrictions and an expiry, and can be rotated. The MCP server lists only the tools a key's routes allow", "`create_diagram` lays out nodes, edges and groups into editable shapes with bound arrows, and `take_screenshot` returns a PNG to check the result", "`search_scene_content` returns only matching elements, so an agent need not load a whole scene", "`llms.txt` and a 110 KB `llms-full.txt` carry the API and MCP docs, and `GET /logs` returns the workspace audit log", "A free MCP App at https://mcp.excalidraw.com needs no account or key, and the editor is MIT on npm with 675,606 downloads in the week to 7 October 2026" ], "weaknesses": [ "The API and MCP server are in public beta. The docs say endpoints, tool names and schemas may change and to expect breaking changes", "API and MCP access needs the Plus plan at $6 a user a month. No per-call price, and no SDK for the API", "No OpenAPI file is linked from the docs, although the reference pages are generated from one. No idempotency keys and no SLA found", "The terms of use (in effect 1 June 2022) forbid access through a bot or script and do not mention the API. This matters before any probe is run", "The privacy policy is dated 29 April 2021 and names no AI providers. The sub-processor list sits in a script-drawn trust centre", "In the free MCP App, `create_view` is marked read-only yet stores a checkpoint for 30 days, and its reply names a `read_widget_context` tool the server does not register" ], "agentNotes": [ "Send `Authorization: Bearer \u003cAPI_KEY\u003e` to https://api.excalidraw.com/api/v1. For MCP, use `POST /api/v1/mcp` only. The server is stateless and answers 405 to other methods", "Use a personal key to reach the owner's private collection with the collection ID `private`. A workspace admin must enable personal keys first", "Call `read_diagram_format`, `read_presentation_format` or `read_freeform_format` before the first scene write in a session", "Write with `edit_scene_content` and bind arrows through `startBinding` and `endBinding` with `tempId` references. `PUT /scenes/{sceneId}/content` removes every element left out of the request", "Stay under 600 requests a minute per IP and wait until `X-RateLimit-Reset` after a 429" ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "C", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 54.5 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 58, "maintenance": 44, "payments": 35, "reliability": 50, "schema": 65, "security": 73, "transparency": 45 }, "provenanceScore": 80 }, "connect": { "install": "npm install react react-dom @excalidraw/excalidraw", "http": "curl https://api.excalidraw.com/api/v1/collections \\\n -H \"Authorization: Bearer \u003cAPI_KEY\u003e\"", "config": { "mcpServers": { "excalidraw": { "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer \u003cAPI_KEY\u003e" }, "type": "http", "url": "https://api.excalidraw.com/api/v1/mcp" } } } }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/diagram.create", "tool": "https://letme.dev/excalidraw" }, "area": "design-diagrams", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "Plus plan", "unit": "seat-month", "usd": 6, "note": "billed monthly, 14 per cent less billed yearly. API and MCP access, 100 AI requests a day" } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Excalidraw s.r.o.", "domain": "excalidraw.com", "domainRegistered": "2020-01-03", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://plus.excalidraw.com/terms-of-service", "privacy": "https://plus.excalidraw.com/privacy-policy", "statusPage": "https://status.excalidraw.com", "changelog": "https://plus.excalidraw.com/changelog", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-10-09", "notes": [ "The terms of use and the privacy policy name Excalidraw s.r.o., Pražákova 1008/69, Brno 639 00, Czech Republic. The terms are governed by Czech law.", "The terms of use (published 30 May 2022) are the only terms found. They cover the Site and the subscription and do not mention the API or MCP server.", "The privacy policy is dated 29 April 2021. A DPA dated 13 January 2026 is at https://plus.excalidraw.com/data-processing-agreement-dpa.", "plus.excalidraw.com/.well-known/security.txt returns 404. excalidraw.com was not asked, because its robots.txt is ambiguous for unnamed agents.", "RDAP for excalidraw.com gives a registration date of 2020-01-03.", "The robots.txt files of api.excalidraw.com and status.excalidraw.com disallow every path." ], "score": 80 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/excalidraw.json", "live": { "slug": "excalidraw", "probe": { "target": "https://api.excalidraw.com/api/v1/mcp", "method": "get", "lastAt": "2026-10-10T02:07:08.331803805Z", "lastOk": true, "lastStatus": 405, "lastMs": 354, "authRequired": false, "uptime24h": 100, "uptime30d": 100, "p50ms24h": 338, "p95ms24h": 401, "samples24h": 107, "samples30d": 107, "days": [ { "date": "2026-10-09", "probes": 85, "ok": 85 }, { "date": "2026-10-10", "probes": 22, "ok": 22 } ] }, "vendorStatus": { "page": "https://status.excalidraw.com", "indicator": "unknown", "summary": "no machine-readable status found", "checkedAt": "2026-10-10T00:50:32.425887728Z" }, "versions": [ { "registry": "github", "name": "excalidraw/excalidraw", "version": "v0.18.1", "released": "2026-04-21", "seenAt": "2026-10-09T16:52:20.443420866Z" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@excalidraw/excalidraw", "version": "0.18.1", "seenAt": "2026-10-09T16:52:19.575748854Z" } ], "githubStars": 133551, "npmWeekly": 675606, "pages": [ { "url": "https://plus.excalidraw.com/changelog", "kind": "changelog", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T18:43:35.623690787Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "7a9250424db5" }, { "url": "https://plus.excalidraw.com/privacy-policy", "kind": "privacy", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T18:43:37.662006429Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "8328a24b3944" }, { "url": "https://plus.excalidraw.com/terms-of-service", "kind": "terms", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T18:43:39.940578591Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "3dc978ec9eff" } ], "updatedAt": "2026-10-10T02:07:08.331803805Z" } }, "facts": [ { "a": "SDK + MCP", "b": "HTTP API", "name": "Kind" }, { "a": "D2 project (The Hack Foundation)", "b": "Excalidraw s.r.o.", "name": "Vendor" }, { "a": "no (local only)", "b": "https://api.excalidraw.com/api/v1/mcp", "name": "Hosted endpoint" }, { "a": "", "b": "HTTP, Streamable HTTP", "name": "Transports" }, { "a": "None", "b": "API key", "name": "Auth" }, { "a": "Free", "b": "Freemium", "name": "Pricing" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "x402" }, { "a": "MPL-2.0", "b": "Excalidraw+ is a proprietary service under Excalidraw's terms of use. The editor and the MCP App on GitHub are MIT", "name": "Licence" }, { "a": "none", "b": "37", "name": "Tools exposed" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "Read-only variant documented" }, { "a": "no", "b": "yes", "name": "llms.txt" }, { "a": "2026-09-07", "b": "2026-09-01", "name": "Last release" }, { "a": "no document linked", "b": "no date given", "name": "Terms last updated" }, { "a": "no document linked", "b": "2021-04-29", "name": "Privacy policy last updated" }, { "a": "", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Customer content may train models" }, { "a": "", "b": "yes", "name": "Terms restrict automated access" }, { "a": "", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Terms restrict benchmarking" }, { "a": "", "b": "yes", "name": "Terms or service can change without notice" }, { "a": "", "b": "yes", "name": "Arbitration or class-action waiver" }, { "a": "26k stars, 22k npm/wk", "b": "134k stars, 676k npm/wk", "name": "Popularity" } ], "faq": [ { "answer": "D2 scores 65.3 (B) on agent readiness against Excalidraw's 54.5 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Excalidraw leads on security \u0026 auth.", "question": "Which is better for AI agents, D2 or Excalidraw?" }, { "answer": "No hosted endpoint is listed for D2. Excalidraw has a hosted endpoint at https://api.excalidraw.com/api/v1/mcp.", "question": "Can an agent call D2 and Excalidraw without installing anything?" }, { "answer": "Yes. D2 is open source (MPL-2.0). Excalidraw is open source (Excalidraw+ is a proprietary service under Excalidraw's terms of use. The editor and the MCP App on GitHub are MIT).", "question": "Are D2 and Excalidraw open source?" } ], "goodFor": [ { "aheadOn": [ "Reliability, 68 against 50", "Agent ergonomics, 78 against 58", "Payments \u0026 pricing, 60 against 35", "Maintenance \u0026 community, 74 against 44", "Transparency \u0026 trust, 69 against 63" ], "also": [ "No key needed to call it" ], "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": [ "Security \u0026 auth, 73 against 48" ], "also": [ "A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install" ], "goodFor": "Teams already on Excalidraw+ that want agents to create and edit hand-drawn diagrams, slides and wireframes in a shared workspace, and one-off sketches through the free MCP App.", "slug": "excalidraw", "watchFor": "The API and MCP server are in public beta. The docs say endpoints, tool names and schemas may change and to expect breaking changes" } ], "job": { "capability": "diagram.as-code", "name": "Diagrams as code" }, "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-excalidraw.json", "title": "Cloudviz API vs Excalidraw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudviz-vs-excalidraw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/d2-vs-diagrams-so.json", "title": "D2 vs Diagrams.so API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/d2-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-excalidraw.json", "title": "Diagrams.so API + MCP vs Excalidraw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/diagrams-so-vs-excalidraw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/drawio-vs-excalidraw.json", "title": "draw.io + MCP vs Excalidraw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/drawio-vs-excalidraw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/eraser-vs-excalidraw.json", "title": "Eraser API + MCP vs Excalidraw", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/eraser-vs-excalidraw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/excalidraw-vs-kroki.json", "title": "Excalidraw vs Kroki", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/excalidraw-vs-kroki" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/excalidraw-vs-lucid.json", "title": "Excalidraw vs Lucid API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/excalidraw-vs-lucid" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/excalidraw-vs-mermaid-chart.json", "title": "Excalidraw vs Mermaid Chart MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/excalidraw-vs-mermaid-chart" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/excalidraw-vs-mural-mcp.json", "title": "Excalidraw vs Mural MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/excalidraw-vs-mural-mcp" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/excalidraw-vs-plantuml.json", "title": "Excalidraw vs PlantUML", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/excalidraw-vs-plantuml" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/excalidraw-vs-structurizr.json", "title": "Excalidraw vs Structurizr + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/excalidraw-vs-structurizr" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/excalidraw-vs-tldraw.json", "title": "Excalidraw vs tldraw SDK + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/excalidraw-vs-tldraw" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/excalidraw-vs-whimsical.json", "title": "Excalidraw vs Whimsical MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/excalidraw-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-kroki.json", "title": "D2 vs Kroki", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/d2-vs-kroki" }, { "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": 18, "d2": 68, "edge": "d2", "excalidraw": 50, "key": "reliability", "name": "Reliability", "weight": 16 }, { "key": "performance", "name": "Performance", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 0, "d2": 65, "edge": "", "excalidraw": 65, "key": "schema", "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "weight": 13 }, { "by": 20, "d2": 78, "edge": "d2", "excalidraw": 58, "key": "ergonomics", "name": "Agent ergonomics", "weight": 13 }, { "by": 25, "d2": 48, "edge": "excalidraw", "excalidraw": 73, "key": "security", "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "weight": 14 }, { "by": 25, "d2": 60, "edge": "d2", "excalidraw": 35, "key": "payments", "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "weight": 10 }, { "key": "tasks", "name": "Task success", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 30, "d2": 74, "edge": "d2", "excalidraw": 44, "key": "maintenance", "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "weight": 7 }, { "by": 6, "d2": 69, "edge": "d2", "excalidraw": 63, "key": "transparency", "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "weight": 7 } ], "summary": "D2 scores 65.3 (B) on agent readiness against Excalidraw's 54.5 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Excalidraw leads on security \u0026 auth. Both do diagrams as code.", "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.", "excalidraw": "Excalidraw+ keys carry read or full permission, route restrictions and an expiry, and the MCP server shows a key only the tools its routes allow. The API and MCP server are in public beta with breaking changes expected, sit behind the $6 Plus plan, and have no published OpenAPI file, SDK or idempotency keys." } }, "kind": "anchor.page", "links": { "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json", "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/d2-vs-excalidraw", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/d2-vs-excalidraw.json", "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt", "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/d2-vs-excalidraw.md", "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/d2-vs-excalidraw.min.md" }, "markdown": "D2 scores 65.3 (B) on agent readiness against Excalidraw's 54.5 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Excalidraw leads on security \u0026 auth. Both do diagrams as code.\n\n- D2: grade B, 65.3/100, rank #322 of 950. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/d2.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/d2.json\n- Excalidraw: grade C, 54.5/100, rank #683 of 950. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/excalidraw.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/excalidraw.json\n- Best diagramming APIs and diagram-as-code for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/diagramming/index.md\n- All 99 diagrams comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/diagramming/index.md\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 50\n- Agent ergonomics, 78 against 58\n- Payments \u0026 pricing, 60 against 35\n- Maintenance \u0026 community, 74 against 44\n- Transparency \u0026 trust, 69 against 63\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- No key needed to call it\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### Excalidraw (C)\n\nGood for: Teams already on Excalidraw+ that want agents to create and edit hand-drawn diagrams, slides and wireframes in a shared workspace, and one-off sketches through the free MCP App.\n\nAhead on:\n- Security \u0026 auth, 73 against 48\n\nAlso in its favour:\n- A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install\n\nWatch for: The API and MCP server are in public beta. The docs say endpoints, tool names and schemas may change and to expect breaking changes\n\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | D2 | Excalidraw | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 68 | 50 | D2 +18 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 65 | 65 | even |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 78 | 58 | D2 +20 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 48 | 73 | Excalidraw +25 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 60 | 35 | D2 +25 |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 74 | 44 | D2 +30 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 69 | 63 | D2 +6 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | -2 | |\n| **Total** | | **65.3 · B** | **54.5 · C** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | D2 | Excalidraw |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | SDK + MCP | HTTP API |\n| Vendor | D2 project (The Hack Foundation) | Excalidraw s.r.o. |\n| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | `https://api.excalidraw.com/api/v1/mcp` |\n| Transports | | HTTP, Streamable HTTP |\n| Auth | None | API key |\n| Pricing | Free | Freemium |\n| x402 | no | no |\n| Licence | MPL-2.0 | Excalidraw+ is a proprietary service under Excalidraw's terms of use. The editor and the MCP App on GitHub are MIT |\n| Tools exposed | none | 37 |\n| Read-only variant documented | no | no |\n| llms.txt | no | yes |\n| Last release | 2026-09-07 | 2026-09-01 |\n| Terms last updated | no document linked | no date given |\n| Privacy policy last updated | no document linked | 2021-04-29 |\n| Customer content may train models | | not found in the text |\n| Terms restrict automated access | | yes |\n| Terms restrict benchmarking | | not found in the text |\n| Terms or service can change without notice | | yes |\n| Arbitration or class-action waiver | | yes |\n| Popularity | 26k stars, 22k npm/wk | 134k stars, 676k npm/wk |\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**Excalidraw.** Excalidraw+ keys carry read or full permission, route restrictions and an expiry, and the MCP server shows a key only the tools its routes allow. The API and MCP server are in public beta with breaking changes expected, sit behind the $6 Plus plan, and have no published OpenAPI file, SDK or idempotency keys.\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### Excalidraw\n\n1. Send `Authorization: Bearer \u003cAPI_KEY\u003e` to https://api.excalidraw.com/api/v1. For MCP, use `POST /api/v1/mcp` only. The server is stateless and answers 405 to other methods\n2. Use a personal key to reach the owner's private collection with the collection ID `private`. A workspace admin must enable personal keys first\n3. Call `read_diagram_format`, `read_presentation_format` or `read_freeform_format` before the first scene write in a session\n4. Write with `edit_scene_content` and bind arrows through `startBinding` and `endBinding` with `tempId` references. `PUT /scenes/{sceneId}/content` removes every element left out of the request\n5. Stay under 600 requests a minute per IP and wait until `X-RateLimit-Reset` after a 429\n\n## Questions\n\n### Which is better for AI agents, D2 or Excalidraw?\n\nD2 scores 65.3 (B) on agent readiness against Excalidraw's 54.5 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Excalidraw leads on security \u0026 auth.\n\n### Can an agent call D2 and Excalidraw without installing anything?\n\nNo hosted endpoint is listed for D2. Excalidraw has a hosted endpoint at https://api.excalidraw.com/api/v1/mcp.\n\n### Are D2 and Excalidraw open source?\n\nYes. D2 is open source (MPL-2.0). Excalidraw is open source (Excalidraw+ is a proprietary service under Excalidraw's terms of use. The editor and the MCP App on GitHub are MIT).\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/d2-vs-excalidraw.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/d2-vs-excalidraw.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"d2\", \"b\": \"excalidraw\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare d2 excalidraw`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/d2.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/excalidraw.json\n\n## Other comparisons with D2 or Excalidraw\n\n- [Cloudviz API vs D2](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudviz-vs-d2.md)\n- [Cloudviz API vs Excalidraw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cloudviz-vs-excalidraw.md)\n- [D2 vs Diagrams.so API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/d2-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 Excalidraw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/diagrams-so-vs-excalidraw.md)\n- [draw.io + MCP vs Excalidraw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/drawio-vs-excalidraw.md)\n- [Eraser API + MCP vs Excalidraw](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/eraser-vs-excalidraw.md)\n- [Excalidraw vs Kroki](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/excalidraw-vs-kroki.md)\n- [Excalidraw vs Lucid API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/excalidraw-vs-lucid.md)\n- [Excalidraw vs Mermaid Chart MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/excalidraw-vs-mermaid-chart.md)\n- [Excalidraw vs Mural MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/excalidraw-vs-mural-mcp.md)\n- [Excalidraw vs PlantUML](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/excalidraw-vs-plantuml.md)\n- [Excalidraw vs Structurizr + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/excalidraw-vs-structurizr.md)\n- [Excalidraw vs tldraw SDK + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/excalidraw-vs-tldraw.md)\n- [Excalidraw vs Whimsical MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/excalidraw-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 Kroki](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/d2-vs-kroki.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": "2026-10-10", "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 Excalidraw", "url": "" } ], "description": "D2 scores 65.3 (B) to Excalidraw's 54.5 (C) for diagrams as code. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.", "facts": [ "D2 B 65.3", "Excalidraw C 54.5", "scores" ], "h1": "D2 vs Excalidraw", "image": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/assets/og/compare-d2-vs-excalidraw.png", "path": "/compare/d2-vs-excalidraw", "published": "2026-10-01", "section": "tools", "title": "D2 vs Excalidraw for AI agents in 2026: scores and prices", "toc": null, "updated": "2026-10-09", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/d2-vs-excalidraw" }, "tokens": { "markdown": 2400, "slim": 730 }, "version": 1 }