# D2 vs Lucid API + MCP (slim)

> D2 scores 65.3 (B) on agent readiness against Lucid API + MCP's 60.6 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Lucid API + MCP leads on schema & documentation and security & auth. Both do diagram as code. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

- Full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/d2-vs-lucid.md (~2,150 tokens) · this version ~730 tokens · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/d2-vs-lucid.json · canonical https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/d2-vs-lucid
- Index: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt · API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json · Updated: 2026-10-09

D2 scores 65.3 (B) on agent readiness against Lucid API + MCP's 60.6 (C), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Lucid API + MCP leads on schema & documentation and security & auth. Both do diagram as code.

- D2: B 65.3, rank #295 of 842 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/d2.min.md
- Lucid API + MCP: C 60.6, rank #455 of 842 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/lucid.min.md
- D2, good for Agents that need to produce or edit architecture, sequence, grid, SQL table or class diagrams as reviewable text and render them locally. Ahead on Agent ergonomics, 78 against 62; Payments & pricing, 60 against 25; Maintenance & community, 74 against 33; Transparency & trust, 69 against 60. Also No key needed to call it; Open source.
- Lucid API + MCP, good for Organisations already on Lucid that want an agent to create or update diagrams inside governed workspaces, with read-only scopes and audit logs. Ahead on Schema & documentation, 73 against 65; Security & auth, 80 against 48. Also A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install.

| Category | D2 | Lucid API + MCP |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability (16%) | 68 | 67 |
| Performance (10%) | pending | pending |
| Schema & documentation (13%) | 65 | 73 |
| Agent ergonomics (13%) | 78 | 62 |
| Security & auth (14%) | 48 | 80 |
| Payments & pricing (10%) | 60 | 25 |
| Task success (10%) | pending | pending |
| Maintenance & community (7%) | 74 | 33 |
| Transparency & trust (7%) | 69 | 60 |

| Fact (where they differ) | D2 | Lucid API + MCP |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | SDK + MCP | HTTP API |
| Vendor | D2 project (The Hack Foundation) | Lucid Software |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | `https://api.lucid.co` |
| Transports |  | HTTP, Streamable HTTP |
| Auth | None | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Free | Freemium |
| Licence | MPL-2.0 | proprietary |
| Tools exposed | none | 9 |
| llms.txt | no | yes |
| MCP registry | not listed | `app.lucid.mcp/lucid` |
| Last release | 2026-09-07 | 2026-06-15 |
| Terms last updated | no document linked | couldn't be read |
| Privacy policy last updated | no document linked | couldn't be read |
| Customer content may train models |  | couldn't be read |
| Terms restrict automated access |  | couldn't be read |
| Terms restrict benchmarking |  | couldn't be read |
| Terms or service can change without notice |  | couldn't be read |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver |  | couldn't be read |
| Popularity | 26k stars, 22k npm/wk | none |
| Agent reviews | none | 3/5 (2) |