# openflowkit-mcp [Health: Active]

**Category:** 💻 Developer Tools  
**Repository:** https://github.com/openflowkit/openflowkit  
**GitHub Stars:** 962  
**npm Downloads (last month):** 1053  
**Views:** 3  
**Installs:** 0  
**Upvotes:** 0  
**Directory Page:** https://allmcps.com/mcp/openflowkit-mcp

## Description
Local-first OpenFlowKit diagramming tools for Claude, Cursor, Windsurf & other MCP clients.

## Tools
Capabilities this server exposes over MCP:

- **validate_openflow_dsl** — Parse and compile OpenFlow DSL — or Mermaid, Structurizr DSL or D2, converted first — and return structured diagnostics (code, severity, line, column, message, hint), the same check as `openflowkit validate`. `ok` is false on any error: text that cannot be drawn, or a line the parser could not read (create_diagram would draw without it). Warnings name guesses (an unknown word, a misspelled header) that still draw. For another language, `converted.dsl` is what it became and `converted.losses` name the lines of your text that did not carry over; diagnostics then refer to `converted.dsl`.
- **analyze_codebase** — Walk a directory on disk and report detected cloud platform, services, top-level structure, and language breakdown. No network access — pure local filesystem scan. Useful to seed an architecture diagram.
- **list_starter_templates** — List built-in OpenFlow starter templates that can be loaded without any AI call. Returns names, titles, categories, and one-line summaries.
- **get_starter_template** — Return the OpenFlow DSL for a named starter template. Use list_starter_templates to discover available names.
- **list_diagram_node_types** — Quick reference for the OpenFlow DSL vocabulary: family names, shape words, edge arrows, and the wireframe controls and screen frames. Call get_syntax for the full grammar.
- **server_info** — Return the server version and the tools, resources and prompts it serves. Useful when debugging client connections.
- **discover_architecture** — Walk a local repo (compose, Dockerfiles, k8s, terraform, package manifests, datastore and HTTP-client usage) and return a proposed OFK C4 workspace as DSL, with evidence per unit. Deterministic, offline; review the proposal before committing it.
- **drift_report** — Compare an architecture model (inline dsl, a documentId, or else architecture.ofk in path) against a repository. Returns missing (in repo, not in model), undrawn (in model, no repo evidence) and changed (name matches, tech or dir differs) with evidence lines.
- **explain_element** — Everything known about one element: the model entry, its relations, repository evidence (when a path is given) and the ADR markdown files its links point at.
- **openflow_create** — Create an empty file-mode document in this process.
- **openflow_open** — Load a canonical document from disk into file mode and return its id.
- **openflow_save** — Write a document to disk (svg: true also writes the first page as a .svg beside it). With a paired editor and no documentId, saves what the editor currently shows.
- **whoami** — Local-only status: whether an editor is paired, and the documents this server holds.
- **create_diagram** — Draw a new diagram frame from text, placed right of what the page already holds (or at `at`). One undo step. To change a diagram that exists, use update_diagram with its frameId instead of drawing another.
- **update_diagram** — Redraw an existing diagram frame from new text, in place: same frame id and position, one undo step (a C4 workspace redraws every view page it owns). The text replaces the frame, as Generate in the code panel does, so canvas edits it does not carry (get_diagram lists them as `canvasEdits`) are dropped; `discarded` names any that were, each with its frameId.
- **get_diagram** — The DSL text of one diagram frame: what was authored while the canvas still matches it, else text regenerated from the canvas (`edited: true`). `canvasEdits` lists what was changed on the canvas against the authored text: recolours, moves, resizes, renames, icons, rewired or bent connectors, and shapes added or removed. Each has `carry`: attributes to merge into that node's existing `[ … ]` list (one list per node) to keep the edit, or null when the language cannot say it. `canvasEdits` is null, with `canvasEditsNote` saying why, when it could not be compared. `losses` names what the language cannot say at all. update_diagram drops anything the text you send does not carry.
- **list_diagrams** — Every diagram frame in the document: frameId, page, family, title, and `edited` (the canvas no longer matches its text).
- **get_syntax** — The OpenFlow DSL grammar: the full reference, or one family’s section.
- **search_icons** — Search the shipped icon packs by name (e.g. "lambda", "sql database"). Use the returned provider/slug in DSL `icon:` attributes.
- **find_icons_for** — Concept search ("cache", "queue", "auth") expanded into catalog queries and ranked; the fastest way to pick icon ids for architecture DSL.
- **move** — Move nodes on the canvas, by `delta`, or so the first id lands at `to` (the rest keep their offsets). Pass exactly one of the two. One undo step. A diagram regenerated from text lays its nodes out again.
- **style** — Set fill, stroke, stroke width, dash, opacity or text colour on nodes, or move the icon on icon cards (iconPlacement). Pass at least one property. One undo step. A diagram regenerated from text drops these unless its DSL carries them (get_diagram lists them as canvasEdits).
- **delete** — Delete nodes (with their children and the connectors attached to them) or connectors, by id. One undo step.
- **add_shape** — Add one shape without writing DSL (hand-layout only). Prefer create_diagram. Kinds: rectangle, ellipse, text, rounded, capsule, circle, diamond, triangle, trapezoid, parallelogram, hexagon, octagon, pentagon-tag, chevron, plus, star, heart, cloud, lightning, bookmark, speech-bubble, page, folder, list-card, filled-bar, half-round, cylinder, document, cube, prism, layer-stack, target, check-circle, cross-circle, numbered-circle, brace, bracket, pin, actor, arrow-up, arrow-down, arrow-left, arrow-right, venn, process, start, decision, end, custom, image, annotation, sticky, callout, pen, highlighter, line, arrow, architecture, provider_icon, group, section, swimlane, class, er_entity, mindmap, journey, sequence_participant, sequence_note, sequence_fragment, browser, mobile, chart, widget (wireframe control), frame (phone, browser… preset; drop widgets in with parentId).
- **export** — Export the document, a page, or a selection as SVG, PNG, PDF (print HTML), JSON, or an animation (animated SVG, GIF, MP4, WebM). Returns the file bodies. Raster animation needs a live editor (WebCodecs); a file host serves animated SVG only.
- **screenshot** — A PNG image of one diagram frame, or of the whole page, to check your work by eye. Needs a live editor (the user clicks "Connect agent").
- **fit_view** — Point the live editor's camera at one diagram frame, some ids, or (with neither) the whole page. Changes the view only, not the document.
- **get_document** — Nodes and connectors of one page, with ids, labels and geometry, plus `selection`: the ids the user has selected on that page in the live editor ("the box I selected"; empty in file mode or when nothing is selected). Use get_diagram for a diagram's DSL.
- **list_pages** — Every page in the document with its shape counts and diagram kind.

## Claude Desktop Quick Installation
Install path detected from listing signals. Uses `npx` (confidence: high):

```json
"mcpServers": {
  "openflowkit-mcp": {
    "command": "npx",
    "args": ["-y","openflowkit"]
  }
}
```

## Documentation

## What openflowkit-mcp does

openflowkit-mcp connects an MCP client to OpenFlowKit’s diagram editor and document model. It supports both text-driven diagrams and direct canvas operations, allowing an agent to create frames from OpenFlow DSL, redraw existing frames, move or style nodes, add shapes, and inspect pages or selections.

The server also covers architecture discovery and review. Local repository scans identify services, platforms, languages, directories, infrastructure files, datastore usage, and HTTP clients. These findings can seed a proposed C4 workspace, be compared against an existing model, or be attached to an individual element with repository evidence and linked ADR markdown files.

## How it works

OpenFlow DSL is the primary text format. Mermaid, Structurizr DSL, and D2 can be passed through validation and conversion before being rendered. Validation returns structured diagnostics with severity, location, messages, and hints; converted input also reports the resulting DSL and lines that could not be preserved.

Documents can be created in memory or loaded from disk, then saved back to files. Diagram frames retain a relationship between authored DSL and canvas state. `get_diagram` reports edits such as moved, renamed, recoloured, resized, or rewired elements, while `update_diagram` redraws from replacement text and identifies canvas changes that would be discarded.

Repository analysis is deterministic and offline. It reads the supplied directory rather than using network access, making `analyze_codebase`, `discover_architecture`, and `drift_report` suitable for local checkouts and repeatable review workflows.

## Setup and configuration

Use openflowkit-mcp as an MCP server from a compatible client such as Claude Code, Cursor, or Windsurf. A paired live editor is needed for canvas-dependent operations such as screenshots, camera changes, and selection-aware inspection; file-mode operations can work with documents held by the server or loaded from disk.

The server exposes local document state within its process. `whoami` reports whether an editor is paired and which documents are available, while `server_info` lists the server’s version, tools, resources, and prompts for connection troubleshooting.

## Tools and capabilities

- Validate OpenFlow, Mermaid, Structurizr DSL, and D2 input with line-level diagnostics.
- Inspect syntax, node types, shapes, arrows, wireframe controls, screen frames, and shipped icon packs.
- Create, open, save, list, inspect, and export documents and diagram frames.
- Draw, redraw, move, style, delete, and add canvas elements with undo-step operations.
- Export SVG, PNG, PDF, JSON, and animation formats, including animated SVG, GIF, MP4, and WebM where the required editor capabilities are available.
- Scan repositories, propose architecture workspaces, report model drift, and explain elements with evidence.

## Limitations and notes

Repository analysis does not access the network. Live-editor tools require the editor to be paired, and raster animation export depends on WebCodecs. Regenerating a diagram from text can drop canvas-only changes unless the replacement DSL carries them; `get_diagram` exposes those edits and any losses before an update. Screenshots are also tied to a live editor connection.

_Full upstream README: https://allmcps.com/mcp/openflowkit-mcp/readme_