Next AI Draw IO vs Vnsh
A side-by-side look at the Next AI Draw IO and Vnsh MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Next AI Draw IO for developer tools work as a local process; choose Vnsh for developer tools as a local process. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
Choose Next AI Draw IO when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Developer Tools domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- Its auth model fits you: API key required.
- You want tools like
get_drawing_guide, get_shape_library, start_session.
Choose Vnsh when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Developer Tools domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You want tools like
vnsh_read, vnsh_share, vnsh_share_file.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Developer Tools | Developer Tools |
| Quality signal | 73/100 · Great | 64/100 · Good |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | API key required | Not declared |
| Pricing | BYOK (pay the provider) | Not declared |
| Required env vars | None listed | None listed |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 36,391 | 158 |
| Directory activity | 6 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 0 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 16 | 14 |
| Full listing | View Next AI Draw IO | View Vnsh |
Tools & capabilities
Next AI Draw IO tools 16
get_drawing_guideReturn the drawing guide: XML format, layout, edge routing, style and editing rules. start_session already returns it; call this only if the guide is no longer in your context. With topic, returns a short XML reference for tables, layers or groups.get_shape_libraryGet the style syntax and shape names of a draw.io icon library. Call this BEFORE drawing with cloud, network or other icon shapes, and use the exact names it returns; never guess them. Libraries: - Cloud: aws4, azure2, gcp2, alibaba_cloud, openstack, salesforce - Networking: cisco19, network, kubernetes, vvd, rack - Business: bpmn, lean_mapping - General: flowchart, basic, arrows2, infographic, sitemap - UI/Mockups: android, material_design - Enterprise: citrix, sap, mscae, atlassian - Engineering: fluidpower, electrical, pid, cabinets, floorplan - Icons: webiconsstart_sessionStart a new diagram session, or continue a saved one with session_id, and open the browser for real-time preview. Starts an embedded server and opens a browser window with draw.io. The browser will show diagram updates as they happen. The result includes the drawing guide; follow it when drawing.list_saved_diagramsList the diagrams saved by earlier sessions (auto-save files), newest first, with their pages. Continue one with start_session session_id=<id>; the file path also works with load_diagram.create_new_diagramCreate a NEW diagram, REPLACING the whole document: every page and any unsaved user changes (the previous state stays in History). To add a tab use add_page; to change cells use edit_diagram. Before using icon shapes (AWS, Azure, GCP, Kubernetes, Cisco...), call get_shape_library first. Follow the drawing guide returned by start_session (call get_drawing_guide if it is no longer in your context). Pass screenshot: true on the last call of a complex diagram to check the result. Accepted xml: 1) Only the mxCell elements of one page (recommended). The server adds <mxfile>, <mxGraphModel>, <root> and the root cells "0" and "1": <mxCell id="2" value="Shape" style="rounded=1;" x="40" y="40" w="120" h="60"/> 2) A bare <mxGraphModel> with <root> (one page). 3) A full <mxfile> with one or more <diagram> pages. Every page's <root> must start with <mxCell id="0"/><mxCell id="1" parent="0"/>. Rules: cells are siblings (never nested), ids are unique per page and start from "2", parent only for shapes inside a container, no XML comments, and shapes stay within x 0 to 800 and y 0 to 600. A style used by several cells is defined once with <mxStyle name="..." value="..."/> before the cells and used by name (see the drawing guide); html=1 and whiteSpace=wrap are added automatically. To clear the canvas to one blank page, send only the two root cells <mxCell id="0"/><mxCell id="1" parent="0"/>; the previous diagram stays in History.load_diagramLoad a .drawio diagram into the current session, REPLACING the entire diagram (all pages). To change an existing file, load it here, edit with edit_diagram, then export_diagram to the same path; never rewrite the file by hand. Provide ONE of two mutually exclusive sources: 'path' (the server reads the file from disk — you do NOT need to read the file yourself or pass its XML through create_new_diagram) or 'xml' (the raw file content you already have — from another tool, a repository read, or an API response — so no temporary file needs to be written first). Both accept plain XML and draw.io's compressed save format. .drawio.svg (Editable SVG, the format export_diagram writes) is accepted too; .png files (also draw.io's editable PNG) and plain .svg files cannot be loaded. After loading from 'path' (or from compressed 'xml'), call get_diagram before edit_diagram — you haven't seen the file's cell IDs yet. Plain-XML 'xml' content you supplied yourself is already known and can be edited immediately.edit_diagramEdit a specific page in the current diagram by ID-based operations (update/add/delete cells). All-or-nothing: if any operation fails, nothing is applied and every failure is listed. Freshness: the server remembers the last diagram state you have seen, and rejects this call only if the user edited the diagram in the browser since then. You do NOT need to call get_diagram before every edit: a rejected call changes nothing and includes the current XML of the page, so you can rebuild your operations and retry. Call get_diagram first only when you don't know the current diagram content (cell IDs, structure) — e.g. the diagram wasn't created in this conversation, or you're unsure your memory of it is accurate. Multi-page targeting: - page_id / page_name / page_index are optional; when all omitted, the FIRST page is targeted - Use list_pages to discover what pages exist Operations: - add: Add a new cell. Provide cell_id (new unique id within the page) and new_xml. One cell per operation. - update: Replace an existing cell by its id. Provide cell_id and complete new_xml. - delete: Remove a cell by its id. Only cell_id is needed. Its children and connected edges are deleted too, so give only a container's id. For add/update, new_xml is the complete mxCell (inside its <object> wrapper when it has custom data, see the drawing guide) in the compact form (a shape with x, y, w, h; an edge with source and target). No XML comments. Every " inside new_xml must be escaped as \" in the JSON. Example - Add a rectangle on the default (first) page: {"operations": [{"operation": "add", "cell_id": "rect-1", "new_xml": "<mxCell id=\"rect-1\" value=\"Hello\" style=\"rounded=1;\" x=\"100\" y=\"100\" w=\"120\" h=\"60\"/>"}]} Example - Delete a cell on the default page: {"operations": [{"operation": "delete", "cell_id": "rect-1"}]}get_diagramGet the current diagram XML (fetches latest from browser, including user's manual edits). Call this when you don't know the current diagram content (cell IDs, pages, structure) — e.g. before editing a diagram you didn't create in this conversation, or after edit_diagram was rejected because the user changed the diagram in the browser. Returns the full <mxfile> by default. If a page selector is provided, returns just that page's <mxGraphModel> embedded in a one-page <mxfile> wrapper.get_selectionReturn the cells the user has selected in the preview: their ids and labels, for edges the source and target ids, for shapes the position and size, and the page they are on. Call this when the user refers to what they selected ("this box", "these arrows", "the selected shapes"), then act on the ids with edit_diagram. Says when nothing is selected. Needs the preview tab to be open.screenshot_diagramRender the diagram in the preview and return it as a PNG image, so you can see your own result. Call this once after drawing or heavily editing a complex diagram, then fix overlaps and edges that cross shapes. Without a page selector it shows the page on screen; with one it renders that page without changing what the user sees. Needs the preview tab to be open.export_diagramExport the current diagram to a file. Supports .drawio (XML), .png, .svg, and .drawio.svg (an SVG with the diagram embedded, which draw.io and load_diagram can open again). The format is auto-detected from the file extension, or can be specified explicitly. Images get a 20 px margin; a PNG has a white background (or the page's own background color) unless transparent is true. Multi-page behaviour: - .drawio with NO page selector: writes the full <mxfile> (all pages). - .drawio with a page selector: writes a single-page <mxfile> containing only that page. - .png / .svg with NO page selector: exports the currently active page in the browser. - .png with a page selector: renders that page without changing what the user sees. - .svg / .drawio.svg with a page selector: temporarily loads that page into the browser, captures it, then restores the full document (the user sees a brief flicker).list_pagesList every page (tab) in the current diagram. Returns each page's id, name, 0-based index, and cell count. Use this to discover what pages exist before targeting one with edit_diagram, get_diagram, export_diagram, rename_page, or delete_page.- +4 more on the listing page
Vnsh tools 14
vnsh_readReads any vnsh URL: decrypts legacy vnsh.dev/v links locally, or directly fetches a public vnshcontent.dev/p link. Public content is intentionally unencrypted.vnsh_shareEncrypts text content locally and uploads it to vnsh, returning a shareable URL. Use this when output exceeds ~50 lines or ~2000 characters, when generating complete code files, or when the user wants portable/shareable output. ALWAYS prefer vnsh_share over dumping large content into chat. The content is encrypted before upload - the server only sees encrypted bytes.vnsh_share_fileEncrypts a local file and uploads it to vnsh, returning a shareable URL. Use this for images, screenshots, PDFs, binaries, or any file that should not be loaded into context. More efficient than vnsh_share for large or binary files.vnsh_artifact_createCreates a permanent, service-readable Account Artifact in the signed-in user’s Library. Use this for durable knowledge that the user wants their other Agents to discover and update. Requires VNSH_TOKEN. This is different from an encrypted Incognito workspace: vnsh can read Account Artifact content so authorized Agents can collaborate on it.vnsh_artifact_listLists permanent Account Artifacts available to the connected user. Use this instead of asking the human to paste a link when continuing earlier account knowledge. Requires VNSH_TOKEN.vnsh_artifact_readReads the current content and version of one permanent Account Artifact. Pass the returned version to vnsh_artifact_update so another Agent cannot be overwritten.vnsh_artifact_updateCreates a new immutable version of an Account Artifact. Requires the base_version returned by vnsh_artifact_read. On conflict, re-read, merge, and retry; never silently overwrite.vnsh_workspace_createCreates a shared workspace and returns one link that any agent can read AND write. Use this when work will continue somewhere else: handing a plan, status doc, design, or investigation to another agent or another session, or when the user says they will pick this up in a different tool. Unlike vnsh_share (a one-shot snapshot), a workspace keeps the same URL as its content evolves. Content is encrypted locally; the server never sees the key. Anonymous workspaces expire 24h after the last write (ttl can extend this to a week). With VNSH_TOKEN, new workspaces and artifacts are kept until the account owner deletes them.vnsh_workspace_renewExtends the expiry of a vnsh workspace without changing its content. Use this when the user says a link is about to expire, or asks to keep something alive longer. Needs the edit link (a #w= fragment); a view-only #r= link cannot renew. The version is not bumped, so any pending edit still applies.vnsh_workspace_readReads the current content of a workspace: encrypted /w/ links with #w= or #r=, and public /p/ links with no fragment. Use this whenever the user provides such a link — it is how you pick up work another agent left for you. Returns the content and its version number; pass that version to vnsh_workspace_update to write safely.vnsh_workspace_updateReplaces the content of a vnsh workspace, keeping the same URL. Use this to record progress so far, revise a shared plan, or leave the next agent an updated document. Writes are version-checked: if someone else wrote first, this returns their current content so you can merge it with yours and call this again.vnsh_workspace_openDecrypts a vnsh workspace to a local temp file and opens it in the browser. Use this when the user wants to LOOK at a workspace rather than have its content read into context — HTML reports, dashboards, and diagrams render properly this way. Rendering happens locally from file://, so nothing is exposed to any server.- +2 more on the listing page
Ready-to-paste client configs
Paste either block (or both) into your client config, e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json. We only show a config when the install command is confirmed.
Next AI Draw IO
{
"mcpServers": {
"next-ai-draw-io": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@next-ai-drawio/mcp-server@latest"
]
}
}
}
Vnsh
{
"mcpServers": {
"vnsh": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"vnsh-mcp@1.9.0"
]
}
}
}
Frequently asked questions
Next AI Draw IO is categorized under Developer Tools and uses a local stdio subprocess. Vnsh belongs to Developer Tools and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick Next AI Draw IO for developer tools work and Vnsh for developer tools.
Copy the mcpServers block from the config section on this page into your client's config (for example claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json), then fully restart the client.
Next AI Draw IO is bring-your-own-key: usage is billed by the API provider you supply a key for. Auth: api key required. Vnsh has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. If a server needs environment variables such as API keys, define them under the env key in your client's MCP config.
Yes. MCP clients support multiple servers: add next-ai-draw-io and vnsh as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, Next AI Draw IO has a quality signal of 73/100 (Great) with 6 views, 0 installs and 36,391 GitHub stars. Vnsh has 64/100 (Good) with 0 views, 0 installs and 158 GitHub stars.