Nowline

Create and edit your roadmaps in a plain-text format.

Quick Install

Automated & IDE Setup

Copy the AI prompt to install this server into Claude Code, Cursor, or another agent — or use 1-click editor setup below.

Add to Cursor Add to VS Code

Manual Client & Custom JSON ConfigExpand JSON ▾

Client Config & Setup

Choose your client or environment

Target File:~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "nowline": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "nowline"
      ]
    }
  }
}

💡 Paste the JSON block into your client's configuration file under mcpServers, then restart the application.

Documentation Overview

Roadmaps as code. For everyone.
Human readable roadmaps, built for AI.
Plain .nowline text files. Version-controlled. Render to SVG, PNG, PDF, HTML, Mermaid, XLSX, and MS Project XML.

What is Nowline?

Nowline is a text-first DSL for describing product and engineering roadmaps — human readable and machine readable. You write plain .nowline text files — indented, keyword-driven, diff-friendly — and tooling renders them as timelines, validates them, and composes them.

examples/minimal.nowline:

nowline

nowline v1

roadmap minimal "Starter" start:2026-01-05 scale:2w author:"Jane Doe"

swimlane engineering "Engineering"
  item research "Research"  duration:3w status:done
  item design   "Design"    duration:2w status:in-progress remaining:5d
  item build    "Build"     duration:3w status:planned

Renders to:

Minimal roadmap rendered with light theme and now-line on 2026-02-09

Why Nowline?

Text, not a Gantt chart. Version-controlled, diffable, reviewable in a PR.
Indentation, not XML. Roadmaps read like outlines, because that's how people think about them.
Strict enough to catch mistakes. 30+ validation rules, clear error messages with line and column numbers.
Composable. include other files with explicit merge / ignore / isolate semantics.

Quick start

Install the CLI from your package manager:

bash

brew trust lolay/tap                                 # macOS / Linux / WSL (one-time)
brew install lolay/tap/nowline

Debian/Ubuntu and Windows users can grab the latest .deb or .exe from GitHub Releases. See packages/cli/README.md for the full install matrix (including man nowline setup).

Toolchain

Two-tier Node policy: Node ≥ 22 to consume @nowline/* packages (engines.node on every published package), Node 26 (.nvmrc) to develop. CI tests both versions on every PR. See Toolchain & Supported Versions for the full policy and bump procedure.

Render your first roadmap:

bash

nowline examples/minimal.nowline                     # writes ./minimal.svg
nowline --version

Or scaffold a brand-new file from a template:

bash

nowline --init my-project                            # ./my-project.nowline
nowline --init my-project -t teams                   # ./my-project.nowline (teams template)

For the VS Code / Cursor / VSCodium extension, search Nowline on the VS Code Marketplace or Open VSX.

0.x versioning. nowline is on 0.x.y while we settle the embed surface and IDE expansion. Public APIs may change between minor versions; full SemVer guarantees apply once we ship 1.0. See specs/releasing.md for the version contract.

To run from a checkout for local development (pnpm install && pnpm build), see CONTRIBUTING.md.

Use the CLI

nowline is verbless: rendering is the default. Other operations are flags on the same command.

Render (default)

bash

nowline roadmap.nowline                          # writes ./roadmap.svg
nowline roadmap.nowline -f png                   # writes ./roadmap.png
nowline roadmap.nowline -f pdf                   # writes ./roadmap.pdf
nowline roadmap.nowline -f html                  # writes ./roadmap.html
nowline roadmap.nowline -f mermaid               # writes ./roadmap.md
nowline roadmap.nowline -f xlsx                  # writes ./roadmap.xlsx
nowline roadmap.nowline -f msproj                # writes ./roadmap.xml
nowline roadmap.nowline -o roadmap.pdf           # format inferred from extension
nowline roadmap.nowline -o -                     # SVG to stdout
nowline roadmap.nowline --theme dark --now 2026-03-15
nowline roadmap.nowline --now - --asset-root ./brand --no-links --strict
nowline roadmap.nowline -f pdf --page-size a4 --orientation landscape --margin 0.5in
cat roadmap.nowline | nowline -                  # stdin → ./roadmap.svg

The render pipeline is @nowline/core parse → @nowline/layout layout → @nowline/renderer SVG → format-specific exporter. Output is byte-for-byte deterministic for the same input, theme, and --now. A single nowline binary ships every format — see packages/cli/README.md for install details.

Validate (`--dry-run`)

Run the full pipeline (parse + validate + layout + format) without writing. Exits 0 on success, 1 if any errors are emitted.

bash

nowline roadmap.nowline --dry-run
nowline roadmap.nowline -n                          # short alias
cat roadmap.nowline | nowline - --dry-run           # read stdin
nowline roadmap.nowline -n --diagnostic-format json # machine-readable output

Convert text ↔ JSON

Convert is just -f json (or -f nowline to go the other way). Input format is inferred from the extension; --input-format overrides for unusual filenames.

bash

nowline roadmap.nowline -f json -o roadmap.json    # text → JSON
nowline roadmap.json -f nowline -o roadmap.nowline # JSON → text (canonical)
nowline roadmap.nowline -f json -o - | jq '.ast.roadmapDecl.name'

The emitted JSON carries a top-level "$nowlineSchema": "1" so downstream tools can detect schema changes. Comments are not preserved across round-trips — see packages/cli/README.md for the canonical printer rules.

Serve (`--serve`)

Run a live-reload preview in the browser. Great while authoring.

bash

nowline roadmap.nowline --serve                    # http://127.0.0.1:4318
nowline roadmap.nowline --serve -p 4400 -t dark --open
nowline roadmap.nowline --serve -o latest.svg      # rewrite latest.svg on each rebuild

The server re-parses, re-validates, re-lays-out, and re-renders on every file change; connected clients refresh automatically via Server-Sent Events. Validation errors are displayed as an overlay on top of the most recent successful render.

Init (`--init`)

Scaffold a new .nowline file in cwd. The positional argument is the project name, not a file path. .nowline is auto-appended.

bash

nowline --init                              # ./roadmap.nowline (default name)
nowline --init my-project                   # ./my-project.nowline
nowline --init my-plan.nowline              # ./my-plan.nowline (literal)
nowline --init my-project --template=teams  # use the teams template

minimal, teams, and product correspond to the files under examples/. Existing files are silently overwritten.

Exit codes

Code	Meaning
0	Success
1	Validation error (parse failure, invalid reference)
2	Usage error (missing input, bad flags, unsupported format, file not found, binary→TTY refusal)
3	Output error (cannot write to destination)

Manual

After any package-manager install (brew install lolay/tap/nowline, npm install -g @nowline/cli, or the .deb from GitHub Releases), man nowline shows the CLI manual and man 5 nowline shows the full DSL reference. Both man pages also ship as standalone assets on every GitHub Release — see packages/cli/man/ for the mdoc sources.

Language at a glance

File structure

nowline

nowline v1                        // 1. version directive (optional, must be first)

include "shared/teams.nowline"    // 2. includes
include "brand.nowline" config:isolate

config                            // 3. config section (optional)
scale
  name: weeks
style enterprise
  bg: blue
  fg: navy

roadmap r "My Roadmap"            // 4. roadmap section

swimlane platform
  item x "Work item" duration:1w status:done

Entities

Keyword	Purpose
`roadmap`	The top-level roadmap declaration. At most one per file.
`swimlane`	A horizontal lane of work.
`item`	A unit of work inside a swimlane.
`parallel`	A block whose children run concurrently.
`group`	A logical grouping of items, rendered together.
`anchor`	A named date on the timeline.
`milestone`	A point-in-time marker that depends on work.
`footnote`	A callout anchored to one or more entities.
`person`, `team`	Ownership references.
`style`, `label`, `status`, `duration`, `scale`, `calendar`, `default`	Config and declaration entries.

Properties

nowline

item auth "Auth refactor"
  duration: 2w              // duration literal: d, w, m, q, y
  status: in-progress       // builtin or custom from config
  owner: sam                // id reference (person or team)
  after: kickoff            // dependency (single)
  after: [kickoff, approvals] // dependency (list)
  remaining: 30%             // percentage
  labels: [security, p0]     // list of label ids
  link: https://…            // URL (bare, no quotes)

Roadmap start date

A roadmap may carry an optional start:YYYY-MM-DD that anchors the timeline baseline:

nowline

roadmap platform-2026 "Platform 2026" start:2026-01-06

Read the full README →View source on GitHub →

Related MCP Servers

View all in Developer Tools View all alternatives

Reviews

No reviews yet — be the first to share how this listing worked for you.

Frequently Asked Questions about Nowline

Add the following block to your claude_desktop_config.json under mcpServers: "mcpServers": { "nowline": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "nowline"] } }

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Technical Specs & Signals

CategoryDeveloper Tools

25Quality signal: Emerging · 25/100How this signal is calculated ▾

Server availabilityNot measured

Not scored for repo-hosted servers — we can't reach the running server, only its GitHub page. Hosted MCP endpoints are health-checked live.

Verified ownership8/20

Documentation & tools10/30

Adoption & activity1/15

Community engagement0/10

A guidance signal from public completeness & health data — not a user rating. New listings start lower and rise as they add docs, get verified, and grow adoption. Signals we can't observe for a listing are skipped, not counted against it.

★ Featured

AllMCPs Server

The official MCP server for AllMCPs.com - submit and manage tools directly from your AI. The open directory for MCP servers. Connect Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, and AI agents to databases, tools, files, and APIs. Explore 10,000+ servers. AllMCPs is the premier, open directory for discovering, evaluating, and installing Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers to equip AI agents and LLMs with real-world superpowers.

Explore Server →

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More in 💻 Developer Tools →Best MCP servers for Developers →Alternatives to Nowline →Install in Claude Desktop Install in Cursor Install in VS Code

Nowline

Create and edit your roadmaps in a plain-text format.

Quick Install

Automated & IDE Setup

Copy the AI prompt to install this server into Claude Code, Cursor, or another agent — or use 1-click editor setup below.

Add to Cursor Add to VS Code

Manual Client & Custom JSON ConfigExpand JSON ▾

Client Config & Setup

Choose your client or environment

Target File:~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "nowline": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "nowline"
      ]
    }
  }
}

💡 Paste the JSON block into your client's configuration file under mcpServers, then restart the application.

Documentation Overview

Roadmaps as code. For everyone.
Human readable roadmaps, built for AI.
Plain .nowline text files. Version-controlled. Render to SVG, PNG, PDF, HTML, Mermaid, XLSX, and MS Project XML.

What is Nowline?

examples/minimal.nowline:

nowline

nowline v1

roadmap minimal "Starter" start:2026-01-05 scale:2w author:"Jane Doe"

swimlane engineering "Engineering"
  item research "Research"  duration:3w status:done
  item design   "Design"    duration:2w status:in-progress remaining:5d
  item build    "Build"     duration:3w status:planned

Renders to:

Minimal roadmap rendered with light theme and now-line on 2026-02-09

Why Nowline?

Text, not a Gantt chart. Version-controlled, diffable, reviewable in a PR.
Indentation, not XML. Roadmaps read like outlines, because that's how people think about them.
Strict enough to catch mistakes. 30+ validation rules, clear error messages with line and column numbers.
Composable. include other files with explicit merge / ignore / isolate semantics.

Quick start

Install the CLI from your package manager:

bash

brew trust lolay/tap                                 # macOS / Linux / WSL (one-time)
brew install lolay/tap/nowline

Debian/Ubuntu and Windows users can grab the latest .deb or .exe from GitHub Releases. See packages/cli/README.md for the full install matrix (including man nowline setup).

Toolchain

Render your first roadmap:

bash

nowline examples/minimal.nowline                     # writes ./minimal.svg
nowline --version

Or scaffold a brand-new file from a template:

bash

nowline --init my-project                            # ./my-project.nowline
nowline --init my-project -t teams                   # ./my-project.nowline (teams template)

For the VS Code / Cursor / VSCodium extension, search Nowline on the VS Code Marketplace or Open VSX.

0.x versioning. nowline is on 0.x.y while we settle the embed surface and IDE expansion. Public APIs may change between minor versions; full SemVer guarantees apply once we ship 1.0. See specs/releasing.md for the version contract.

To run from a checkout for local development (pnpm install && pnpm build), see CONTRIBUTING.md.

Use the CLI

nowline is verbless: rendering is the default. Other operations are flags on the same command.

Render (default)

bash

nowline roadmap.nowline                          # writes ./roadmap.svg
nowline roadmap.nowline -f png                   # writes ./roadmap.png
nowline roadmap.nowline -f pdf                   # writes ./roadmap.pdf
nowline roadmap.nowline -f html                  # writes ./roadmap.html
nowline roadmap.nowline -f mermaid               # writes ./roadmap.md
nowline roadmap.nowline -f xlsx                  # writes ./roadmap.xlsx
nowline roadmap.nowline -f msproj                # writes ./roadmap.xml
nowline roadmap.nowline -o roadmap.pdf           # format inferred from extension
nowline roadmap.nowline -o -                     # SVG to stdout
nowline roadmap.nowline --theme dark --now 2026-03-15
nowline roadmap.nowline --now - --asset-root ./brand --no-links --strict
nowline roadmap.nowline -f pdf --page-size a4 --orientation landscape --margin 0.5in
cat roadmap.nowline | nowline -                  # stdin → ./roadmap.svg

Validate (`--dry-run`)

Run the full pipeline (parse + validate + layout + format) without writing. Exits 0 on success, 1 if any errors are emitted.

bash

nowline roadmap.nowline --dry-run
nowline roadmap.nowline -n                          # short alias
cat roadmap.nowline | nowline - --dry-run           # read stdin
nowline roadmap.nowline -n --diagnostic-format json # machine-readable output

Convert text ↔ JSON

Convert is just -f json (or -f nowline to go the other way). Input format is inferred from the extension; --input-format overrides for unusual filenames.

bash

nowline roadmap.nowline -f json -o roadmap.json    # text → JSON
nowline roadmap.json -f nowline -o roadmap.nowline # JSON → text (canonical)
nowline roadmap.nowline -f json -o - | jq '.ast.roadmapDecl.name'

Serve (`--serve`)

Run a live-reload preview in the browser. Great while authoring.

bash

nowline roadmap.nowline --serve                    # http://127.0.0.1:4318
nowline roadmap.nowline --serve -p 4400 -t dark --open
nowline roadmap.nowline --serve -o latest.svg      # rewrite latest.svg on each rebuild

Init (`--init`)

Scaffold a new .nowline file in cwd. The positional argument is the project name, not a file path. .nowline is auto-appended.

bash

nowline --init                              # ./roadmap.nowline (default name)
nowline --init my-project                   # ./my-project.nowline
nowline --init my-plan.nowline              # ./my-plan.nowline (literal)
nowline --init my-project --template=teams  # use the teams template

minimal, teams, and product correspond to the files under examples/. Existing files are silently overwritten.

Exit codes

Code	Meaning
0	Success
1	Validation error (parse failure, invalid reference)
2	Usage error (missing input, bad flags, unsupported format, file not found, binary→TTY refusal)
3	Output error (cannot write to destination)

Manual

Language at a glance

File structure

nowline

nowline v1                        // 1. version directive (optional, must be first)

include "shared/teams.nowline"    // 2. includes
include "brand.nowline" config:isolate

config                            // 3. config section (optional)
scale
  name: weeks
style enterprise
  bg: blue
  fg: navy

roadmap r "My Roadmap"            // 4. roadmap section

swimlane platform
  item x "Work item" duration:1w status:done

Entities

Keyword	Purpose
`roadmap`	The top-level roadmap declaration. At most one per file.
`swimlane`	A horizontal lane of work.
`item`	A unit of work inside a swimlane.
`parallel`	A block whose children run concurrently.
`group`	A logical grouping of items, rendered together.
`anchor`	A named date on the timeline.
`milestone`	A point-in-time marker that depends on work.
`footnote`	A callout anchored to one or more entities.
`person`, `team`	Ownership references.
`style`, `label`, `status`, `duration`, `scale`, `calendar`, `default`	Config and declaration entries.

Properties

nowline

item auth "Auth refactor"
  duration: 2w              // duration literal: d, w, m, q, y
  status: in-progress       // builtin or custom from config
  owner: sam                // id reference (person or team)
  after: kickoff            // dependency (single)
  after: [kickoff, approvals] // dependency (list)
  remaining: 30%             // percentage
  labels: [security, p0]     // list of label ids
  link: https://…            // URL (bare, no quotes)

Roadmap start date

A roadmap may carry an optional start:YYYY-MM-DD that anchors the timeline baseline:

nowline

roadmap platform-2026 "Platform 2026" start:2026-01-06

Read the full README →View source on GitHub →

Related MCP Servers

View all in Developer Tools View all alternatives

Reviews

No reviews yet — be the first to share how this listing worked for you.

Frequently Asked Questions about Nowline

Add the following block to your claude_desktop_config.json under mcpServers: "mcpServers": { "nowline": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "nowline"] } }

AllMCPs Directory Badge

Full Badge Customizer

Showcase your server listing on GitHub or your project documentation. Embed this dynamic SVG badge to highlight official listing status and live engagement.

Badge Style:

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Markdown (GitHub README)

[![AllMCPs](https://allmcps.com/api/badge/nowline?style=directory)](https://allmcps.com/mcp/nowline)

HTML Embed

<a href="https://allmcps.com/mcp/nowline"><img src="https://allmcps.com/api/badge/nowline?style=directory" alt="Nowline on AllMCPs" /></a>

Technical Specs & Signals

CategoryDeveloper Tools

25Quality signal: Emerging · 25/100How this signal is calculated ▾

Server availabilityNot measured

Not scored for repo-hosted servers — we can't reach the running server, only its GitHub page. Hosted MCP endpoints are health-checked live.

Verified ownership8/20

Documentation & tools10/30

Adoption & activity1/15

Community engagement0/10

★ Featured

AllMCPs Server

Explore Server →

Own this project?

Free dofollow backlink: add your website and place the AllMCPs badge on it — no claim needed. We detect it automatically and keep it verified as long as the badge stays live.

Claim & get free dofollow

Share & Embed

Add our SVG badge (dark/light directory styles) or embeddable widget to your site.

Explore more

More in 💻 Developer Tools →Best MCP servers for Developers →Alternatives to Nowline →Install in Claude Desktop Install in Cursor Install in VS Code

Nowline

Quick Install

Client Config & Setup

Documentation Overview

What is Nowline?

Why Nowline?

Quick start

Toolchain

Use the CLI

Render (default)

Validate (--dry-run)

Convert text ↔ JSON

Serve (--serve)

Init (--init)

Exit codes

Manual

Language at a glance

File structure

Entities

Properties

Roadmap start date

Related MCP Servers

Reviews

Frequently Asked Questions about Nowline

AllMCPs Directory Badge

Technical Specs & Signals

AllMCPs Server

Own this project?

Share & Embed

Explore more

Nowline

Quick Install

Client Config & Setup

Documentation Overview

What is Nowline?

Why Nowline?

Quick start

Toolchain

Use the CLI

Render (default)

Validate (--dry-run)

Convert text ↔ JSON

Serve (--serve)

Init (--init)

Exit codes

Manual

Language at a glance

File structure

Entities

Properties

Roadmap start date

Related MCP Servers

Reviews

Frequently Asked Questions about Nowline

AllMCPs Directory Badge

Technical Specs & Signals

AllMCPs Server

Own this project?

Share & Embed

Explore more

Validate (`--dry-run`)

Serve (`--serve`)

Init (`--init`)

Validate (`--dry-run`)

Serve (`--serve`)

Init (`--init`)