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Zumen

Generates editable YAML diagrams for AI-assisted revision, human approval, and SVG, Mermaid, or draw.io export.

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Install Zumen

Pick your client, then add it in one click or paste the config.

STDIONode.js
~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
claude_desktop_config.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "zumen": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@metataro/zumen-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Settings → Developer → Edit Config, merge this into mcpServers, then fully quit and reopen Claude Desktop.

Install not yet sandbox-tested— we haven't run this command through our automated sandbox yet. Not a red flag; we're working through the catalog.

Overview

zumen MCP server connects AI agents to a YAML-based diagram editor and rendering workflow. Agents can propose diagram changes, while people review diffs before applying them to the source file. Human-controlled pins preserve manual layout corrections across later regenerations. Reach for zumen when diagrams need repeated AI updates without losing deliberate positioning.

Use cases

  • Generate architecture diagrams from prose and YAML
  • Review AI-proposed diagram changes before applying them
  • Preserve manual layout corrections across regenerations
  • Export source diagrams to SVG, Mermaid, or draw.io
  • Create specialist placement drawings with reusable notation

Key features

  • YAML source of truth
  • Human-protected pins
  • Diff-based proposal review
  • Automatic layout and validation
  • SVG, Mermaid, and draw.io export
  • Embedded images and attribution sources

Security & health

What it can reach and how reliably it runs — from our own checks, not the maintainer’s claims.

ActiveLast checked 2d ago

Recent health check succeeded.

4/4 checks healthy over the last 15d

Supply-chain signal

No high-severity advisories surfaced by our automated scan.

Critical 0High 0Medium 0Low 0

Scanned 14d ago via OSV.dev · @metataro/zumen-mcp (npm)

Adoption & maintenance

Factual signals from GitHub, npm, and our automated checks — not a rating.

npm downloads319Package downloads in the last 30 days.
Last commit5d agoMost recent push to the default branch.

How Zumen works

What zumen does

zumen treats one YAML file as the source of truth for diagrams. The file contains nodes, edges, placement data, styles, and other drawing details that both people and agents can read or modify. The same source can produce SVG and can be exported to Mermaid or draw.io XML. Diagrams can also be embedded in Markdown.

The workflow is designed for diagrams that change repeatedly. An agent proposes an update, the application displays the change as a diff, and a person chooses whether to apply it. This makes the generated structure reviewable instead of silently replacing the existing drawing.

The format covers more than conventional boxes-and-arrows diagrams. Examples include architecture, UML, ER, network, floor-plan, transit, electrical, lighting, periodontal, sports-field, and other specialist drawings. The project includes hundreds of worked examples using a shared set of primitives.

How it works

People’s layout corrections are stored in a separate pins: section. Agent regeneration rewrites the nodes: and edges: sections but is not allowed to write to pins:. When the diagram is rendered again, pinned positions are retained and shown with a heavier outline in the editor.

The desktop editor can open a diagram, display an agent’s proposal, and provide Apply and Cancel actions. The YAML format is intended to remain readable in source control and to support independent implementations based on its separate specification.

Placement drawings can describe doors and openings, hinge and swing direction, reusable style tables, floor patterns, screenshots with numbered callouts, and source attribution. Images can be embedded in the generated SVG, while source names, retrieval dates, licenses, and URLs can appear along the bottom of a figure.

Setup and configuration

For an agent using the MCP server, the documented setup command is:

Terminal
claude mcp add zumen -- npx -y @metataro/zumen-mcp

A source checkout can be installed and run with pnpm:

bash
git clone https://github.com/meta-taro/zumen.git
cd zumen
corepack enable
pnpm install
pnpm mcp

pnpm dev starts the editor in a browser at http://localhost:5173. The package can also be added to an application for direct SVG rendering, using toSvg(source) after installing @metataro/zumen.

The desktop application is distributed for Windows x64, Windows ARM64, and macOS Apple silicon. The listed executables are not code-signed yet.

Tools and capabilities

  • Generate and revise diagrams from YAML source through an MCP-connected agent.
  • Review proposed changes as diffs before applying them.
  • Preserve human layout adjustments with the protected pins: block.
  • Automatically lay out diagrams and validate source with checks that explain drawing problems.
  • Render light or dark SVG output.
  • Export diagrams as Mermaid or draw.io XML.
  • Add embedded images, callouts, dimensions, openings, patterns, styles, and attribution data.

Limitations and notes

zumen is still being developed in the open rather than presented as finished software. Its desktop releases are currently not code-signed. The MCP workflow depends on an agent that can be configured with an MCP server, and the diagram source must follow the zumen format. The full format specification is maintained separately so other implementations can read and write the same files.

Read the full README View source on GitHub

Reviews

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Frequently Asked Questions about Zumen

zumen is an MCP server that connects AI agents to zumen’s YAML-based diagram workflow. Its main capabilities are generating or revising diagram source, presenting proposed changes as diffs for human approval, and supporting SVG, Mermaid, and draw.io outputs through the surrounding zumen toolchain. Human pins remain separate from AI-written content.

Install it for Claude Code with `claude mcp add zumen -- npx -y @metataro/zumen-mcp`. For a source checkout, enable Corepack, run `pnpm install`, and start the MCP process with `pnpm mcp` from the repository directory.

zumen preserves manual positioning in a separate `pins:` block that agents are not allowed to modify. Regeneration updates the diagram’s nodes and edges while retaining pinned locations, allowing a person’s layout corrections to survive later AI proposals.

Yes, zumen exports diagrams to Mermaid and draw.io XML, and it renders SVG output. The source remains a YAML file, which can also be embedded into Markdown through the project’s output workflow.

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