Mermaid Syntax Reference

Overview

Mermaid is a JavaScript-based diagramming tool that renders diagrams from Markdown-inspired text definitions. Diagrams render as SVG directly in browsers and are natively supported by GitHub, GitLab, Azure DevOps, Obsidian, and Notion.

Key advantages:

• Zero setup (browser-based rendering)
• Native Markdown integration (diagrams auto-sync with definitions)
• Simpler syntax than PlantUML
• No external dependencies

Limitations:

• Less customization than PlantUML
• C4 support is experimental
• No MindMap or JSON visualization