pulse-memory/skills/d2-diagram-creator/references/syntax.md

D2 Syntax Reference

Node Shapes

Basic Shapes

• rectangle - Rectangle (default)
• square - Square
• circle - Circle
• oval - Oval
• ellipse - Ellipse (alias for oval)

Flowchart Shapes

• diamond - Diamond (conditional)
• parallelogram - Parallelogram (input/output)
• trapezoid - Trapezoid
• rounded_rectangle - Rounded rectangle
• stroke_rectangle - Stroked rectangle

Data and Storage

• cylinder - Cylinder (database)
• queue - Queue (cylinder variant)
• disk - Disk
• storage - Storage

System and Network

• cloud - Cloud (external system/service)
• hexagon - Hexagon
• octagon - Octagon
• callout - Callout box
• note - Note

People and Organization

• person - Person
• queue - Queue (waiting line)

Documents and Pages

• page - Document page
• document - Document

Special Shapes

• image - Image node
• sql_table - SQL table
• class - Class diagram (UML)

Note: shape: label is not supported in some versions of D2. It's recommended to use the node's label property or the direct label syntax:

node: "Label text"  # Recommended approach

Connection Types

Basic Connections

A -> B     # Directed arrow
A <- B     # Reverse arrow
A <-> B    # Bidirectional arrow
A -- B     # Undirected line
A - B      # Undirected line (shorthand)

Connection Labels

A -> B: Label text           # Single-line label
# Note: Multi-line labels use block syntax or |md syntax

Arrowhead Styles

Customize arrows with source-arrowhead and target-arrowhead:

source-arrowhead: triangle    # Triangle (default)
source-arrowhead: arrow       # Arrow
source-arrowhead: diamond     # Diamond
source-arrowhead: circle      # Circle
source-arrowhead: box         # Box
source-arrowhead: cross       # Cross
source-arrowhead: none        # No arrowhead

Connection Line Styles

A -> B {
  style.stroke-dash: 3        # Dashed line
  style.stroke-width: 2       # Line width
  style.stroke: red           # Line color
  style.animated: true        # Animation effect
}

Style Properties

Colors

style.fill: "#ff0000"         # Fill color (hexadecimal)
style.fill: red               # Fill color (color name)
style.stroke: blue            # Border color
style.opacity: 0.5            # Opacity (0-1)

Borders

style.stroke-width: 2         # Border width
style.stroke-dash: 5          # Dash pattern (number is spacing)
style.border-radius: 8        # Border radius

Fonts

style.font-size: 14           # Font size
style.font-color: "#333"      # Font color
# Note: style.font-weight and style.font-style are not supported in some versions

Important: Multiple style properties must be separated by newlines, do not use semicolons or commas.

Correct example:

node: {
  style.fill: red
  style.stroke: blue
  style.stroke-width: 2
}

Incorrect example:

node: { style.fill: red; style.stroke: blue }

Fill Patterns

style.fill-pattern: dots      # Dots pattern
style.fill-pattern: lines     # Lines pattern
style.fill-pattern: crosshatch # Crosshatch pattern

Multiplicity

style.multiple: true          # Display multiple nodes (e.g., multiple databases)

Animation

style.animated: true          # Enable animation

Container Syntax

Basic Container

container_name: {
  nodeA
  nodeB
}

Nested Containers

outer_container: {
  inner_container: {
    nodeC
  }
  nodeA
  nodeB
}

Container Styles

container: {
  style.fill: "#f0f0f0"
  style.stroke: "#333"
  nodeA
  nodeB
}

Container Layout

container: {
  direction: right            # Layout direction within container
  grid-columns: 3             # Number of grid columns
  nodeA
  nodeB
  nodeC
}

Referencing Parent Containers

outer: {
  middle: {
    node -> _                 # _ references outer container
  }
  parent_node
}

middle.node -> outer.parent_node       # Full path reference

Classes and Style Reuse

Defining Classes

class: class_name
class_name: {
  style.fill: yellow
  style.stroke: orange
}

Applying Classes

nodeA: {
  class: class_name
}

Multiple Classes

nodeA: {
  class: [class1, class2]           # Applied in order
}

Class Inheritance

Object properties override class properties:

class_name: {
  style.fill: yellow
}

node: {
  class: class_name
  style.fill: red             # Overrides class fill property
}

Layout Control

Global Layout Direction

direction: right              # Left to right (default)
direction: down               # Top to bottom
direction: left               # Right to left
direction: up                 # Bottom to top

Layout Engine

Set in vars:

vars: {
  d2-config: {
    layout-engine: dagre      # dagre (default)
    layout-engine: elk        # ELK layout
    layout-engine: tala       # TALA layout
  }
}

Themes

vars: {
  d2-config: {
    theme-id: 0               # Default theme
    theme-id: 1               # Neutral theme
    theme-id: 3               # Terrastruct theme
    theme-id: 100             # Custom theme number
  }
}

Sketch Mode

vars: {
  d2-config: {
    sketch: true              # Enable hand-drawn style
  }
}

Variables

Defining Variables

vars: {
  variable_name: value
  colors: {
    primary: "#007bff"
    secondary: "#6c757d"
  }
}

Using Variables

nodeA: {
  style.fill: ${vars.colors.primary}
}

title: ${vars.variable_name}

Advanced Features

Tooltips

node: { tooltip: "Hover tooltip text" }

Links

node: {
  link: "https://example.com"
  tooltip: "Click to visit"
}

SQL Tables

table: {
  shape: sql_table
  column1: type1
  column2: type2
  column3: type3
}

Multi-line Labels

Use block syntax to support multi-line text:

node: |md
  # Markdown Heading
  Supports multi-line text
  Supports **bold** and *italic*
|

Or use simple line breaks:

node: |md
  First line
  Second line
  Third line
|

Grid Layout

container: {
  grid-columns: 3             # 3-column grid
  nodeA
  nodeB
  nodeC
  nodeD
  nodeE
  nodeF
}

Wildcard Styles

*.style.fill: blue            # All nodes
*.*.style.fill: green         # All nested nodes
(nodeA -- *)[*].style.stroke: red  # All connections of nodeA

Title

title: "Diagram Title"             # Simple title
title: |md                    # Markdown title
  # Heading 1
  Supports **Markdown** format
| {near: top-center}          # Title position

Position Control (Use Sparingly)

node: {
  position: absolute
  x: 100
  y: 200
}

Note: Prefer automatic layout; only use manual positioning when necessary.

Comments

Line Comments

# This is a single-line comment
nodeA -- nodeB  # End-of-line comment

Multi-line Comments

Use multiple line comments for multi-line comments:

# This is the first line of comment
# This is the second line of comment
# This is the third line of comment
nodeA -- nodeB

Special Syntax

Implicit Connections

Multiple nodes on the same line are automatically connected:

A B C D                       # Equivalent to A -> B -> C -> D

Connection Grouping

(A B C) -> (D E F)            # A, B, C each connect to D, E, F

Conditional Styles

node: {
  style.fill?: red            # Conditional style (if not set)
}

Label Shorthand

node: Label text              # Node name is "node", label is "Label text"

Common Patterns

Database Connection

app <-> database: {
  style.stroke-dash: 3
  source-arrowhead: none
  target-arrowhead: triangle
}

Conditional Branch

decision: {
  shape: diamond
  style.fill: lightyellow
}

Loop Process

stepA -> stepB -> stepC
stepC -> stepA: "Loop"

Parallel Processing

parallel_tasks: {
  direction: right
  task1
  task2
  task3
}

start -> parallel_tasks
parallel_tasks -> end

Error Handling

main_process -> error_handler: "Exception"
error_handler: {
  style.fill: "#ffcccc"
  style.stroke: red
}