lastdiagram

Lastdiagram is an open-source diagramming toolkit designed to author, render, and export structured diagrams from a concise, declarative specification. It targets cross-platform use and aims to provide an approachable workflow for creating diagrams without heavy configuration.

The core concept of lastdiagram is a domain-specific language (DSL) that describes diagram elements such as nodes and relationships, along with layout constraints. The toolkit supports rendering to multiple formats, including SVG, PNG, and PDF, and is intended to integrate with common development environments. It emphasizes reproducible diagrams by letting users store their specifications in plain text.

Design and architecture: The toolkit is modular, featuring a core engine for graph representation, a layout layer offering algorithms such as hierarchical and force-directed arrangements, and a rendering layer that outputs vector and raster formats. It provides bindings for JavaScript, Python, and Rust, enabling usage from different ecosystems, and supports templating and styling to customize appearances.

History and reception: Lastdiagram originated in the mid-2010s as a community project and has been maintained through ongoing contributions and occasional sponsorship. It is used in education, software architecture planning, and network visualization, where a declarative approach to diagramming is valued for clarity and version control.

Comparison and ecosystem: It is often compared with Graphviz, Mermaid, and PlantUML for similar tasks. Advocates cite a more modern rendering pipeline and straightforward syntax as advantages, while users note that the ecosystem of extensions and integrations may be smaller than that of longer-established tools.

See also: Graphviz, Mermaid, PlantUML, Diagram as Code.