/code-to-diagram

name: code-to-diagram
description: "Analyze codebases and automatically generate architecture diagrams, flowcharts, and org charts. Uses AST parsing to map import dependencies for Python, JS/TS, Go, and Java, outputting Mermaid or SVG files. Triggered when users ask to visualize code architecture, understand dependencies, draw a flowchart, or create a module diagram from source code."
license: MIT
type: tool
tags: ["visualization", "architecture", "mermaid", "ast", "diagram"]

Code to Diagram

Extract import and dependency relationships from a codebase via AST parsing, and automatically generate three types of diagrams:

1. **Architecture Diagram** — Module/directory-level dependency relationships 2. **Flowchart** — File-level import call chains 3. **Org Chart** — Directory/file hierarchy structure

Supported languages: Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, Go, Java

Output formats: Mermaid text (`.mmd`) or SVG images (requires `mmdc` installed on the system)

Usage

Basic: Analyze an Entire Project

python3 scripts/analyze_codebase.py /path/to/project

Outputs three Mermaid diagrams to stdout and writes `.mmd` files to the current directory.

Specify Diagram Type

# Architecture diagram only
python3 scripts/analyze_codebase.py /path/to/project --type architecture

# Flowchart only
python3 scripts/analyze_codebase.py /path/to/project --type flowchart

# Org chart only
python3 scripts/analyze_codebase.py /path/to/project --type org

Specify Output Directory and Format

# Output to a specific directory
python3 scripts/analyze_codebase.py /path/to/project --output /tmp/diagrams

# Output as SVG (requires mmdc)
python3 scripts/analyze_codebase.py /path/to/project --format svg

# Output both Mermaid and SVG
python3 scripts/analyze_codebase.py /path/to/project --format both

Output JSON Analysis Results

python3 scripts/analyze_codebase.py /path/to/project --json

Parameters

| Parameter | Description | |-----------|-------------| | `directory` | Code directory to analyze (required) | | `--type, -t` | Diagram type: `architecture`, `flowchart`, `org`, `all` (default: `all`) | | `--output, -o` | Output directory (default: current directory) | | `--format, -f` | Output format: `mermaid`, `svg`, `both` (default: `mermaid`) | | `--max-files` | Maximum number of files to scan (default: 500) | | `--max-depth` | Maximum depth for org chart (default: 4) | | `--json` | Output analysis results in JSON format |

How It Works

1. **Scan phase**: Recursively traverse the directory, skipping `node_modules`, `.git`, `__pycache__`, etc. 2. **Parse phase**:

• Python files: uses the `ast` module to parse `import` and `from ... import` statements
• JS/TS files: uses regex to match `import`, `require`, and `export from`
• Go files: uses regex to match `import` statements
• Java files: uses regex to match `import` statements

3. **Resolve internal dependencies**: Maps import paths to actual files within the project 4. **Generate diagrams**: Converts dependency relationships into Mermaid diagram syntax 5. **Render (optional)**: Calls `mmdc` (Mermaid CLI) to render `.mmd` files as SVG

Use Cases

• Quickly understand the module structure of an unfamiliar project
• Visualize dependencies during code review
• Create architecture diagrams for technical documentation
• Detect circular dependencies or excessive coupling
• Analyze project structure before refactoring

Dependencies

• Python 3.7+ (standard library only, no extra packages needed)
• SVG output requires `@mermaid-js/mermaid-cli` (optional)

Notes

• Only analyzes static import relationships; dynamic imports are not tracked
• For large projects, use `--max-files` to limit the scan scope
• Mermaid diagrams with too many nodes may be hard to render; use `--type` to generate diagrams separately