Generate ASCII art diagrams using PlantUML text mode. Use when user asks to create ASCII diagrams, text-based diagrams, terminal-friendly diagrams, or mentions plantuml ascii, text diagram, ascii art diagram. Supports: Converting PlantUML diagrams to ASCII art, Creating sequence diagrams, class diagrams, flowcharts in ASCII format, Generating Unicode-enhanced ASCII art with -utxt flag
Create text-based ASCII art diagrams using PlantUML. Perfect for documentation in terminal environments, README files, emails, or any scenario where graphical diagrams aren't suitable.
What is PlantUML ASCII Art?
PlantUML can generate diagrams as plain text (ASCII art) instead of images. This is useful for:
Terminal-based workflows
Git commits/PRs without image support
Documentation that needs to be version-controlled
Environments where graphical tools aren't available
Installation
# macOS
brew install plantuml
# Linux (varies by distro)
sudo apt-get install plantuml # Ubuntu/Debian
sudo yum install plantuml # RHEL/CentOS
# Or download JAR directly
wget https://github.com/plantuml/plantuml/releases/download/v1.2024.0/plantuml-1.2024.0.jar
Output Formats
Flag
Format
Description
-txt
ASCII
Pure ASCII characters
-utxt
Unicode ASCII
Enhanced with box-drawing characters
Basic Workflow
1. Create PlantUML Diagram File
@startuml
participant Bob
actor Alice
Bob -> Alice : hello
Alice -> Bob : Is it ok?
@enduml
2. Generate ASCII Art
# Standard ASCII output
plantuml -txt diagram.puml
# Unicode-enhanced output (better looking)
plantuml -utxt diagram.puml
# Using JAR directly
java -jar plantuml.jar -txt diagram.puml
java -jar plantuml.jar -utxt diagram.puml
3. View Output
Output is saved as diagram.atxt (ASCII) or diagram.utxt (Unicode).
Diagram Types Supported
Sequence Diagram
@startuml
actor User
participant "Web App" as App
database "Database" as DB
User -> App : Login Request
App -> DB : Validate Credentials
DB --> App : User Data
App --> User : Auth Token
@enduml
Class Diagram
@startuml
class User {
+id: int
+name: string
+email: string
+login(): bool
}
class Order {
+id: int
+total: float
+items: List
+calculateTotal(): float
}
User "1" -- "*" Order : places
@enduml
@startuml
[Client] as client
[API Gateway] as gateway
[Service A] as svcA
[Service B] as svcB
[Database] as db
client --> gateway
gateway --> svcA
gateway --> svcB
svcA --> db
svcB --> db
@enduml
Use Case Diagram
@startuml
actor "User" as user
actor "Admin" as admin
rectangle "System" {
user -- (Login)
user -- (View Profile)
user -- (Update Settings)
admin -- (Manage Users)
admin -- (Configure System)
}
@enduml
Deployment Diagram
@startuml
actor "User" as user
node "Load Balancer" as lb
node "Web Server 1" as ws1
node "Web Server 2" as ws2
database "Primary DB" as db1
database "Replica DB" as db2
user --> lb
lb --> ws1
lb --> ws2
ws1 --> db1
ws2 --> db1
db1 --> db2 : replicate
@enduml
