Convert "diagram as code" to draggable shapes

Hi ​@Alokito, thanks for this idea! We encourage anyone else who’s interested in this to upvote this post and share any additional details about your use case or what you’d like to see in this experience. For more information about how we manage feedback in this community, please take a look at this post:

Cheers!

I have the same need. I create mermaid code using agent mode in VS Code (Claude Sonnet) and the ability to just drag and move blocks is very valuable. Because sometimes the texts or other blocks cover /hide/ overlap and there is no way to move them around. Adding transparency + move would be even better.

Hi ​@Chandran Palanisamy, thank you so much for leaving these additional details and feedback, along with your example. Your comments here are helpful to our product teams as they continue to research new product features and enhancements!

Hi ​@Zuzia S ! Indeed I fully support this feature, our team has felt the need for months now. I don’t find the current version of LucidAI usable for our use cases to build process charts because:

2. it does not respect the styling we ask it (e.g., colors, icons/images, containers, arrows and placements)
3.  the elements are usually placed in a weird way so the whole point of automated this tedious part is gone
4. it struggles to edit existing diagrams

From these pain points, one could suggest to move to mermaid.ai, which makes natural language<>code<>diagram smooth while still being editable manually - however I still find that Lucidchart gives the best cosmetic and manual control and user experience so it would be absolutely AMAZING if you guys could bring in similar features from mermaid into lucidchart (the current import of the mermaid code as image is not very useful because you cannot edit manually with drag and drop).

Thank you !!

​@Francois It’s great to see your added perspective here, especially with the detailed examples you have shared. Thank you so much for that! Specific feedback like this makes a real difference when new enhancements are being considered.

Just signed up with a paid licence and I was sincerely hoping to see this feature.

What is the point of diagraming as code if the entities and objects are not converted to lucid native objects to be used and manipulated? 

If I want to generate a static representation of my mermaid code, there are millions of tools that will do just that. The point of a diagramming tool is to be able to make a code generated diagram look better!

​@etardieu We really appreciate you letting us know how important this feature is to you. I certainly understand the need here, and we have shared this feedback directly with our product team!

Your comment and upvote are excellent ways to indicate your strong support and need for this.

I was able to import Gemini-generated Mermaid code into Draw.io with excellent results.  The resultant flowchart objects are easily manipulatable with connectors remaining attached as expected.  However, the Draw.IO to LucidChart import is a bit deficient.  All the object’s default background will be black (they default to gray in Draw.IO) - unless you change their colors in Draw.IO.

So, a Mermaid into LucidChart workflow through Draw.IO that I found to work…

1. Generate Mermaid code. (exercise left to the reader)
2. Import into Draw.IO (Arrange > Insert > Mermaid...)
3. Ctrl+A (select everything)
4. Object Style tab - change the color to something/anything other than gray.  White works.
5. File > Save(as) >filename<.drawio
6. LucidChart
7. File > Import > Import Documents
8. Select your .DrawIO file.
9. Click View Document  (not done)

Bit of a kludge - but worked for me.

I found that changes in Draw.IO (fonts, colors, line styles, object styles (e.g. rounded corners) connector points, etc.), came through unscathed.  However, there is no object type metadata - so some LucidChart features may not work as expected.

From there I was able to leverage LucidChart’s drawing tools to clean up, colorize, and manipulate the diagram as expected.  However, the AI could not “see” that there was a diagram.

Hi everyone! 

I’m a product manager on a team that’s working on our Mermaid feature within Lucidchart.

I’d love to hear more of your Mermaid feedback on this Lucid Community Post. Also, I’d love to chat directly with you more about how you’d like to use Mermaid in Lucid! Email me at egrundvig@lucidchart.com and we’ll get some time set up!

Ethan,

From reading through the thread, and my own professional needs:

• Better Mermaid import support to create an editable Lucid diagram.  I can easily see using Gemini, Chat, Claude, etc. on a system or process design with a “create mermaid code that diagrams this” as an output.  Import Mermaid into a Lucid Chart and tweak, edit, colorize, etc. as appropriate.  From a feature parity/product competition perspective - if Draw.IO can do this, why not Lucid?
• Lucid AI interaction with the resulting Mermaid / Lucid diagram.  Import via Mermaid provides a concise and syntactically correct description of the drawing.  Asking an AI to manipulate it should not be a heavy lift.
• Round-tripping:  Mermaid → Editable Lucid Chart → Mermaid.  Or, Lucid Chart → Mermaid → Lucid Chart.  This is with the understanding that there are Lucid Chart features / metadata that do not extend to Mermaid.  That’s OK.  Not much different than .CSV <--→ Excel or Google Sheets.  Provide the customer a warning and note the general categories of excluded items in the documentation.

Thanks.

Hi Doug!

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond to me. This is exactly the kind of feedback I’m looking for!

I'd love to dig into this with you more if you're open to it. Feel free to email me at egrundvig@lucidchart.com and we'll find a quick time to chat. Either way, thank you again for the thoughtful response!

I totally agree with this idea. I need it every day of in my job. And now with AI agents making documentation easilly, this could save a lot of time. Another idea could be create a Lucid MCP 

BTW, I love this tool. Please make me love it more with this feature.