When the diagram type is still open
Start here when you can describe the picture but have not picked a Mermaid type. Name the people, the steps, or the data link a reader must see. Mermaid Viewer returns a Mermaid draft you then edit in the editor.
If the shape is already decided, open that type directly. A path with decisions belongs on the flowchart page. A series of calls belongs on the sequence diagram page. This page is the hub for a first draft.
Stay until the shape is clear
Use this hub while you are still choosing. After the first picture appears, switch to the matching type page and regenerate with the type named in the first sentence.
Three fixes after the draft
1. Cut the scope
Name the start and the end in the first sentence. Drop background that does not change a box or an arrow.
2. Name the type if it missed
If you asked for steps and received a class diagram, put flowchart at the start of the prompt and generate again.
3. Edit labels in the editor
Rename boxes to the words your reader uses. Expand only abbreviations they would not know, then delete nodes that repeat one idea.
What to put in the prompt
Write who is involved, what happens, in what order, and where the path splits. Add a number only when it changes the picture. A few spoken sentences stay readable. A pasted specification usually does not.
Questions that come up first
- What if I do not name a type?
- A process often becomes a flowchart, and an exchange of messages often becomes a sequence diagram. If that guess is wrong, add the type name and generate again.
- Can I change the draft?
- Yes. The result is Mermaid code. Open it in the editor to rename a node, add an arrow, or remove a box before you share it.
- The diagram is too detailed. What should I change?
- Raise the level of the prompt. Ask for three stages, such as signup, confirm, and done, instead of every field on every screen.