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Ask HN: A modern-looking UML diagram tool?
Hi HN,
I've been going back to UML to try to tame some of my design/notes for my projects. Is there something that generates some more modern looking UML diagrams out there?
- KennyFromIT 7y agoyEd with custom palettes, anyone?
- ringo7 7y agoI used successfully https://www.draw.io/ https://www.draw.io/ for my graduation paper's UML schemes and other additional explanatory graphics. Give it a try.
- ziyasal 7y agoIt's actually a good one, I'd recommend too
- swalsh 7y agoThere's quite a few. Obviously Visio is popular, on Linux I've used a tool called "Dia" (http://dia-installer.de/ http://dia-installer.de/) there are several others, but these are my 2 go to tools for UML.
- auienrst 7y agoWell, http://plantuml.com/en/ http://plantuml.com/en/ is, imo, the most efficient and maintenable way to produce UML diagram
- rytill 7y agoWhimsical might be helpful, though you can’t do the special UML arrows on there. https://whimsical.com/ https://whimsical.com/
- cwojno 7y agoI also use Draw.io and recommend it highly. It's web-based, so it's also cross platform. However, Lucidcharts has a better UI in that I can build diagrams after in LC than Draw.io. https://www.lucidchart.com/pages/ https://www.lucidchart.com/pages/ LC is paid if you need more than 1 chart (who doesn't?). But Draw.io is free. LC is also web-based and is cross-platform. I've heard OmniGraffle is also excellent (never used it myself) but it only works on OSX/iOS: https://www.omnigroup.com/omnigraffle/ https://www.omnigroup.com/omnigraffle/
- Tarks 7y agoMy vote for Lucid, got my company to switch from Draw.io. Nearly everything works how I expect it to which is just not true when it comes to the other online diagram tools
- tentboy 7y ago+1 for lucid charts. I used the free trial a few years ago for a senior design class and was incredibly happy with it, which is saying a lot as I was consistently sleep deprived and irritated by most things at the time.
- jsilence 7y agoCan confirm that OmniGraffle is excellent. Downside is that after my departure from MacOSX towards Linux my diagrams are lost in the silo I created them in. Since then using draw.io, yed and Inkscape.
- masukomi 7y agoOmniGraffle is freaking amazing. If you're on a mac then RUN (don't walk) to grab a copy and try it out. it's also SO much more than just UML. I have found SO many uses for it.
- mcphage 7y ago> OmniGraffle is freaking amazing. On the whole I like OmniGraffle, but I _hate_ the curves that it draws. If I use it to make a diagram, I have to spend so much time making the curved lines between shapes not look like shit.
- kevlar1818 7y agoHonestly just change the default styling in PlantUML[1]. The default styling turns a lot of people off, which is a shame because it's a fantastic tool. Even the monochromatic skin is much easier on the eye. The real benefit to PlantUML is the ability to commit the source code for your diagrams alongside your actual source code. [1]: http://plantuml.com/skinparam http://plantuml.com/skinparam
- synchrone 7y agoA great example (and sort of a framework) of taking that way beyond is https://github.com/RicardoNiepel/C4-PlantUML https://github.com/RicardoNiepel/C4-PlantUML
- jgrodziski 7y agoSee also that repo with a skinparam for a "not ugly" plantuml style: https://github.com/matthewjosephtaylor/plantuml-style https://github.com/matthewjosephtaylor/plantuml-style
- snalty 7y agoi just use inkscape
- glic3rinu 7y agoI do too, it’s quite easy to produce diagrams that look better than any modern diagram too. And things look exactly as you want.
- jph 7y agoFor prettiness, Visio or OmniGraffle. For shareable web editing, LucidChart or Draw.io. For quick easy text markup, PlantUML or Mermaid. I have not found any UML tool that's pretty, shareable, round-trippable, and has easy text markup. Demo of PlantUML: https://github.com/joelparkerhenderson/demo_plantuml https://github.com/joelparkerhenderson/demo_plantuml.
- cloverich 7y agoCan you elaborate "round-trippable"?
- datashaman 7y agoNot OP, but I'd say that it is in a text-ish format that can be fed into a generator that can turn the document into code. Some of these UML editors spit out a PNG, which is pretty but useless for code generation or automated use of the information.
- mothsonasloth 7y agoStarUML is good although its built on Electron
- 9dl 7y agoWhat language do you use? And what for do you need UML (and what type diagrams)? For example, IDEA products for Java has some tools for class diagrams MS visio is nice too as tool for just painting UML But main problem with UML - synchronization with code base
- cher14 7y agoYou might also like www.breakdown-notes.com. It is not as focused on diagrams as draw.io (and others), but is rather nice if you want to make something inbetween notes and diagrams. (so I say as the owner of breakdown-notes).
- watersb 7y agohttp://www.breakdown-notes.com http://www.breakdown-notes.com
- andredeen 7y agoSoftware Ideas Modeler works nice
- anjanb 7y agohi there, draw.io is a free tool both available online at https://www.draw.io/ or you can download a desktop version from https://github.com/jgraph/drawio-desktop/releases. Quite fast and good.
- sidcool 7y agoI use Google drawings extensively
- gpantazes 7y agoI use PlantUML[1] for my UML diagrams. - It uses a human readable text-based file format renderable via the PlantUML jar. Friendly to CLI and git. - The diagrams are stylable, should you wish to style them. - There's a PlantUML Integration IntelliJ plugin that's easy to use for preview/rendering[2] - Overall simple to use, but I imagine it can as robust as you want it to be. For example, the IntelliJ plugin Sketch.it automatically generates PlantUML diagrams from Java source code[3], and the source code for how it works is available on BitBucket if you want to know how it works[4] I've seen other people suggest Mermaid.JS[5] before, but I haven't used it so I can't say how it is. [1]: http://plantuml.com [2]: https://plugins.jetbrains.com/plugin/7017-plantuml-integration/ [3]: https://plugins.jetbrains.com/plugin/10387-sketch-it- [4]: https://bitbucket.org/pmesmeur/sketch.it/src/develop/ [5]: https://mermaidjs.github.io
- pc86 7y agoIf you're going to monospace lists (why?) please format them to remove the horizontal scroll bar. Edited to remove example that still produces scroll bar on non-maximized windows (and mobile).
- 0-_-0 7y agoHaha I'm on mobile, so you'd need to do 4 words per line
- awinder 7y agoYeah this still has the horizontal scrollbar on a 920px wide browser window on desktop. People really need to cut it out with this though. There's no guideline on not using monospaced lists, and you're not the grandmaster of hackernews, so bugger off and just don't read the comment if you don't like it.
- pc86 7y agoI'm just trying to suggest ways to make it easier to read the comment. I suggest you read comments giving the poster the benefit of the doubt, you'll probably be much happier than telling people to bugger off.
- villgax 7y agoDraw.io got completely open sourced a few days back, so now there's no stopping you for adding any features you want either.
- guhcampos 7y agoI enjoy using Mermaid: https://mermaidjs.github.io https://mermaidjs.github.io It does not support all the diagrams yet, but it's completely themable and you can code away your diagrams like you would with dot/graphviz. It integrates well into any Markdown tool, Gitlab integrated it about a year ago so it's natively available in Gitlab flavored Markdow.
- soapboxrocket 7y agoI've been using mermaid for almost 2 years now, great software and still improving. It's nice too that I can keep the code in a note and change in in meetings.
- billziss 7y agoAny comparisons of Mermaid vs other tools? Why do you like Mermaid? I use Plantuml myself and I find that I regularly have to fight with the layout engine to get diagrams to looks the way I want them too.
- IshKebab 7y agoMermaid is a bit nicer than PlantUML in that it isn't a Java blob that spits out PNGs. Easier to integrate into web things. Also the default style is much nicer. But I think PlantUML is more capable.
- slipwalker 7y agoi've being using https://online.visual-paradigm.com/ https://online.visual-paradigm.com/ for a while now, and am quite happy with it.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- nyxcharon 7y agoThe best free tool I've used is Draw.io[1], can create diagrams online or offline and has nice integrations with things like OwnCloud. If you don't mind paying for something and want something that looks great visually, I would recommend Lucid Chart [2] [1]: https://draw.io https://draw.io [2]: https://www.lucidchart.com https://www.lucidchart.com
- Scarbutt 7y agoFigma
- javierluraschi 7y agonomnoml: A tool for drawing sassy UML diagrams based on syntax. Provides instant feedback and has a customizable styling. web: http://www.nomnoml.com/ http://www.nomnoml.com/ js: https://github.com/skanaar/nomnoml https://github.com/skanaar/nomnoml r: https://github.com/javierluraschi/nomnoml https://github.com/javierluraschi/nomnoml
- masukomi 7y agoThanks, Visually nomnoml is pretty sweet. That being said, syntax-wise the class diagrams from Mermaid seem way easier to read.
- _jordan 7y agohttps://monodraw.helftone.com/ https://monodraw.helftone.com/ for MacOSX is great
- masukomi 7y agoI love monodraw, but i don't know if it counts as "modern looking" Yes, the rendered versions of the output look reasonably good, but there are still some rough edges, like trying to create a "diamond" shape to put text in (typical decision point in flow chart) ends up with a HUGE diamond. also, i see it as primarily useful for generating ASCII diagrams for inserting into source code or docs. If you don't care about that tools like OmniGraffle do a much better job.
- dewey 7y agoI mostly use it to draw small diagrams for code comments if it makes things clearer but it's one of these small little macOS app gems. A very small niche and well done as a beautiful native Mac app.
- ccakes 7y agoAnd an absolute steal (for what is it) at the standard sale price.
- rymohr 7y agoHave you seen Kumu? https://kumu.io https://kumu.io It doesn't support standard UML diagrams but between sketch mode [1] [2] and icons [3] you may be pleasantly surprised. I personally use it to map out Kumu's own internal application structure and flows. Full disclosure: I am the lead developer and cofounder of Kumu. [1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wX3kbCyOamQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wX3kbCyOamQ (Gene Bellinger's intro to Kumu's sketch mode) [2]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFOz67co0yA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFOz67co0yA (Benjamin Mosior sketching wardley maps in Kumu) [3]: https://docs.kumu.io/guides/icons.html https://docs.kumu.io/guides/icons.html (Kumu docs on Font Awesome support)
- rymohr 7y agoIf enough people are interested I'm happy to do a webinar specifically for the HN crowd and do a deep dive on the technicals. Built on top of CouchDB and pretty neat stack overall.
- jshprentz 7y agoI have used UMLet since 2005. The diagrams won't win a beauty contest, but they are quick to edit and depict the necessary information. https://www.umlet.com/ https://www.umlet.com/ From the UMLet web page: > UMLet is a free, open-source UML tool with a simple user interface: draw UML diagrams fast, build sequence and activity diagrams from plain text, export diagrams to eps, pdf, jpg, svg, and clipboard, share diagrams using Eclipse, and create new, custom UML elements. UMLet runs stand-alone or as Eclipse plug-in on Windows, OS X and Linux. UMLetino runs UMLet in a web browser. Refer to the UMLet FAQ and sample diagrams for help. http://www.umletino.com/umletino.html http://www.umletino.com/umletino.html
- yboris 7y agoSpecifically for sequence diagrams: https://sequencediagram.org/ https://sequencediagram.org/
- simonsarris 7y agoYou could use GoJS to make one: https://gojs.net/latest/index.html https://gojs.net/latest/index.html (I make GoJS, a diagramming library, but it presumes nothing about "looks", which can be modified arbitrarily)
- yboris 7y agoFor all sorts of diagrams, this software is awesome: yEd https://www.yworks.com/products/yed https://www.yworks.com/products/yed Favorite feature: automatically reorganize the chart according to your preferences/constraints (e.g. fewer line intersections, hub-spoke, hierarchical, etc)
- skrebbel 7y agoWould like to second yed. I've been told that it feels a bit non-native outside Windows, but it's so fast to make diagrams with it, it's nuts. It has some weird defaults though, eg the "create node on click" is weird. Turn that off :-) It has lovely alignment features, making it super easy to make clear diagrams. It doesn't align things to a grid, but to surrounding nodes/edges in a really nice way. Try putting two nodes besides one another, and then a third one next to it. It'll auto-align the spacing so the three boxes are evenly spaced.
- ygra 7y ago(yWorks employee and developer (though not on yEd) here.) Thanks for the kind words. One note: yEd does have grid snapping (look for the grid-like icon in the toolbar or View > Grid). Personally, though, I rarely need the grid, as the normal snapping features work rather well for quickly making things line up or the same size. Also, automatic layout takes care of many alignment needs :-) There's also Tools > Snap to Grid for a one-time grid snapping operation of everything (or a selection). Didn't even know that one existed until now.
- skrebbel 7y agoWell aware, but like you said,you don't need the grid because the gridless snapping generally works even better. Compliment the team for a great app! Inventing great UX isn't trivial and you guys aced it.
- roland35 7y agoI also use yEd for UML and other related diagrams. As mentioned the auto-organization is great, and you can also separately re-route signals and labels. I have used yEd for hardware diagrams as well, although I still haven't found a great way to draw out busses of signals between nodes (to be clear I haven't found anything besides manual drawing which works!)
- ako 7y agoPowerPoint , I often use animations to explain complex diagrams.
- corebit 7y agoI second this. I have used PowerPoint for some very complex architectural diagrams and transitions over time and it has been a great tool. Definitely not perfect, but is pretty fun to use most of the time.
- user1713952 7y agohttp://staruml.io/ http://staruml.io/
- fanick 7y agoI used visual paradigm few years back. It was really good. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_Paradigm https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_Paradigm
- arminiusreturns 7y agoCheck out blockdiag tools, http://blockdiag.com/en/ http://blockdiag.com/en/
- bitfhacker 7y agoI use https://yuml.me https://yuml.me
- ivanceras 7y agoYou can create diagram from plain text https://ivanceras.github.io/svgbob-editor/ https://ivanceras.github.io/svgbob-editor/
- scaryclam 7y agoI use lucidchart for most diagramming. There's a free clone, draw.io, which is also pretty good if you need more objects but don't want to pay out for an account on lucidchart.
- Rabidgremlin 7y agoDepending on what you be are diagramming you might want to use the C4 Model ( https://c4model.com/ https://c4model.com/) which often results in easier to understand diagrams. There is a PlantUML add on for it too: https://github.com/RicardoNiepel/C4-PlantUML https://github.com/RicardoNiepel/C4-PlantUML Also draw.io templates and a set of Visio templates ( https://github.com/pihalve/c4model-visio-stencil https://github.com/pihalve/c4model-visio-stencil ) that can be imported into Lucidcharts as well. There is also some web based tools (see bottom of C4 website).
- rsecora 7y agoFor windows 10 you have the WhiteStarUML[1], but is not updated since March/2018. You can get and idea of the interface and check if the UML fits your definition of "modern looking". [1] https://sourceforge.net/projects/whitestaruml/ https://sourceforge.net/projects/whitestaruml/
- mister_hn 7y agoCheck out Visual Paradigm, they come now with a Web UI too
- Myrmornis 7y agoIt would help this discussion if people made a distinction between software that creates diagrams from version-controlled code (e.g. PlantUML, MermaidJS), and software that just creates diagrams.
- j0nathan 7y agoSometimes PlantUML for rather simple diagrams. For more advanced diagrams I use Enterprise Architect (https://www.sparxsystems.eu/ https://www.sparxsystems.eu/).
- edpichler 7y agoI really wish to find some tool to replace Enterprise Architect that runs, unfortunately, only in Windows. For me is really important traceability, starting from the requirements.
- contingencies 7y agoYou should really ask yourself why you're drawing UML diagrams at all. You know, there are lots of people selling snake-oil, drawing boxes and arrows that make you feel good, but ultimately have no real meaning. If something is really meaningful you should be able to express it in mathematics. - Leslie Lamport ... via https://github.com/globalcitizen/taoup https://github.com/globalcitizen/taoup If you need to visualize, take more precise states as a basis and take a look at graphviz[0]. If you need to model multi-agent systems, use mscgen[1] to draw Message Sequence Charts. [0] https://graphviz.org/ https://graphviz.org/ [1] http://www.mcternan.me.uk/mscgen/ http://www.mcternan.me.uk/mscgen/
- flukus 7y agoI'll second graphviz, aside from it's standalone strengths it integrates well with doxygen and the two combined make for some great documentation. I use it for sequence charts as well by using sublabels (not sure what they're really called), usually I don't care so much about the sequence but where the choke points in this giant pile of steaming enterprise are: SomeObject[label="<someMethod1> someMethod1 | <someMethod2> someMethod2"]; Foo -> SomeObject:someMethod2;
- nreece 7y agoI came across a recent blog post[1], that mentioned some text-to-diagram tools, out of which I liked Gleek.io and nomnoml in particular. [1] https://avdi.codes/tools-for-turning-descriptions-into-diagrams/ https://avdi.codes/tools-for-turning-descriptions-into-diagr...
- ilfs123 7y agoHere is a link to a few UML diagramming tool, check them out, might find the one you are looking for. UML Diagramming Software for Windows: https://www.ilovefreesoftware.com/29/featured/free-uml-design-software-windows-10.html https://www.ilovefreesoftware.com/29/featured/free-uml-desig... Online UML Digaramming Tools: https://www.ilovefreesoftware.com/22/webware/free-websites-to-create-uml-online.html https://www.ilovefreesoftware.com/22/webware/free-websites-t...
- FeloniousHam 7y agoMonodraw[0] is great for diagrams and general note taking. [0] https://monodraw.helftone.com/ https://monodraw.helftone.com/
- type0 7y agographviz can be modern looking, you just have to select some styling on your diagram