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How to diagram a code architecture from a project directory with Auto Illustrate

Point the tool at a folder of .tex, .md, .py and .txt files to draw a scoped architecture figure.

Short answer: Install the draw.io desktop CLI, the Claude Code CLI, and set OPENAI_API_KEY; then npm install -g autoillustrate; autoillustrate ./sources_bundle/ --prompt "Please make a diagram illustrating the code architecture." (replace the folder with your project directory and narrow the prompt to one subsystem). All steps.

  • Research
  • Intermediate
  • 1 hour
  • From the README
  • Claude Code

Credentials. The tool reads your project files and launches coding agents with your inherited environment, so point it only at code you trust and keep secrets out of the folder.

Who it is forA developer or research engineer who needs an architecture figure for a README, report or paper and has the source files in one folder.

The problemArchitecture diagrams go stale quickly, and drawing them by hand from a large codebase is slow.

The outcomeAn editable architecture diagram of the scoped subsystem, plus a restyled PNG, in a new run folder.

What you need first

  • Node 22 or newer
  • draw.io desktop CLI on PATH as drawio
  • Claude Code CLI (claude) on PATH, since it is the default agent
  • OPENAI_API_KEY set in the shell or a .env file
  • Python 3.10 or newer (the CLI creates its own cached venv on first run)

Steps

  1. Install the draw.io desktop CLI, the Claude Code CLI, and set OPENAI_API_KEY. (inferred, check the README)
  2. npm install -g autoillustrate
  3. autoillustrate ./sources_bundle/ --prompt "Please make a diagram illustrating the code architecture." (replace the folder with your project directory and narrow the prompt to one subsystem) (inferred, check the README)
  4. Open the newest run folder and review figures/full_figure.drawio before sharing the PNG.

Prompt for your agent

Using the repo SakanaAI/AutoIllustrate, run autoillustrate on the project directory <path to project> with a prompt naming one subsystem to diagram. Verify that the run's figures/ folder contains full_figure.drawio and report which files were read and any missing components.

Caveat. The README describes the tool as reading .tex, .md, .py and .txt files, so other file types are not covered by the stated behavior.

Use this in your AI agent

Ask your agent

Using the Deduped MCP, get the setup steps for SakanaAI/AutoIllustrate and "Diagram a code architecture from a project directory"

Add Deduped to Claude Code once

claude mcp add --transport http deduped https://dedupedai.com/mcp

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