For creating simple diagrams, my absolute goto tool is Excalidraw.
Why Excalidraw is my goto choice #
- Problem Solved: Making quick, good-looking, diagrams without the need to sign up or sign in.
- Key Benefit: Free tool providing simple and intuitive interface with keyboard shortcut to speed up.
- Comparison Point: Other similar tools, such as draw.io, provide a less intuitive interface and, subjectively, do not look as sleek/simple.
- Experience: As a software engineer, I have used Excalidraw for whiteboarding tasks to quickly illustrates systems.
Alternatives I considered (and why Excalidraw won) #
- draw.io: Although a reasonable option for creating simple diagrams (and likely the better option for more technical diagrams), I’ve found draw.io is slightly slower due to the lack of keyboard shortcuts for choosing specific diagramming tools like text or box.
- TLDraw: Compared to draw.io, TLDraw is closer to Excalidraw, but offers a limited toolset for diagramming, such as the ability to align selected items.
Who is Excalidraw best for? #
Excalidraw is helpful for software engineers, students, and anyone trying to capture an idea with a quick diagram.
Key features I rely on for Excalidraw #
- Keyboard shortcuts: The ability to switch between the diagramming tools makes it really quick to lay ideas down. Additionally, when switching context often, the shortcuts are visibly displayed next to each tool as a quick reminder.
- Export options: Exporting diagrams provide different options for exporting PNG/SVG in either light/dark mode and at various scale options (1x/2x/3x).
Potential downsides or caveats #
- Excalidraw may not be suitable/scalable for more complex diagrams.
- Some diagraming tools like Mermaid or PlantUML rely on text as the primary form of editing/creating the diagram. Excalidraw does not have a viable way of editing diagrams via text, if that is a preference or requirement.
Check it out:
- Find out more about Excalidraw here: https://excalidraw.com/