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Merged
swiftlysingh merged 1 commit into from
Apr 3, 2026
+445 −9
Merged

Add DSL node styling support #25

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36 changes: 36 additions & 0 deletions README.md
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Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -87,6 +87,7 @@ excalidraw-cli convert diagram.excalidraw --format svg --no-export-background
| `{Label}` | Diamond | Decisions, conditionals |
| `(Label)` | Ellipse | Start/End points |
| `[[Label]]` | Database | Data storage |
| `[Label @fillStyle:hachure @backgroundColor:#a5d8ff]` | Styled node | Add inline node style attributes |
| `->` | Arrow | Connection |
| `-->` | Dashed Arrow | Dashed connection |
| `-> "text" ->` | Labeled Arrow | Connection with label |
Expand All @@ -99,6 +100,41 @@ excalidraw-cli convert diagram.excalidraw --format svg --no-export-background
{Valid?} -> "no" -> [Show Error] -> [Enter Credentials]
```

### Node Styling

Add shape-level styling directly to nodes with inline `@key:value` attributes:

```excalidraw
(Start) -> [Enter Credentials @fillStyle:hachure @backgroundColor:#a5d8ff] -> {Valid?}
{Valid?} -> "no" -> [Show Error @backgroundColor:#ffc9c9 @strokeStyle:dashed] -> [Enter Credentials]
```

For repeated or shared nodes, define defaults with an `@node` block:

```excalidraw
@node [Enter Credentials]
fillStyle: solid
backgroundColor: #a5d8ff

(Start) -> [Enter Credentials @fillStyle:hachure] -> {Valid?}
```

Supported node style keys:

- `fillStyle`: `solid`, `hachure`, `cross-hatch`
- `backgroundColor`
- `strokeColor`
- `strokeWidth`
- `strokeStyle`: `solid`, `dashed`, `dotted`
- `roughness`
- `opacity`

Precedence rules:

- `@node` blocks provide defaults for matching nodes
- inline node attributes override block values
- repeated references to the same node merge explicit style properties with later values winning per property

### Directives

```
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39 changes: 39 additions & 0 deletions man/excalidraw-cli.1
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Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -173,6 +173,14 @@ Ellipse node.
.B [[Label]]
Database node.
.TP
.BI "[Label @key:value ...]"
Rectangle node with inline style attributes.
.TP
.BI "@node [Label]"
Start a node-style block followed by indented
Comment on lines +177 to +180
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Copilot AI Apr 3, 2026

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The man page describes [Label @key:value ...] as a "Rectangle node with inline style attributes" and shows @node [Label], but inline styles and @node selectors are supported for other node syntaxes too (e.g. {...}, (...), [[...]]). Updating this wording/examples to refer to “shape nodes” (or “any node selector”) would avoid misleading users about the feature scope.

Suggested change
Rectangle node with inline style attributes.
.TP
.BI "@node [Label]"
Start a node-style block followed by indented
Shape node with inline style attributes.
.TP
.BI "@node <node-selector>"
Start a node-style block for a node selector followed by indented

Copilot uses AI. Check for mistakes.
.I key: value
lines.
.TP
.B ![path]
Image node using the default image size.
.TP
Expand All @@ -193,6 +201,34 @@ Nodes are deduplicated by label and type.
Chains such as
.B [A] -> [B] -> [C]
produce one edge per hop.
.SS "Node styling"
.P
Shape nodes can define style properties inline:
.P
.B [Login @fillStyle:hachure @backgroundColor:#a5d8ff]
.P
Supported style keys are
.BR fillStyle ,
.BR backgroundColor ,
.BR strokeColor ,
.BR strokeWidth ,
.BR strokeStyle ,
.BR roughness ,
and
.BR opacity .
.P
Node styles can also be declared in a block:
.P
.RS
.nf
@node [Login]
fillStyle: hachure
backgroundColor: #a5d8ff
.fi
.RE
.P
When both forms are used, block styles provide defaults and inline attributes
override them on matching nodes.
.SS "Comments"
.TP
.B # comment
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -378,6 +414,9 @@ excalidraw-cli create --format json --inline '{"nodes":[{"id":"a","type":"rectan
.B Create from stdin
echo "[A] -> [B]" | excalidraw-cli create --stdin -o diagram.excalidraw
.TP
.B Create a styled node from inline DSL
excalidraw-cli create --inline "(Start) -> [Login @fillStyle:hachure @backgroundColor:#a5d8ff] -> (End)" -o styled.excalidraw
.TP
.B Write to stdout
excalidraw-cli create flowchart.dsl -o -
.TP
Expand Down
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