Getting started

Install

inkline is a single binary. It includes D2 as a library, so you do not need to install anything else. The macOS build is signed and notarised.

brew install --cask inkcheck/tap/inkline

Or with Go:

go install github.com/inkcheck/inkline/cmd/inkline@latest

Write a diagram

Every inkline file declares its diagram type in a vars block. The block is ordinary D2, so the file is valid D2.

vars: { inkline: { diagram: architecture; design_system: carbon; theme: light } }

user: Customer {class: actor}
shop: Storefront {
  web: Web app {class: application}
  api: Orders API {class: compute}
  db: Orders database {class: [node; data]}
}
user -> shop.web -> shop.api -> shop.db: Query

Render it

inkline render orders.d2              # writes orders.svg
inkline render orders.d2 --theme dark
inkline expand orders.d2              # the plain D2 inkline generates

What the header does

Next

• Diagram types shows an example of each type.
• Roles explains how to mark what each element is. The design system sets how each role looks.