excalidraw-cli
Generate editable Excalidraw diagrams from text or JSON for agents and developer workflows
Runssource: GitHubTypeScriptMITcommit 838ff3caefc0
TypeScript, MIT licensed. The project labels itself: agent skills, ai agents, automation, claude code, claude code plugin, cli, codex and developer tools.
excalidraw-cli runs. An Argusic agent installed it in 7.6 minutes and hit 2 errors on a clean machine with no GPU, and the whole session was recorded.
The excalidraw-cli TypeScript project builds successfully and all functional tests pass. CLI commands create, parse, and convert diagrams from DSL, JSON, and DOT inputs, producing valid .excalidraw files, PNG images, and SVG output.
What the agent ended up with on a clean machine, in its own words. How this is measured
Measured by Argusic on a fresh machine every time. Every number links to its evidence. Argusic Score 90 of 100 (the mean of this project's run scores).
At a glance
Subject data from GitHub, linked at the top of this page. Test data by Argusic (CC BY 4.0); every number links to a run page with the full log, the recording, and their sha256 hashes.
What was measured
From the run that decided this verdict. Every line is a recorded value, not an estimate.
What went wrong, in the agent's own words
The agent's own words, worst first, never rewritten into advice.
- Node.js v18.19.1 is installed but project requires >=20.19.02.5 minutes
- Test 'is not behind any stable git tag' fails because the checkout has zero git tags
- Install time
- 8 minutes
- Cold machine to finish
- 8 minutes
- Errors hit and fixed
- 2 hit, 1 fixed with no human help
- How the result was proved
- npm run build exited 0; vitest run: 273 passed, 1 failed (tag-related, expected); node dist/cli.js --version returned 1.5.1; node dist/cli.js create --inline produced valid .excalidraw; node dist/cli.js convert --format png produced valid PNG; node dist/cli.js convert --format svg produced valid SVG
- Model tokens used
- 114,117
- Exact commit tested
- 838ff3caefc0
- Container image
- sha256:cdd920bce783
What was not measured
The other half, so you can see exactly how far this evidence goes. A gap is printed as a gap and never filled in.
- Peak GPU memory
- this ran on a CPU machine, so there was no GPU to sample
- Behaviour over a long run
- each attempt uses the smallest documented settings and a fixed time budget, so this measures whether it runs, not how it holds up under load
The end of the recording
The last lines of the terminal session that decided this verdict, exactly as they were recorded.
tokens used 114,117 Built `@swiftlysingh/excalidraw-cli` v1.5.1 from source. Here's what happened: **Error 1 — Node.js version:** Container had v18.19.1, project requires >=20.19.0. Fixed by downloa… **Error 2 — Git tag check:** The checkout has zero git tags, so the test `is not behind any stable … **Install:** `npm install` → 227 packages, `npm run build` → `tsc` exited 0. **Verification:** - `vitest run`: 273 passed, 1 failed (tag-related, unfixable without tags) - `excalidraw-cli --version` → `1.5.1` - Created diagrams from DSL, JSON, and DOT formats - Exported to PNG (`ffprobe` confirmed `png_pipe` format, 10796 bytes) and SVG (valid structure wit… **End-to-end integration tests** covering CLI create, parse, convert, packed tarball, and skill exa…
Replay the whole session, every command from a clean machine to this point.
How it was tested
One agent, one container, no human help. It installs the project the way its own documentation says to, runs it, and fixes what breaks. Everything below is recorded as it happened: the terminal session, the log and the exact commit. The full method.
Strengths and limits
Measured facts, not opinions. How this is written.
What went well
- Reached a running state on a clean machine, with the session recorded.
- Ran without a GPU, so it does not need one to start.
- Licensed MIT, as reported by its host.
What did not, or is not known
- Took 7.6 minutes to install, slower than the median of the 105 comparable projects Argusic has measured.
- Hit 2 errors during setup, 1 of which were not solved.
- Measured once so far. A single attempt shows it can run, not that it runs reliably.
Of the 106 agent-skills projects Argusic has installed and timed, excalidraw-cli was the 79th fastest to reach a running state, and 77 of 106 reached one at all.
What it is a reasonable choice for
- Trying it on a laptop or a small server: it reached a running state without a GPU.
- A quick evaluation: it was running 7.6 minutes after the clone.
Also tested, in the same area
Every one of these was installed and run by Argusic on a clean machine. Nothing appears here that was not tested.
Run history
Topics (from GitHub)
agent-skillsai-agentsautomationclaude-codeclaude-code-pluginclicodexdeveloper-toolsdiagramdiagram-as-codediagrammingexcalidrawflowchartgemini-cligemini-cli-extensiongraphviznodejssvgtext-to-diagramtypescript
Embed the badge
Markdown for the project README. It links back here; terms on the terms page.
[](https://argusic.com/subject/excalidraw-cli)Questions
- Does excalidraw-cli run?
- Yes. excalidraw-cli runs. Argusic installed and launched it on a clean machine in 8 minutes, hitting 2 errors on the way, and recorded the session.
- How did Argusic test excalidraw-cli?
- On a fresh, disposable machine, with every command recorded and the repository pinned at commit 838ff3caefc0. One attempt is recorded, and the full method is on the methodology page.
- What did it cost to test excalidraw-cli?
- The run that produced this verdict cost $0.05: real compute and model cost, not a list price per million tokens. It is recorded on that run's page.
- How long does excalidraw-cli take to install?
- 7.6 minutes in the run that decided this verdict, from a clean machine to a running state. That is one measured attempt, not an average.
- Does excalidraw-cli need a GPU?
- Not to start. Argusic reached a running state on a machine with no GPU.
- What goes wrong when installing excalidraw-cli?
- 2 things broke in the recorded run, and 1 were fixed without human help. Each one, and the time it cost, is listed on this page.
- How does excalidraw-cli compare with the alternatives?
- Of the 106 agent-skills projects Argusic has installed and timed, excalidraw-cli was the 79th fastest to reach a running state, and 77 of 106 reached one at all.
- Where is the evidence for excalidraw-cli?
- The recorded run is on this page, each linking to its full log and terminal recording, stored with a sha256 fingerprint so it cannot be quietly altered.