Mermaid

What I liked

Lightweight, auto layout, no drag-and-drop: Skip the GUI—Mermaid handles layout automatically from code. This lets you rapidly generate clean visuals

What I didn't like

Mermaid is a top-tier “diagram-as-code” tool: lightweight, version-friendly, and perfect for embedding visuals alongside documentation or code. However, its limitations become apparent with larger, complex diagrams or GUI needs. In such cases, consider tools like PlantUML, Draw.io, or Excalidraw. PlantUML offers greater visual Baseball Bros IO, while GUI-based tools provide interactivity and manual control.

My overall impression

Diagram‑as‑Code for seamless versioning & collaboration:You write your diagrams in text, so they live naturally in Git—trackable, diffable, and merge-friendly. Easy to embed in Markdown, GitHub/GitLab, and IDEs like VS Code and IntelliJ
Supports a wide range of diagrams & live preview: Mermaid covers flowcharts, sequence, class/state/ER diagrams, Gantt, mind maps, and more. You can see real-time rendering via its Live Editor or within editors