Monodraw

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server for Monodraw, the powerful ASCII art editor for macOS.

Features

• Export diagrams - Convert .monopic and .monojson files to plain text or JSON
• List diagrams - Find all Monodraw files in a directory
• Open in Monodraw - Launch files directly in the Monodraw app
• Create ASCII art - Generate boxes, flowcharts, tables, trees, and sequence diagrams
• Diagram prompts - Pre-built templates for common diagram types

Requirements

• Node.js 18+
• macOS
• Monodraw (Direct version from helftone.com, not App Store)

Note: The Monodraw CLI is only available in the Direct version. The Mac App Store version does not include CLI support due to sandbox restrictions.

Installation

npm install -g mcp-monodraw

Or use directly with npx:

npx mcp-monodraw

Configuration

Claude Code

Add the MCP server to your project or global config:

claude mcp add monodraw -- npx mcp-monodraw

Or manually add to ~/.claude/settings.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "monodraw": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["mcp-monodraw"]
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop

Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "monodraw": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["mcp-monodraw"]
    }
  }
}

Tools

export_diagram

Export a Monodraw diagram to plain ASCII text.

filePath: string (required) - Path to the .monopic or .monojson file
unicode: boolean - Use Unicode characters in output (default: false)
trimWhitespace: boolean - Trim trailing whitespace (default: true)

export_diagram_json

Export a diagram with full metadata as structured JSON.

filePath: string (required) - Path to the diagram file

list_diagrams

Find all Monodraw files in a directory.

directory: string - Directory to search (default: ".")
recursive: boolean - Search subdirectories (default: true)

open_in_monodraw

Open a file in the Monodraw application.

filePath: string (required) - Path to the file to open

get_diagram_preview

Get a text preview of a diagram file.

filePath: string (required) - Path to the diagram file
maxLines: number - Maximum lines to return (default: 20)

create_ascii_art

Generate ASCII art programmatically.

type: "box" | "flowchart" | "sequence" | "architecture" | "table" | "tree"
content: string (required) - Content or description
style: "single" | "double" | "rounded" | "heavy" | "ascii" (default: "single")
width: number - Maximum width

Prompts

Pre-built templates for generating diagrams:

• flowchart - Create flowchart diagrams
• box-diagram - Create box/container diagrams
• sequence-diagram - Create sequence diagrams
• architecture - Create architecture diagrams
• table - Create ASCII tables
• tree - Create tree structures

Examples

Export a diagram

Use the export_diagram tool with filePath: "/path/to/diagram.monopic"

Create a flowchart

Use the create_ascii_art tool with:
  type: "flowchart"
  content: "Start, Process Data, Validate, Save, End"
  style: "rounded"

Output:

╭─────────────────╮
│      Start      │
╰─────────────────╯
        │
        v
╭─────────────────╮
│  Process Data   │
╰─────────────────╯
        │
        v
╭─────────────────╮
│    Validate     │
╰─────────────────╯
        │
        v
╭─────────────────╮
│      Save       │
╰─────────────────╯
        │
        v
╭─────────────────╮
│       End       │
╰─────────────────╯

Development

# Install dependencies
yarn install

# Build
yarn build

# Run in development
yarn dev

License

MIT