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Best Productivity ResourcesBy Shushant LakhyaniVerified creator

Desktop App

D2

A diagram scripting language that turns plain text into clean diagrams.

Visit D24.6

  • Rating

    4.6 / 5

  • Pricing

    Free

  • Difficulty

    Intermediate

  • Works on

    macOS, Windows, Linux

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What is D2?

D2 is a free, open-source language for drawing diagrams from text. Describe boxes, arrows and groups in a few readable lines and D2 lays them out automatically as SVG, PNG or PDF, with themes, sketch mode and live preview, so architecture and process diagrams take minutes instead of hours.

Third-party open-source projects. We are not affiliated with their authors; repositories are provided as-is by their maintainers. Review each project's license, code and security before installing. See our Disclaimer.

Pros: what D2 does well

  • Readable text syntax
  • Automatic, tidy layouts
  • Free and open source

Cons: where it falls short

  • Command line first
  • Some layout engines are paid add-ons

Who D2 is for

Developers and writers who want diagrams they can version and edit as text.

Who can skip it

Anyone who prefers drawing diagrams by hand on a whiteboard app.

D2 alternatives

Not sold on D2? These do a similar job, and each card says what it has in common.

All Brainstorming resources

reladraw

Focus: svg and architecture diagrams. Shares diagrams and diagram as code with D2. A framework, not a desktop app. Adds Web. Rated 4.5 (D2: 4.6).

FrameworkFreeWeb, Cross-Platform
4.5Visit

Whiteboard

Focus: software design, code review and claude code. Shares diagrams and open source with D2. Rated 4.5 (D2: 4.6).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.5Visit

Bruno

Focus: api client, api testing and postman alternative. Shares open source and github with D2. Same 4.6 rating.

Desktop AppFreeWindows, macOS
4.6Visit

delta

Focus: git, diff and code review. Shares open source and github with D2. Same 4.6 rating.

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.6Visit

RustDesk

Focus: remote desktop, remote support and self-hosted. Shares open source and github with D2. Same 4.6 rating.

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.6Visit

Zed

Focus: code editor, pair programming and ai coding. Shares open source and github with D2. Freemium (D2: Free). Same 4.6 rating.

Desktop AppFree planmacOS, Windows
4.6Visit

Free alternatives to D2

Want to spend nothing? These free picks cover similar ground.

dufs

Focus: file sharing, file server and upload. Shares open source and github with D2. Rated 4.4 (D2: 4.6).

Desktop AppFreeCross-Platform
4.4Visit

fzf

Focus: fuzzy finder and shell. Shares command line and open source with D2. Rated 4.8 (D2: 4.6).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.8Visit

Atuin

Focus: shell history, terminal and sync. Shares command line and open source with D2. Rated 4.7 (D2: 4.6).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Linux
4.7Visit

bat

Focus: file viewer and developer tool. Shares command line and open source with D2. Rated 4.7 (D2: 4.6).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.7Visit

chezmoi

Focus: dotfiles and config management. Shares command line and open source with D2. Rated 4.7 (D2: 4.6).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.7Visit
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