Draw.io API
No server API at all: draw.io is a client-side editor with no accounts or central data store. Integration happens through iframe embed mode with postMessage on embed.diagrams.net and by parsing the open mxfile XML format directly. Webhooks and REST endpoints do not exist.
Frequently asked questions
Draw.io scores F on the API Report Card. No server API at all: draw.io is a client-side editor with no accounts or central data store. Integration happens through iframe embed mode with postMessage on embed.diagrams.net and by parsing the open mxfile XML format directly. Webhooks and REST endpoints do not exist.
Without a usable official API, teams fall back on manual exports, file drops, or one-off vendor integrations. The other option is an unofficial API layer like Supergood that automates the authenticated web app directly.
Draw.io (also branded diagrams.net, with diagrams.net 301-redirecting to drawio.com as of 2025) is a free, web-based, client-side diagramming and whiteboarding application jointly owned by draw.io Ltd (registered in England, formerly named JGraph Ltd, renamed to draw.io Ltd in September 2025) and draw.io AG (registered in Switzerland).
Vertical: misc / horizontal developer & productivity tooling. Draw.io is not a vertical SaaS, it has no domain-specific data model and serves any role that needs to draw boxes and arrows. Software architecture diagrams in Confluence/Jira pages and READMEs (sequence diagrams, component diagrams, AWS/Azure architecture). Network and infrastructure diagrams stored alongside ops runbooks.
Very high among free/open diagramming tools and within the Atlassian ecosystem; modest in the broader 'visual collaboration' category dominated by Lucidchart, Miro, and Microsoft Visio. Public claims cite 10M+ users globally.
By design, draw.io is a near-empty data platform, the operating data that exists *on draw.io's own infrastructure* is minimal.
The underlying mxGraph library dates to the early 2000s; the draw.io web app launched in 2012. The jointly-owning UK company was incorporated as Pimuzar Limited, renamed to JGraph Ltd in August 2004, and finally renamed to draw.io Ltd in September 2025.
There is no REST API, all integration is via iframe embedding and postMessage, which limits server-to-server automation. Embed mode is officially only supported on `https://embed.diagrams.net`, so self-hosting the embed iframe is not formally supported. Full sourced list under Sources below.
Common alternatives include Lucidchart (Lucid Software), Miro, Microsoft Visio, Mural, Figma / FigJam, Gliffy (Perforce). Graded alternatives appear under "More from the report card" below.
Grades measure one thing: can a customer's engineering team get their own data out programmatically? We check six things (whether a real API exists, how access is gated, data coverage, auth quality, docs and developer experience, and stability) and roll them into a letter grade. Grades get re-verified, and they only move on evidence.