generated: '2026-07-21'
method: searched
source: https://github.com/terrastruct/d2
description: >-
  The D2 command-line interface — the primary way to turn D2 text into
  rendered diagrams (SVG, PNG, PDF, PPTX, GIF, and ASCII/txt). D2 is
  Terrastruct's open-source (MPL-2.0) diagram scripting language. The binary
  itself is catalogued in packages/terrastruct-packages.yml; this artifact
  enumerates the command/flag surface.
docs: https://d2lang.com
repo: https://github.com/terrastruct/d2
install:
  script: curl -fsSL https://d2lang.com/install.sh | sh -s --
  homebrew: brew install d2
  go: go install oss.terrastruct.com/d2@latest
  uninstall: curl -fsSL https://d2lang.com/install.sh | sh -s -- --uninstall
commands:
  render:
    - name: "d2 <input.d2> [output]"
      description: "Compile and render a .d2 file to an output file; format is inferred from the extension (.svg/.png/.pdf/.pptx/.gif/.txt)."
    - name: "d2 --watch <input.d2>"
      description: "Watch mode: recompile and live-reload the diagram in the browser on every file change."
  format:
    - name: "d2 fmt <input.d2>"
      description: "Auto-format a D2 source file in place (the D2 autoformatter)."
    - name: "d2 fmt --check"
      description: "Check whether files are formatted without writing changes (CI-friendly)."
  layout:
    - name: "d2 layout"
      description: "List available layout engines (dagre, elk, and the paid TALA engine)."
    - name: "d2 themes"
      description: "List the available built-in diagram themes."
key_flags:
  - flag: "--watch, -w"
    description: "Watch the input file and live-reload in the browser."
  - flag: "--theme, -t"
    description: "Set the diagram theme by ID."
  - flag: "--layout, -l"
    description: "Choose the layout engine (dagre, elk, tala)."
  - flag: "--sketch, -s"
    description: "Render the diagram in a hand-drawn sketch style."
  - flag: "--pad"
    description: "Set padding, in pixels, around the rendered diagram."
  - flag: "--animate-interval"
    description: "For multi-board diagrams / GIFs, milliseconds between boards (defaults to 1000ms)."
  - flag: "--font-mono / --font-mono-bold / --font-mono-italic / --font-mono-semibold"
    description: "Supply custom monospace font files (added in v0.7.1)."
key_flows:
  render_svg:
    command: "d2 input.d2 output.svg"
    description: The core flow — compile D2 text into an SVG diagram.
  live_preview:
    command: "d2 --watch input.d2"
    description: Open a live-reloading browser preview that updates as you edit the source.
  ascii_export:
    command: "d2 input.d2 output.txt"
    description: Render the diagram as ASCII art (added in v0.7.1).