Drawmate: Automate Wiremaps and Diagrams with Draw.io

🎉 NEW: Version 2.0.0-beta Now Available on TestPyPI!

• https://test.pypi.org/project/drawmate/
• Major Update: Complete rewrite from C++ to pure Python! No more complex build dependencies.
• 📦 Beta Testing: pip install -i https://test.pypi.org/simple/ drawmate
• 📋 See CHANGELOG.md for full details on what's new, improved, and fixed.

Drawmate is a powerful tool designed to automate the creation of wiremaps and network architecture diagrams using the Draw.io XML format. This tool streamlines the diagramming process by utilizing a JSON API to automatically generate basic wiremaps, saving time and effort for network engineers and IT professionals.

Key Features

• 🚀 Automated Wiremap Generation: Generate network diagrams quickly using the JSON API.
• 🌐 Versatile Use Cases: Ideal for network architecture visualization, infrastructure mapping, and dynamic diagram creation.

How It Works

1. JSON API Integration: Input network data through JSON to auto-generate wiremaps.
2. Draw.io Compatibility: Export diagrams in Draw.io XML format for further customization or sharing.

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Installation

📦 TestPyPI (Beta Testing)

Currently available on TestPyPI for beta testing:

pip install -i https://test.pypi.org/simple/ drawmate

🎯 Coming Soon: Official PyPI

Once testing is complete, the package will be available on the official PyPI:

pip install drawmate  # Coming soon!

✅ Benefits of Python Version

• No build dependencies - No more CMake or C++ compiler requirements
• No architecture-specific builds - Works across multiple platforms
• Simple installation - Standard pip workflow
• Easy updates - pip install --upgrade drawmate

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Usage

usage: drawmate [-h] [-v] [-b] [-t] [-l] [-gt] [input_file] [output_file]

positional arguments:
  input_file            The path to the JSON template file. See API documentation for how to format the
                        input file. Alternatively, pass in the '-b' or '--build-template' flag to get a
                        blank starter template in the correct format
  output_file           The path to the drawio.xml output file. Acceptable file extensions are
                        ['.drawio', '.xml', '.drawio.xml']. Drawio will accept any of those three. You
                        can also pass in the '-t' or '--timestamp' flag to append a timestamp to the
                        file.

options:
  -h, --help            show this help message and exit
  -v, --version         Print drawmate version, as well as system information
  -b, --build-template  Interactive guide to build a starter JSON template with valid structure and
                        empty node data.
  -t, --timestamp       Add a timestamp to the output file
  -l, --link-label      Add labels to links based on node positions (e.g., '0101'). See docs for label
                        format.
  -gt, --generate-test  Generate a test JSON template and output Draw.io XML. Test files are saved to
                        ~/.config/drawmate/tests.

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Key Points:

• 📍 Matrix Positioning: Set the starting x and y coordinates for the Matrix. All connected nodes will be placed relative to this position.
• 🚫 Signaling Gaps: If there is a gap between appliances, pass an empty string ("") or the (__SPAN__) variable in the list.
  • Example: If the Matrix has 4 connections but only 3 appliances, include 4 connections in the list with a blank string or the (__SPAN__) variable representing the gap.
• Connection/Flow: The arrows/connection currently flow left to right and I am working on a function to allow reversing the flow.
• Label Entries: Label entries in the JSON API follow this basic structure:
  • ["Label of appliance", "input" | ["input", "input"], "output" | ["output", "output"], ["connection-indexes"], ["connection-indexes"]]
  • connection-indexes refers to the index location of the ports. Indexes follow the 0 indexing system, so if you have a Node at index 0, but it has two ports on each side, the indexes would be [0, 1].
  • You can alternatively pass in ["NONE"] and the engine will infer an adjacent connection based on the position of the Node/Port. I kept this design to allow for different routing mechanisms in the future.
  • "connections-left/right" refers to the connections on the matrix itself
• Add more levels: To add more levels/columns, just use the same naming convention second-level-left, third-level-left and so on.
• IMPORTANT: Make sure the value of num_connections matches the number of appliances in each entry.

{
    "graph-dimensions": {
        "dx": 4000,
        "dy": 4000,
        "width": 4000,
        "height": 4000
    },
    "matrices": {
        "labels": "Video/Audio Codec",
        "width": 200,
        "height": 400,
        "x": 2000,
        "y": 2000,
        "num_connections": 4
    },
    "first-level-left": {
        "labels": [
            ["AV Appliance", "HDMI", "HDMI", ["NONE"], ["NONE"]],
            ["AV Appliance", "HDMI", "HDMI", ["NONE"], ["NONE"]],
            ["AV Appliance", "HDMI", "HDMI", ["NONE"], ["NONE"]],
            ["AV Appliance", "HDMI", "HDMI", ["NONE"], ["NONE"]]
        ]
    },
    "first-level-right": {
        "labels": [
            ["AV Audio", "MIC-IN", "OUT", ["NONE"], ["NONE"]],
            ["", "", "", ["NONE"], ["NONE"]],  // 🚫 Gap between appliances
            ["AV Appliance", "HDMI", "HDMI", ["NONE"], ["NONE"]],
            ["AV Appliance", "HDMI", "HDMI", ["NONE"], ["NONE"]]
        ]
    },
    "connections-left": [
        "HDMI",
        "HDMI",
        "HDMI",
        "HDMI"
    ],
    "connections-right": [
        "MIC",
        "HDMI",
        "HDMI",
        "HDMI"
    ]
}

Output

• This is a very simple implementation, with only one level of connections for a basic AV Codec.
• Here is a view of what the above JSON would output (the numbering system can easily be altered to fit specific use cases):

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Examples

To see more examples, go to "data/images/" in the project directory.

Author

• Aaron Newman