PlantUML for the impatient

The easiest way to test PlantUML is in an online solution that has PlantUML embedded, such as our online server.

Local installation

After testing, you may want to link::faq-install[install PlantUML locally].

You need these things to run PlantUML:

  • Java

  • link::graphviz-dot[Graphviz] (optional - you don’t need this if you only need link::sequence-diagram[sequence diagrams] and link::activity-diagram-beta[activity (beta) diagrams])

Installed the above? Then simply download plantuml.jar and run it to open PlantUML’s link::gui[graphical user interface]. There is no need to unpack or install anything.

Run PlantUML from the command line

Use PlantUML’s link::command-line[command line] syntax to link::running[include it in your own scripts or documentation tools].

  1. Create a text file with PlantUML commands, like this example called sequenceDiagram.txt:

@startuml
Alice -> Bob: test
@enduml

  1. Run (or have your software call) PlantUML, using sequenceDiagram.txt as input. The output is an image, which either appears in the other software, or is written to an image file on disk.
    For example:

java -jar plantuml.jar sequenceDiagram.txt

This outputs your sequence diagram to a file called sequenceDiagram.png.