Artifact Editor

AI-enhanced editor for creating diagrams, sketches, 3D models, and other artifacts from code.

A standalone PyQt6-based editor for creating visual artifacts. Designed to integrate with discussion tools, documentation systems, and IDEs.

Features

• Split-view interface - Code editor on the left, live preview on the right
• Multi-format support - PlantUML, Mermaid, OpenSCAD, Code, SVG, and Excalidraw
• Interactive SVG editing - Click to select, drag to move, resize with handles
• Elements panel - View and manage diagram elements
• Visual editing - Add, edit, and delete elements via dialogs or directly in preview
• Templates - Start from pre-built templates for common diagrams
• Syntax highlighting - Format-specific code highlighting
• Live preview - See changes as you type (bidirectional sync)
• Undo/Redo - Works for both code and visual changes
• 3D controls - Rotate/pan OpenSCAD models with mouse

Supported Artifact Types

Type	Description	Features
plantuml	UML diagrams (class, sequence, component, etc.)	Element editing, relationships, click-to-select
mermaid	Flowcharts, sequence, ER, state diagrams	Node editing with shapes, connections
openscad	3D parametric CAD models	Transform controls (translate/rotate/scale), module insertion
code	Syntax-highlighted code snippets	500+ languages, multiple themes, line numbers, font size
svg	Direct SVG graphics editing	Interactive visual editing, drag/resize, UI wireframes
excalidraw	Hand-drawn style diagrams	Sketch-like visuals, AI-readable JSON, whiteboard style

Installation

# Clone and install
git clone <repo>
cd artifact-editor
pip install -e .

# Or just install dependencies
pip install PyQt6

# Optional renderers
sudo apt install plantuml              # For PlantUML
npm install -g @mermaid-js/mermaid-cli # For Mermaid
sudo apt install openscad              # For 3D CAD
pip install pygments pillow            # For code syntax highlighting

Usage

Launch the GUI Editor

# Launch with default (PlantUML)
artifact-editor

# Launch for specific format
artifact-editor --type mermaid
artifact-editor --type openscad
artifact-editor --type code
artifact-editor --type svg
artifact-editor --type excalidraw

# Open existing file
artifact-editor --type plantuml --initial-file diagram.puml

GUI Features

Elements Panel (right sidebar):

• +Element - Add new elements (nodes, shapes, primitives)
• +Connection - Add relationships between elements
• Double-click - Edit existing elements in a dialog
• Delete - Remove selected elements

For PlantUML:

• Add classes, interfaces, actors, components, etc.
• Define relationships (inheritance, composition, etc.)
• Click on elements in the preview to select in code

For Mermaid:

• Add flowchart nodes with various shapes (rectangle, diamond, circle, etc.)
• Add sequence diagram participants
• Create connections between nodes

For OpenSCAD:

• Add 3D primitives (cube, sphere, cylinder)
• Add 2D shapes (circle, square)
• Boolean operations (union, difference, intersection)
• Transform wrappers (translate, rotate, scale)
• Insert at cursor, end of file, or inside modules
• 3D preview with mouse rotation

For Code:

• Syntax highlighting for 500+ programming languages
• Multiple color themes (Monokai, Dracula, GitHub, etc.)
• Line numbers toggle
• Adjustable font size
• Live preview as you type

For SVG:

• Interactive visual editing - Click elements to select, drag to move, resize with corner handles
• Direct vector graphics editing in code or visually
• UI wireframe templates (login forms, dashboards, mobile screens)
• Pre-built UI components (buttons, inputs, cards, modals, navbars)
• System architecture and flowchart templates
• Pixel-perfect element positioning using SVG renderer bounds
• Delete key removes selected elements
• All visual changes are undoable with Ctrl+Z

For Excalidraw:

• Hand-drawn/sketch-style diagrams
• AI-readable JSON format (perfect for AI collaboration)
• Whiteboard-style visuals that invite discussion
• Flowcharts, mind maps, and wireframe templates
• Exports to SVG or native .excalidraw format

Architecture

artifact-editor/
├── src/artifact_editor/
│   ├── cli.py              # CLI entry point
│   ├── gui.py              # PyQt6 main window
│   ├── dialogs.py          # Element/relationship dialogs
│   ├── parser.py           # PlantUML parser
│   ├── mermaid_parser.py   # Mermaid parser
│   ├── openscad_parser.py  # OpenSCAD parser
│   ├── templates.py        # Diagram templates
│   └── renderers/          # Convert source to visual output
│       ├── plantuml.py
│       ├── mermaid.py
│       ├── openscad.py
│       ├── code.py         # Pygments-based syntax highlighting
│       ├── svg.py          # Direct SVG editing with UI components
│       └── excalidraw.py   # Hand-drawn style diagrams

Keyboard Shortcuts

• Ctrl+S - Save file
• Ctrl+Z - Undo (works for both code and visual edits)
• Ctrl+Y - Redo
• Delete - Remove selected element (SVG mode)
• Ctrl+Mouse wheel - Zoom preview
• Click+Drag - Move elements in SVG preview
• Corner handles - Resize selected elements in SVG preview

Integration

The editor can be launched from other applications:

# Launch and specify output
artifact-editor --type TYPE --output /path/to/output.svg

# Exit codes:
# 0 - Saved successfully (stdout: "ARTIFACT_SAVED:/path/to/output.svg")
# 1 - Cancelled by user
# 2 - Error (stderr: error message)

Example Python integration:

import subprocess

result = subprocess.run([
    "artifact-editor",
    "--type", "mermaid",
    "--output", "/tmp/diagram.svg",
], capture_output=True, text=True)

if result.returncode == 0:
    for line in result.stdout.split('\n'):
        if line.startswith("ARTIFACT_SAVED:"):
            artifact_path = line.split(":", 1)[1]
            print(f"Created: {artifact_path}")

License

MIT