Skip to content

Conversation

Copy link
Contributor

Copilot AI commented Jan 30, 2026

Replaces PlantUML with Mermaid for architecture diagrams, eliminating Java and Graphviz dependencies while enabling native Markdown rendering.

Changes

Diagrams

  • Converted 4 architecture diagrams to Mermaid flowcharts
  • Added Font Awesome icons (fa:fa-cloud, fa:fa-database, etc.) to compensate for lack of Azure stencils in Mermaid
  • Preserved visual hierarchy via color coding: Azure blue (#0078D4) for services, light blue for apps, light green for APIs

Configuration

  • Removed PlantUML settings from VS Code config (Java path, export paths, render mode)
  • Added bierner.markdown-mermaid to recommended extensions

Documentation

  • Documented that Mermaid lacks Azure-specific stencils (unlike PlantUML's Azure-PlantUML library)
  • Explained Font Awesome icon support varies by renderer (full support in VS Code/GitHub, limited in Azure DevOps Wiki)
  • Added guidance to use Draw.io/Visio with official Azure icons for high-fidelity branded diagrams

Example

flowchart LR
    apps([fa:fa-mobile Apps]):::appStyle
    apim[fa:fa-cloud API Management]:::azureStyle
    aca[fa:fa-box Container Apps]:::azureStyle
    
    apps -->|API Consumers| apim
    apim -->|Backend APIs| aca
    
    classDef appStyle fill:#ADD8E6,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px
    classDef azureStyle fill:#0078D4,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px,color:#fff
Loading

Diagrams remain readable even when Font Awesome icons don't render, as service names are in text labels.

Original prompt

This section details on the original issue you should resolve

<issue_title>[Task]: Switch from PlantUML to Mermaid</issue_title>
<issue_description>### Describe the task

  • Switch from PlantUML to Mermaid for the architectural diagrams.
  • Remove all PlantUML settings, files, etc.
  • Add Mermaid extension for VS Code or create images from the Mermaid diagrams.</issue_description>

Comments on the Issue (you are @copilot in this section)


✨ Let Copilot coding agent set things up for you — coding agent works faster and does higher quality work when set up for your repo.

@simonkurtz-MSFT simonkurtz-MSFT added the documentation Improvements or additions to documentation label Jan 30, 2026
Co-authored-by: simonkurtz-MSFT <84809797+simonkurtz-MSFT@users.noreply.github.com>
Copilot AI changed the title [WIP] Switch from PlantUML to Mermaid for diagrams Switch architectural diagrams from PlantUML to Mermaid Jan 30, 2026
Copilot AI requested a review from simonkurtz-MSFT January 30, 2026 21:13
Co-authored-by: simonkurtz-MSFT <84809797+simonkurtz-MSFT@users.noreply.github.com>
Copilot AI changed the title Switch architectural diagrams from PlantUML to Mermaid Migrate architecture diagrams from PlantUML to Mermaid Jan 30, 2026
Sign up for free to join this conversation on GitHub. Already have an account? Sign in to comment

Labels

documentation Improvements or additions to documentation

Projects

None yet

Development

Successfully merging this pull request may close these issues.

[Task]: Switch from PlantUML to Mermaid

2 participants