Excalidraw Element Types Guide

Detailed specifications for each Excalidraw element type with visual examples and use cases.

Element Type Overview

Rectangle

Best for: Process steps, entities, data stores, components

Properties

{
  type: "rectangle",
  roundness: { type: 3 },  // Rounded corners
  text: "Step Name",       // Optional embedded text
  fontSize: 20,
  textAlign: "center",
  verticalAlign: "middle"
}

Use Cases

Size Guidelines

Example

{
  "type": "rectangle",
  "x": 100,
  "y": 100,
  "width": 200,
  "height": 80,
  "backgroundColor": "#b2f2bb",
  "text": "Validate Input",
  "fontSize": 20,
  "textAlign": "center",
  "verticalAlign": "middle",
  "roundness": { "type": 3 }
}

Ellipse

Best for: Start/end points, states, emphasis circles

Properties

{
  type: "ellipse",
  text: "Start",
  fontSize: 18,
  textAlign: "center",
  verticalAlign: "middle"
}

Use Cases

Size Guidelines

For circular shapes, use width === height:

Example

{
  "type": "ellipse",
  "x": 100,
  "y": 100,
  "width": 120,
  "height": 120,
  "backgroundColor": "#d0f0c0",
  "text": "Start",
  "fontSize": 18,
  "textAlign": "center",
  "verticalAlign": "middle"
}

Diamond

Best for: Decision points, conditional branches

Properties

{
  type: "diamond",
  text: "Valid?",
  fontSize: 18,
  textAlign: "center",
  verticalAlign": "middle"
}

Use Cases

Size Guidelines

Diamonds need more space than rectangles for the same text:

Example

{
  "type": "diamond",
  "x": 100,
  "y": 100,
  "width": 150,
  "height": 150,
  "backgroundColor": "#ffe4a3",
  "text": "Valid?",
  "fontSize": 18,
  "textAlign": "center",
  "verticalAlign": "middle"
}

Arrow

Best for: Flow direction, relationships, dependencies

Properties

{
  type: "arrow",
  points: [[0, 0], [endX, endY]],  // Relative coordinates
  roundness: { type: 2 },          // Curved
  startBinding: null,              // Or { elementId, focus, gap }
  endBinding: null
}

Arrow Directions

#### Horizontal (Left to Right)

{
  "x": 100,
  "y": 150,
  "width": 200,
  "height": 0,
  "points": [[0, 0], [200, 0]]
}

#### Vertical (Top to Bottom)

{
  "x": 200,
  "y": 100,
  "width": 0,
  "height": 150,
  "points": [[0, 0], [0, 150]]
}

#### Diagonal

{
  "x": 100,
  "y": 100,
  "width": 200,
  "height": 150,
  "points": [[0, 0], [200, 150]]
}

Arrow Styles

Adding Arrow Labels

Use separate text elements positioned near arrow midpoint:

[
  {
    "type": "arrow",
    "id": "arrow1",
    "x": 100,
    "y": 150,
    "points": [[0, 0], [200, 0]]
  },
  {
    "type": "text",
    "x": 180,      // Near midpoint
    "y": 130,      // Above arrow
    "text": "sends",
    "fontSize": 14
  }
]

Line

Best for: Non-directional connections, dividers, borders

Properties

{
  type: "line",
  points: [[0, 0], [x2, y2], [x3, y3], ...],
  roundness: null  // Or { type: 2 } for curved
}

Use Cases

Multi-Point Line Example

{
  "type": "line",
  "x": 100,
  "y": 100,
  "points": [
    [0, 0],
    [100, 50],
    [200, 0]
  ]
}

Text

Best for: Labels, titles, annotations, standalone text

Properties

{
  type: "text",
  text: "Label text",
  fontSize: 20,
  fontFamily: 1,        // 1=Virgil, 2=Helvetica, 3=Cascadia
  textAlign: "left",
  verticalAlign: "top"
}

Font Sizes by Purpose

Width/Height Calculation

// Approximate width
const width = text.length * fontSize * 0.6;

// Approximate height (single line)
const height = fontSize * 1.2;

// Multi-line
const lines = text.split('\n').length;
const height = fontSize * 1.2 * lines;

Text Positioning

Example: Title

{
  "type": "text",
  "x": 100,
  "y": 50,
  "width": 400,
  "height": 40,
  "text": "System Architecture",
  "fontSize": 32,
  "fontFamily": 2,
  "textAlign": "center",
  "verticalAlign": "top"
}

Example: Annotation

{
  "type": "text",
  "x": 150,
  "y": 200,
  "width": 100,
  "height": 20,
  "text": "User input",
  "fontSize": 14,
  "fontFamily": 1,
  "textAlign": "left",
  "verticalAlign": "top"
}

Combining Elements

Pattern: Labeled Box

[
  {
    "type": "rectangle",
    "id": "box1",
    "x": 100,
    "y": 100,
    "width": 200,
    "height": 100,
    "text": "Component",
    "textAlign": "center",
    "verticalAlign": "middle"
  }
]

Pattern: Connected Boxes

[
  {
    "type": "rectangle",
    "id": "box1",
    "x": 100,
    "y": 100,
    "width": 150,
    "height": 80,
    "text": "Step 1"
  },
  {
    "type": "arrow",
    "id": "arrow1",
    "x": 250,
    "y": 140,
    "points": [[0, 0], [100, 0]]
  },
  {
    "type": "rectangle",
    "id": "box2",
    "x": 350,
    "y": 100,
    "width": 150,
    "height": 80,
    "text": "Step 2"
  }
]

Pattern: Decision Tree

[
  {
    "type": "diamond",
    "id": "decision",
    "x": 100,
    "y": 100,
    "width": 140,
    "height": 140,
    "text": "Valid?"
  },
  {
    "type": "arrow",
    "id": "yes-arrow",
    "x": 240,
    "y": 170,
    "points": [[0, 0], [60, 0]]
  },
  {
    "type": "text",
    "id": "yes-label",
    "x": 250,
    "y": 150,
    "text": "Yes",
    "fontSize": 14
  },
  {
    "type": "rectangle",
    "id": "yes-box",
    "x": 300,
    "y": 140,
    "width": 120,
    "height": 60,
    "text": "Process"
  }
]

Summary