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Dev tools · alternatives · 2026

CP

24 alternatives to CASCII – Put Diagrams in Your Code

A free, open-source ASCII diagram builder written in vanilla Javascript

CASCII is a development tool that enables developers to create and embed diagrams directly within their code. It allows teams to maintain visual representations alongside their codebase, making it easier to document… Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes.

  1. 1

    3 months ago I wanted to draw an ASCII diagram to include in some documentation at work. I found the few tools online to be insufficient, and was suprised there wasn't a more complete tool to get the job done. Since, I've built Cascii from scratch in vanilla Javascript (I'm not an FE dev, it might be obvious...). I hope it works alright. Please check out the live version at https://cascii.app, report problems, make diagrams to improve your code's documentation. Hope you enjoy using it.

    2025 · github.com · its alternatives →

  2. 2
    CASCII▲12

    Web-based ASCII diagram builder

    2025 · cascii.app · its alternatives →

  3. 3MA

    2024 · mermaid-ascii.art · its alternatives →

  4. 4TM
  5. 5AA
  6. 6

    Render 3D models (OBJ, glTF, GLB, STL, .vox) as ASCII art — in the browser, in React or Vue, or straight in your terminal. A three.js-style API with no WebGL and no canvas: just text in a single <pre>.

    Jun 2026 · glyphcss.com · its alternatives →

  7. 7

    In the past I've used declarative diagram generation tools like Mermaid.js a lot for quickly drawing up things but for presentations or deliverables I find that I have to then move the generated diagrams over to a tool like Lucidchart which allows full control of the organization and customization. Therefore I am now working on this to combine the benefits of both into just one tool which can do both functions. The project is certainly in the early stages but if you find yourself making architecture diagrams I'd love to hear your thoughts on the idea or even a Github issue for a feature…

    Oct 2025 · github.com · its alternatives →

  8. 8AT

    2016 · ivanceras.github.io · its alternatives →

  9. 9

    Ferrite: Fast Markdown&#x2F;Text&#x2F;Code editor in Rust with native Mermaid diagrams Built a Markdown editor using Rust + egui. v0.2.1 just dropped with major Mermaid improvements: → Native Mermaid diagrams - Flowcharts, sequence, state, ER, git graphs - pure Rust, no JS → Split view - Raw + rendered side-by-side with sync scrolling → Syntax highlighting - 40+ languages with large file optimization → JSON&#x2F;YAML&#x2F;TOML tree viewer - Structured editing with expand&#x2F;collapse → Git integration - File tree shows modified&#x2F;staged&#x2F;untracked status Also: minimap, zen mode,…

    Jan 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →

  10. 10

    Create beautiful ascii trees. Contribute to spandanb/asciitree development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2019 · github.com · its alternatives →

  11. 11

    Build terminal dashboards using ascii/ansi art and javascript - yaronn/blessed-contrib

    2015 · github.com · its alternatives →

  12. 12

    🧜‍♀️ RESTful rendering pipeline for generating sequence and UML diagrams using Mermaid for Markdown docs (Diagrams as a Service) - Schachte/Mermrender

    2019 · github.com · its alternatives →

  13. 13

    Nice-looking lightweight ASCII line charts generator for iOS

    2023 · apps.apple.com · its alternatives →

  14. 14

    Nice looking versatile ASCII linegraph written in PHP - noximo/PHP-colored-ascii-linechart

    2018 · github.com · its alternatives →

  15. 15

    Esolang inspired by ASCII art. Contribute to aaronjanse/asciidots development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2017 · github.com · its alternatives →

  16. 16

    2025 · docs.mermaidchart.com · its alternatives →

  17. 17

    This is a recent addition to Vexlio which I think the HN crowd may find interesting or useful. TL;DR: easy creation of interactive diagrams, meaning diagrams that have mouse click&#x2F;hover hooks that you can use to display pop-up content. The end result can be shared with a no-sign-in-required web link. My thought is that this is useful for system docs, onboarding or user guides, presentations, etc. Anything where there is a high-level view that should remain uncluttered + important metadata or details that still need to be available somewhere. You can try it out without signing up for…

    2017 · vexlio.com · its alternatives →

  18. 18DT

    2019 · dot-to-ascii.ggerganov.com · its alternatives →

  19. 19CP

    2012 · dchang.mit.edu · its alternatives →

  20. 20

    ☊ Tool for making node graphs. Inspired by dependency graph. Used mainly for automation services 📈 - aexol-studio/tree

    2018 · github.com · its alternatives →

  21. 21

    Hey HN! I'm Zach from Adam (https:&#x2F;&#x2F;adam.new&#x2F;). We’re building an AI co-pilot for mechanical CAD software. As part of our broader research, we built a browser-based Text-to-CAD app (https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=44182206) and are now open sourcing it. This is a React SPA with a Supabase backend. What it does: * Generates parametric 3D models from natural language descriptions, with support for both text prompts and image references * Outputs OpenSCAD code with automatically extracted parameters that surface as interactive sliders for instant dimension…

    2025 · github.com · its alternatives →

  22. 22

    Made an online tool for creating diagrams with TypeScript. I quite like it for thinking about how to shape my data, even if I end up using a different language in the end.

    2023 · tsdiagram.com · its alternatives →

  23. 23

    Create interactive data tables in seconds with Tabulator. A free, open source, fully featured JavaScript table / data grid generation library.

    2018 · tabulator.info · its alternatives →

  24. 24

    Artwork created using keyboard symbols and characters

    2021 · user.xmission.com · its alternatives →

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Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →