Installation¶

c4-diagrams is available on PyPI so installation is straightforward:

pip install c4-diagrams

uv add c4-diagrams

Optional Dependencies¶

Some features of c4-diagrams require additional optional dependencies.

Converters

If you plan to use diagram conversion functionality (e.g. generating diagrams from JSON), install the converters extra:

pip install c4-diagrams[converters]

uv add c4-diagrams[converters]

System Dependencies¶

While c4-diagrams itself is installed via PyPI, exporting diagrams may require additional third-party tools depending on the selected renderer.

Some renderers rely on external system binaries that must be installed separately.

PlantUML¶

To export diagrams using the PlantUML renderer, you need one of the following:

• A local plantuml binary available in your PATH
• A local plantuml.jar (requires Java)
• Access to a remote PlantUML server

Install locally

brew install plantuml

sudo apt install plantuml

Verify installation

plantuml -version

Mermaid¶

To export diagrams using the Mermaid renderer, you need a local mmdc binary available in your PATH.

Install locally

npm install -g @mermaid-js/mermaid-cli

Verify installation

mmdc --version