mkdocs-kroki-plugin

What it is and what it does

mkdocs-kroki-plugin bridges MkDocs and Kroki, a universal diagram-rendering service. You write diagram syntax (BlockDiag, BPMN, Mermaid, Excalidraw, and others) inside Markdown code fences tagged with `kroki-`, and the plugin renders them server-side, embedding the results as images or SVG objects in your built documentation. It handles HTTP requests to a Kroki server (public or self-hosted), caches rendered diagrams to speed up rebuilds during local development, and supports configuration for output format, styling, timeouts, and display options like width and alignment.

The plugin depends on mkdocs as its framework, httpx for HTTP requests, and defusedxml for safe XML parsing. It targets modern Python (3.10–3.14) and is in Beta status. Maintenance is active, with recent releases and ongoing commits. No known security vulnerabilities are recorded.

Use it for:

• Embed architecture diagrams, flowcharts, and sequence diagrams directly in API or system documentation without external image files.
• Generate BPMN process diagrams in technical documentation that stay in sync with your source code repository.
• Create Mermaid flowcharts and state diagrams in MkDocs sites, leveraging Kroki's rendering instead of client-side JavaScript.
• Build documentation with theme-aware diagram styling (light/dark mode backgrounds and colors) using the plugin's style configuration.
• Speed up local documentation builds by caching rendered diagrams, avoiding re-rendering on every file save during `mkdocs serve`.

Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying

A MkDocs plugin that converts Kroki diagram syntax in Markdown code fences into rendered diagrams (BlockDiag, BPMN, Excalidraw, Mermaid, and others) embedded in your documentation.

Yes. The plugin is actively maintained, has no known vulnerabilities, installs with low friction, and solves a clear problem—embedding diagrams in MkDocs without manual image management. MIT licensing removes legal friction. Install it if you use MkDocs and want to include Kroki diagrams; the only prerequisite is access to a Kroki server and Python 3.10+.

Install

mkdocs-kroki-plugin on PyPI

pip install mkdocs-kroki-plugin

uv add mkdocs-kroki-plugin

poetry add mkdocs-kroki-plugin

Installing mkdocs-kroki-plugin

Before you install

Low friction: pure Python wheel with five runtime dependencies (mkdocs, httpx, defusedxml, properdocs, result). Active maintenance with a recent release 123 days ago and ongoing commits.

License in practice

MIT license permits free use, modification, and distribution with minimal restrictions—suitable for both open-source and proprietary projects.

Quickstart

pip install mkdocs-kroki-plugin

# In mkdocs.yml:
plugins:
  - kroki:
      server_url: 'https://kroki.io'

# In your Markdown:
```kroki-blockdiag
blockdiag {
  A -> B -> C;
}
```

Requires Python 3.10 or later; requires a running Kroki server (public instance at https://kroki.io or self-hosted).

Verify before relying

• Whether the plugin supports all Kroki diagram types equally or if some have known limitations.
• Performance impact of caching strategies on large documentation builds with hundreds of diagrams.
• Compatibility with MkDocs themes that use custom HTML rendering or CSS frameworks.

Package facts

Evidence: mkdocs_kroki_plugin-1.6.0-py3-none-any.whl

Keywords: diagram, kroki, markdown, mkdocs, python

Tags

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