Export Flowcharts as Mermaid Syntax: Embed in GitHub, Notion, and Docs

If you've ever maintained a GitHub README, a GitLab wiki, or a Notion knowledge base, you know the pain: embedding a flowchart usually means uploading a static PNG. The diagram becomes outdated the moment your process changes, and you can't search the contents of an image.

Mermaid solves this — it's a markdown-flavored diagram syntax that GitHub, GitLab, Notion, Obsidian, and most modern docs platforms render natively. FreeFlowCharts now lets you export any flowchart as Mermaid syntax with a single API call.

Why Mermaid?

Mermaid is supported out-of-the-box by:

When you embed Mermaid syntax, the platform renders a real diagram — text-based, version-controlled, searchable, and always rendering crisply at any zoom level.

How to export Mermaid from FreeFlowCharts

Build your flowchart visually on the canvas, then call the export endpoint:

GET https://freeflowcharts.app/api/export/mermaid?id=YOUR_SHARE_ID

The response is plain text (text/plain) containing valid Mermaid syntax. Drop it into a fenced code block in your README:

flowchart TD

1(["Begin"])

2["Validate input"]

3{{"Valid?"}}

4["Process"]

5(["Done"])

1 --> 2

2 --> 3

3 -->|"Yes"| 4

3 -->|"No"| 5

4 --> 5

GitHub will render that as an interactive flowchart automatically. No image hosting, no broken links, no out-of-date screenshots.

What Mermaid shapes does FreeFlowCharts use?

The API maps every node type to the correct Mermaid shape:

Edges with labels render as -->|"label"| so the conditions on your decision branches stay intact.

Bidirectional workflow: visual edit, text export

The killer use case: edit visually, deploy as text.

You get the speed of a visual editor with the version-control benefits of plain text. Your diagrams live in Git history, reviewable in pull requests, diffable line-by-line.

Example: Document a deployment pipeline

Most engineering teams have a deployment process that's "documented somewhere." Make it real:

flowchart TD

push(["Push to main"])

ci["Run CI tests"]

pass{{"Tests pass?"}}

build["Build Docker image"]

staging["Deploy to staging"]

smoke{{"Smoke tests pass?"}}

prod["Deploy to production"]

rollback["Rollback"]

done(["Live"])

push --> ci

ci --> pass

pass -->|"Yes"| build

pass -->|"No"| rollback

build --> staging

staging --> smoke

smoke -->|"Yes"| prod

smoke -->|"No"| rollback

prod --> done

Paste that into your repo's README and every visitor — engineers, PMs, leadership — sees the same diagram. Update the canvas, re-export, push. Done.

Free, no API key

The Mermaid export endpoint is completely free, no API key needed, 30 requests per hour per IP. Use it from your CI/CD pipeline, your docs build, your deploy preview — anywhere.

curl "https://freeflowcharts.app/api/export/mermaid?id=YOUR_ID" \
  -o flow.mmd

Beyond Mermaid: also export to PNG, SVG, JSON

Mermaid is great for inline rendering, but sometimes you need a static image (presentations, PDFs) or raw data (importing into another tool):

All four formats from a single source flowchart. Build once, export anywhere.

Try it now

Create a flowchart on FreeFlowCharts, share it to get a shareId, then export:

GET https://freeflowcharts.app/api/export/mermaid?id=YOUR_SHARE_ID

Paste the result into your GitHub README, Notion page, or Obsidian vault — and watch your diagram come to life.

Full API docs: freeflowcharts.app/api-docs