markdown-mermaid-writing
Comprehensive markdown and Mermaid diagram writing skill. Use when creating any scientific document, report, analysis, or visualization. Establishes text-based diagrams as the default documentation standard with full style guides (markdown + mermaid), 24 diagram type references, and 9 document templates.
npx skills add LeonChaoX/qinyan-academic-skills --skill markdown-mermaid-writing --agent claude-code
Same command for any agent — swap --agent for codex, cursor, copilot.
Weekly change comes from our own snapshots, not the repository page — it measures attention, not adoption.
# Markdown and Mermaid Writing ## Overview This skill teaches you — and enforces a standard for — creating scientific documentation using **markdown with embedded Mermaid diagrams as the default and canonical format**. The core bet: a relationship expressed as a Mermaid diagram inside a `.md` file is more valuable than any image. It is text, so it diffs cleanly in git. It requires no build step. It renders natively on GitHub, GitLab, Notion, VS Code, and any markdown viewer. It uses fewer tokens than a prose description of the same relationship. And it can always be converted to a polished image later — but the text version remains the source of truth. > "The more you get your reports and files in .md in just regular text, which mermaid is > as well as being a simple 'script language'. This just helps with any downstream rendering > and especially AI generated images (using mermaid instead of just long form text to > describe relationships < tokens). Additionally mermaid can render along with markdown for > easy use almost anywhere by humans or AI." > > — Clayton Young (@borealBytes), K-Dense Discord, 2026-02-19 ## When to Use This Skill Use this skill when: - Creating **any scient
- Overview
- When to Use This Skill
- 🎨 The Source Format Philosophy
- Why text-based diagrams win
- The three-phase workflow
- What Mermaid can express
- 🔧 Core workflow
- Step 1: Identify the document type
- Step 2: Read the style guide
- Step 3: Pick the diagram type and read its guide
- Step 4: Write the document
- Step 5: Commit as text
- ⚠️ Common pitfalls
- Radar chart syntax (radar-beta)
What does the markdown-mermaid-writing skill do?
Comprehensive markdown and Mermaid diagram writing skill. Use when creating any scientific document, report, analysis, or visualization. Establishes text-based diagrams as the default documentation standard with full style guides (markdown + mermaid), 24 diagram type references, and 9 document templates.
How do I install it?
Run `npx skills add LeonChaoX/qinyan-academic-skills --skill markdown-mermaid-writing --agent claude-code` — it drops the skill into your project so the agent can pick it up. Swap the --agent value for codex, cursor or copilot if you use one of those.
Where does this skill come from?
From LeonChaoX/qinyan-academic-skills, a repository with 759 stars. We read it straight from the repository tree rather than a submitted listing, so what you see here is what is actually published.
Is a popular skill a good skill?
Not necessarily. Stars measure attention, not adoption — a repository can trend for a week and be abandoned. That is why we show the weekly change from our own snapshots next to the total, instead of a single flattering number.