Markdown import takes an outline written in Markdown and turns it into a real, editable diagram. It is built for the notes and mind maps you already have: an XMind export, an Obsidian or Logseq outline, or any file of headings and bullet points. The parser reads whatever hierarchy is actually in the file rather than expecting one fixed shape.
What it reads
Your document is treated as a hierarchical outline, and the importer is tolerant of how that hierarchy is expressed:
- Headings (
#to######) nest by depth, so a deeper heading sits under the nearest shallower one. - List items (
-,*,+, or numbered) nest by indentation, and attach under the heading above them. Task-list checkboxes are kept as their text. - Tables (pipe tables with a header row) become a table element.
- Plain prose lines become leaf nodes so nothing is silently dropped.
Fenced code blocks and horizontal rules are skipped, a leading > is dropped from quoted lines, and inline formatting such as bold, italic, code, and links is flattened to plain text in the labels. Very long lines are shortened to 120 characters. An import keeps the first 2,000 headings, list items, lines and tables; anything after that is left out, and the dialog tells you how many. If the file has a single top-level item it becomes the root; otherwise a root named after the tab holds the top-level items so you always get one connected diagram.
What you get
The result is a tidy left-to-right tree: the root on the left, each level in its own column, children stacked and centred on their parent so nothing overlaps. Boxes are sized to their labels, deeper levels use smaller text, and parents connect to children with curved arrows. Any tables are placed in a column below the tree.
Everything is recoloured to a theme (the active tab's theme, or Default if it has none) and the tab takes on that theme's background, so the import looks native rather than pasted in. It is ordinary elements afterwards, not a locked block, so you can rearrange and restyle it freely.
How to import
Open the tab's ⋯ menu and choose Import, or run "Import…" from the command palette.
In the Import to tab dialog, choose Markdown as the format. This sets the example text, the file picker's filter, and tells livediagram to build a tree.
Paste your outline into the box and press Import, or use Import a file instead to pick a
.md file. The outline is built into the themed tree on that tab.
Import replaces the current tab's contents, including its elements, theme, and background, while keeping the tab's name. The dialog warns you before you commit. Because the replace is a single step, Undo (⌘Z / Ctrl+Z) restores the previous contents if you change your mind. To keep what is on the tab, add a new tab first and import into that.
If the file has nothing the importer recognises, the dialog says "No headings, lists, or tables found in this Markdown." and leaves your tab untouched. Import is greyed out on a locked tab, and view-only visitors don't have the tab menu at all.
The same dialog imports a .json tab export, a Mermaid diagram, an Excalidraw scene, or a draw.io
file. Pick the format that matches your content: livediagram does not guess. See Importing a
Tab.
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