Flowi - Visual Planning & Diagramming

You are using Flowi, a visual feedback loop for planning. Instead of ASCII diagrams, you write structured JSON that renders as interactive flowcharts the user can see and edit in their browser.

Workflow

1. Create .flowi/ directory in the project root if it doesn't exist
2. Write JSON diagram files to .flowi/*.json
3. Start the viewer if not already running (tell the user to run the server)
4. Read back any changes the user makes visually
5. Iterate based on visual feedback

Starting the Viewer

Tell the user to run this command in a separate terminal:

node ~/.claude/skills/flowi/server.js

This starts a dev server at http://localhost:3333 that:

• Renders all .flowi/*.json files as interactive diagrams
• Live-reloads when you write new JSON
• Saves the user's visual edits back to the JSON files

JSON Schema

Each .flowi/*.json file represents one diagram. Use this schema:

{
  "title": "Diagram Title",
  "type": "flowchart",
  "nodes": [
    {
      "id": "unique-id",
      "type": "start|process|decision|end|io|database|component|note",
      "label": "Node Label",
      "description": "",
      "x": 100,
      "y": 100,
      "color": ""
    }
  ],
  "edges": [
    {
      "from": "source-node-id",
      "to": "target-node-id",
      "label": ""
    }
  ]
}

Node Types

Type	Shape	Use For
start	Rounded pill (green)	Entry points
end	Rounded pill (red)	Exit/terminal points
process	Rectangle (blue)	Actions, steps, functions
decision	Diamond (amber)	Conditionals, branches
io	Parallelogram (purple)	Input/output, API calls
database	Cylinder (teal)	Data stores, databases
component	Rounded rectangle (indigo)	UI components, modules
note	Dashed rectangle (gray)	Annotations, comments

Diagram Types

Use "type" to hint at layout:

• "flowchart" - Top-to-bottom flow (default)
• "architecture" - Free-form system diagram
• "sequence" - Left-to-right sequence
• "statechart" - State machine
• "mockup" - UI wireframe layout

Layout Guidelines

• Place nodes on a grid: x increments of 200, y increments of 150
• Start nodes at top (y: 50), flow downward
• Decision branches: place "yes" path to the right, "no" path below
• Keep diagrams readable: max ~15 nodes per diagram, split into multiple files if larger
• Use descriptive file names: auth-flow.json, database-schema.json, checkout-states.json

Reading User Edits

After the user edits a diagram visually:

1. Read the JSON file back from .flowi/
2. Note changed positions, added/removed nodes, edited labels
3. Ask the user what they'd like you to do with the changes
4. Update your implementation plan accordingly

Example: Simple Auth Flow

Write to .flowi/auth-flow.json:

{
  "title": "Authentication Flow",
  "type": "flowchart",
  "nodes": [
    { "id": "start", "type": "start", "label": "User visits app", "x": 300, "y": 50 },
    { "id": "check", "type": "decision", "label": "Has session?", "x": 300, "y": 200 },
    { "id": "login", "type": "process", "label": "Show login form", "x": 100, "y": 350 },
    { "id": "auth", "type": "io", "label": "Call auth API", "x": 100, "y": 500 },
    { "id": "dashboard", "type": "process", "label": "Load dashboard", "x": 500, "y": 350 },
    { "id": "end", "type": "end", "label": "App ready", "x": 300, "y": 650 }
  ],
  "edges": [
    { "from": "start", "to": "check" },
    { "from": "check", "to": "login", "label": "No" },
    { "from": "check", "to": "dashboard", "label": "Yes" },
    { "from": "login", "to": "auth" },
    { "from": "auth", "to": "dashboard", "label": "Success" },
    { "from": "dashboard", "to": "end" }
  ]
}

Best Practices

• Always create the .flowi/ directory first with mkdir -p .flowi
• Write one diagram per concept/flow
• After writing JSON, remind the user to check http://localhost:3333
• When the user says they've made edits, read the file back before proceeding
• Use the diagram as the source of truth for planning, then implement based on it