Aws Diagrams
Turn CloudFormation templates, AWS CLI output, or plain-language AWS descriptions into cloud architecture diagrams via Eraser without hand-drawing VPCs and services.
Overview
aws-diagrams is an agent skill most often used in Build (also Operate infra, Ship security) that turns CloudFormation, AWS CLI output, or descriptions into Eraser-rendered AWS architecture diagrams.
Install
npx skills add https://github.com/eraserlabs/eraser-io --skill aws-diagramsWhat is this skill?
- Parses CloudFormation YAML/JSON Resources, AWS CLI output, or natural language AWS descriptions
- Maps VPCs, subnets, security groups, IAM roles, and common services (EC2, S3, RDS, Lambda)
- Generates Eraser DSL and calls Eraser /api/render/elements with diagramType cloud-architecture-diagram
- Requires network access and curl-style API calls to Eraser (MIT-licensed Eraser Labs skill)
- Calls Eraser API endpoint /api/render/elements with diagramType cloud-architecture-diagram
Adoption & trust: 842 installs on skills.sh; 22 GitHub stars; 2/3 security scanners passed (skills.sh audits).
What problem does it solve?
You have AWS resources spread across templates and terminal output but no up-to-date diagram your agent or cofounder can read.
Who is it for?
Builders who already use AWS and want fast, API-generated architecture visuals from templates or CLI snapshots.
Skip if: Purely local diagramming with zero network, or non-AWS clouds without adapting the parsing workflow yourself.
When should I use this skill?
User has AWS CloudFormation templates, AWS CLI output, or wants to diagram EC2, VPC, S3, RDS, Lambda, or similar AWS infrastructure.
What do I get? / Deliverables
You receive Eraser DSL and a rendered cloud-architecture diagram that reflects parsed AWS resources and relationships.
- Eraser DSL for AWS topology
- Rendered cloud-architecture-diagram image or element payload
Recommended Skills
Journey fit
Spans multiple journey phases - primary shelf plus alternate fits below.
Architecture diagrams are first-class build artifacts that explain how backend and cloud pieces connect before and after deployment. The skill produces documentation-style visuals (Eraser DSL and rendered diagrams), so docs is the canonical shelf even when the source is live AWS inventory.
Where it fits
Render a diagram from a serverless stack CloudFormation template for your repo README.
Paste fresh RDS and VPC CLI output after a scaling change to update the team runbook diagram.
Map security groups and IAM roles from a template before launch review.
How it compares
Agent-driven Eraser rendering from live AWS artifacts, not a static icon stencil pack in the repo.
Common Questions / FAQ
Who is aws-diagrams for?
Solo and indie developers on AWS who need architecture diagrams for READMEs, runbooks, or stakeholder updates without spending an afternoon in a diagram editor.
When should I use aws-diagrams?
Use it in Build when documenting stack design from CloudFormation, in Ship when reviewing VPC and security layout before launch, and in Operate when visualizing current infra from CLI output for incidents or handoffs.
Is aws-diagrams safe to install?
It reads local templates and can POST diagram data to Eraser over the network; scrub secrets from inputs and review the Security Audits panel on this page before enabling in production workflows.
SKILL.md
READMESKILL.md - Aws Diagrams
# AWS Diagram Generator Generates architecture diagrams for AWS infrastructure from CloudFormation templates, AWS CLI output, or natural language descriptions. ## When to Use Activate this skill when: - User has AWS CloudFormation templates (YAML/JSON) - User provides AWS CLI output (e.g., `aws ec2 describe-instances`) - User wants to visualize AWS resources - User mentions AWS services (EC2, S3, RDS, Lambda, VPC, etc.) - User asks to "diagram my AWS infrastructure" ## How It Works This skill generates AWS-specific diagrams by parsing AWS resources and calling the Eraser API directly: 1. **Parse AWS Resources**: Extract resources from CloudFormation, CLI output, or descriptions 2. **Map AWS Relationships**: Identify VPCs, subnets, security groups, IAM roles 3. **Generate Eraser DSL**: Create Eraser DSL code from AWS resources 4. **Call Eraser API**: Use `/api/render/elements` with `diagramType: "cloud-architecture-diagram"` ## Instructions When the user provides AWS infrastructure information: 1. **Parse the Source** - **CloudFormation**: Extract `Resources` section, identify types (AWS::EC2::Instance, etc.) - **CLI Output**: Parse JSON output from `aws` commands - **Description**: Identify AWS service names and relationships 2. **Identify AWS Components** - **Networking**: VPCs, Subnets, Internet Gateways, NAT Gateways, Route Tables - **Compute**: EC2 Instances, Auto Scaling Groups, Lambda Functions, ECS Services - **Storage**: S3 Buckets, EBS Volumes, EFS File Systems - **Databases**: RDS Instances, DynamoDB Tables, ElastiCache Clusters - **Security**: Security Groups, IAM Roles, IAM Policies, NACLs - **Load Balancing**: ALB, NLB, CLB - **Other**: SQS Queues, SNS Topics, API Gateway, CloudFront 3. **Map Relationships** - EC2 instances in subnets - Subnets in VPCs - Security groups attached to instances - IAM roles attached to services - Load balancers targeting instances - Databases accessed by applications 4. **Generate Eraser DSL** Convert AWS resources to Eraser DSL: - **CRITICAL: Label Formatting Rules** - Labels MUST be on a single line - NEVER use newlines inside label attributes - Keep labels simple and readable - prefer separate labels over concatenating too much metadata - Format DSL with proper line breaks (one node/group per line, but labels stay on single lines) - If including metadata like CIDR blocks or instance types, include them in the same quoted label string: `[label: "VPC 10.0.0.0/16"]` Example: ``` main-vpc [label: "VPC 10.0.0.0/16"] { public-subnet [label: "Public Subnet"] { web-server [icon: aws-ec2, label: "Web Server"] load-balancer [icon: aws-elb] } private-subnet [label: "Private Subnet"] { database [icon: aws-rds] cache [icon: aws-elasticache] } } data-bucket [icon: aws-s3] function [icon: aws-lambda] load-balancer -> web-server web-server -> database ``` 5. **Make the HTTP Request** **IMPORTANT**: You MUST execute this curl command after generating the DSL. Never stop after generating DSL without making the API call. **CRITICAL**: In the `X-Skill-Source` header below, you MUST replace the value with your AI agent name: - If you are Claude (Anthropic), use: `claude` - If you are running in Cursor, use: `cursor` - If you are ChatGPT (OpenAI), use: `chatgpt` - If you are Gemini (Google), use: `gemini` - Otherwise, use your model/agent name in lowercase ```bash curl -X POST https://app.eraser.io/api/render/e