Dockerized headless version of Draw.io Desktop v29.7.8
Draw.io Desktop exposes a command-line client to allow us to create, check or export diagrams.
Since Draw.io Desktop is a GUI application, we need a GUI environment to run it. And this prevents us to use it for automation in non-GUI environments such as CI tools.
This docker image enables us to run the command-line client in a headless mode by using a configurable X server.
Other minor additions are available
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Add timeout capability since the application can hang sometimes (due to user action needed in GUI mode)
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Clear the output log from Electron Security Warning
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Disable auto-update functionality to avoid unnecessary log
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Font support via two image variants (see Image Variants)
Run the docker image with your current directory mounted as /data:
$ docker run -it -w /data -v $(pwd):/data rlespinasse/drawio-desktop-headless
Usage: drawio [options] [input file/folder]
...Export a Draw.io file to PNG:
$ docker run -it -w /data -v $(pwd):/data rlespinasse/drawio-desktop-headless \
-x -f png my-diagram.drawio$ docker run -it \
-u $(id -u):$(id -g) \ (1)
-e HOME=/data/home -w /data \ (2)
-v /etc/passwd:/etc/passwd \ (3)
-v $(pwd):/data rlespinasse/drawio-desktop-headless
Usage: drawio [options] [input file/folder]
...-
Enable non-root user
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env HOME need to contains the path of the working directory (can be the same)
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Needed to run drawio as non-root since v24.4.6
What if env HOME is not set properly?
Fontconfig error: No writable cache directories
A JavaScript error occurred in the main process
Uncaught Exception:
Error: Failed to get 'userData' path
at initDataListener (/opt/drawio/resources/app.asar/node_modules/electron-store/index.js:15:19)
at new ElectronStore (/opt/drawio/resources/app.asar/node_modules/electron-store/index.js:48:32)
at Object.<anonymous> (/opt/drawio/resources/app.asar/src/main/electron.js:15:15)
at Module._compile (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1271:14)
at Module._extensions..js (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1326:10)
at Module.load (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:1126:32)
at Module._load (node:internal/modules/cjs/loader:967:12)
at l._load (node:electron/js2c/asar_bundle:2:13642)
at node:electron/js2c/browser_init:2:120247
at node:electron/js2c/browser_init:2:120456
/opt/drawio-desktop/runner.sh: line 4: 15 Trace/breakpoint trap (core dumped) "${DRAWIO_DESKTOP_EXECUTABLE_PATH:?}" "$@" --no-sandbox --disable-gpuWhat if this volume is not set properly?
A JavaScript error occurred in the main process
Uncaught Exception:
SystemError [ERR_SYSTEM_ERROR]: A system error occurred: uv_os_get_passwd returned ENOENT (no such file or directory)
at new SystemError (node:internal/errors:259:5)
at new NodeError (node:internal/errors:370:7)
at Object.userInfo (node:os:365:11)
at file:///opt/drawio/resources/app.asar/node_modules/atomically/dist/constants.js:10:29
at ModuleJob.run (node:internal/modules/esm/module_job:218:25)
at async ModuleLoader.import (node:internal/modules/esm/loader:329:24)
at async node:electron/js2c/browser_init:2:125628
at async loadESM (node:internal/process/esm_loader:28:7)To use your own fonts (e.g., proprietary or brand fonts), mount a volume to the custom fonts directory:
$ docker run -it -w /data \
-v $(pwd):/data \
-v /path/to/my/fonts:/usr/local/share/fonts/custom \
rlespinasse/drawio-desktop-headlessThis works with both the full and minimal variants.
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Note
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Want to add a system font package instead? Modify the Dockerfile to install the missing package.
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The docker image is available in two font variants to balance image size and language coverage.
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Use
full(tag:latest) if your diagrams contain Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or other non-Latin scripts. -
Use
minimal(tag:minimal) for Latin-script diagrams only — significantly smaller image.
$ docker pull rlespinasse/drawio-desktop-headless:latest
$ docker pull rlespinasse/drawio-desktop-headless:minimalSee Image Variants for the full list of included font packages.
This docker image can be used as the base image to build a higher-level tool upon it.
In addition to running configuration, you have access to
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DRAWIO_DESKTOP_EXECUTABLE_PATHto have access to the executable path of Draw.io Desktop. -
DRAWIO_DESKTOP_RUNNER_COMMAND_LINEto run your script instead of the default one.
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Docker image rlespinasse/drawio-export which enhance export capabilities of the Draw.io Desktop Headless docker image,
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And GitHub Action rlespinasse/drawio-export-action which is build on top of drawio-export docker image.
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Broad Unicode and CJK coverage.
Included font packages:
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fonts-liberation — Helvetica/Arial/Times/Courier compatible
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fonts-dejavu-core — broad Unicode fallback
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fonts-noto-core — Latin, Cyrillic, Greek, Arabic, Devanagari, and more
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fonts-noto-cjk — Chinese, Japanese, Korean
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fonts-arphic-ukai — Chinese serif
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fonts-arphic-uming — Chinese sans-serif
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fonts-ipafont-mincho — Japanese serif
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fonts-ipafont-gothic — Japanese sans-serif
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fonts-unfonts-core — Korean
Western fonts only. Significantly smaller image.
Included font packages:
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fonts-liberation — Helvetica/Arial/Times/Courier compatible
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fonts-dejavu-core — broad Unicode fallback
| Environment Variable | Description | Default Value |
|---|---|---|
DRAWIO_DESKTOP_COMMAND_TIMEOUT |
To prevent Draw.io Desktop process to hang indefinitely. The value is a floating point number with an optional suffix: 's' for seconds (the default), 'm' for minutes, 'h' for hours or 'd' for days. A duration of 0 disables the associated timeout. |
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XVFB_DISPLAY |
Screen Display setup for XVFB |
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XVFB_OPTIONS |
Options for Xvfb |
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ELECTRON_DISABLE_SECURITY_WARNINGS |
Avoid printing electron warning |
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DRAWIO_DISABLE_UPDATE |
Disable auto-update of Draw.io Desktop |
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SCRIPT_DEBUG_MODE |
Enable |
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Thanks for the community about the workaround docker-image based on Draw.io Desktop.