visio-mcp 0.1.1

MCP server exposing Visio COM automation to Claude

visio-mcp

MCP server that exposes Microsoft Visio COM automation to Claude, enabling AI-driven diagram creation and manipulation.

Features

• 22 built-in diagram types with correct Visio templates, stencils, and layout standards
• Batch shape drawing and connection — create complex diagrams in just a few tool calls
• Full Visio COM API coverage: documents, pages, shapes, connectors, stencils, export
• Coordinate-based precision drawing (rectangles, ovals, lines, Bezier curves, NURBS, splines)
• Export pages to PNG, SVG, JPG, etc.

Requirements

• Windows with Microsoft Visio installed (Desktop version, not web-only)
• Python 3.14+

Installation

pip install visio-mcp

Or with uv:

uv pip install visio-mcp

Quick Start

Configure in Claude Code

Add the following to your project's .mcp.json (or global MCP config):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "visio": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": ["run", "--with", "visio-mcp", "python", "-m", "visio_mcp"],
      "env": {}
    }
  }
}

Then restart Claude Code. The Visio MCP tools will be available automatically.

Run Standalone (for debugging)

uv run --with visio-mcp python -m visio_mcp

This starts the MCP server over stdio. Visio will launch automatically when the first tool is called.

Usage

Drawing Standard Diagrams (Recommended)

For any of the 22 supported diagram types, always start with create_diagram:

User: Draw a UML class diagram showing an Animal base class with Dog and Cat subclasses.

Claude will:

1. Call create_diagram("class_diagram") — creates a Visio document from the UML Class template with pre-loaded stencils. The response includes the full drawing standard (shapes, connectors, layout rules, and a working example).
2. Call batch_draw_shapes(...) — create all class shapes in one batch using the exact master names from the standard (e.g., "Class" from "USTRME_M.VSSX").
3. Call batch_connect_shapes(...) — connect shapes using the correct connector type (e.g., "Inheritance" from "USTRME_M.VSSX" for UML generalization arrows).

Free-form Drawing

For diagrams that don't fit a standard type, use create_document() and draw with primitive shapes:

User: Draw a custom infographic with rectangles and circles.

Claude will use draw_rectangle, draw_oval, draw_line, etc.

Supported Diagram Types

Category	Types
UML	Class, Sequence, Activity, State Machine, Use Case, Component, Deployment
Flowchart	Basic Flowchart (ISO 5807), Cross-Functional Flowchart (Swimlane)
Process	BPMN 2.0, Value Stream Mapping, Event-driven Process Chain (EPC)
Data	ERD (Crow's Foot), ERD (Chen), Data Flow Diagram (DFD)
Infrastructure	Network Topology, Azure Architecture, AWS Architecture, Kubernetes
Other	Org Chart, Cause & Effect (Fishbone), Block Diagram

Use list_diagram_types() to query all available types at runtime.

Available Tools

Document Management

Tool	Description
create_diagram	Create a new document from a standard diagram template (recommended)
create_document	Create a blank Visio document (free-form only)
open_document	Open an existing .vsdx / .vsd file
save_document	Save the active document
save_document_as	Save to a new file path
close_document	Close a document
list_open_documents	List all open documents

Page Operations

Tool	Description
list_pages	List all pages in a document
add_page	Add a new page
set_active_page	Switch to a page by name or index
delete_page	Delete a page

Shape Creation

Tool	Description
batch_draw_shapes	Create multiple shapes in one call (fastest)
drop_shape	Drop a stencil master shape at a position
draw_rectangle	Draw a rectangle
draw_oval	Draw an oval / ellipse
draw_line	Draw a line
draw_polyline	Draw a polyline or polygon
draw_bezier	Draw a Bezier curve
draw_quarter_arc	Draw a quarter-arc
draw_spline	Draw a smooth spline
draw_nurbs	Draw a NURBS curve

Connections

Tool	Description
batch_connect_shapes	Connect multiple shape pairs in one call
connect_shapes	Connect two shapes with a connector

Shape Editing

Tool	Description
set_shape_text	Set text content on a shape
set_shape_format	Set fill color, line color, font size, transparency, etc.
move_shape	Move a shape to a new position
resize_shape	Resize a shape
delete_shape	Delete a shape
group_shapes	Group multiple shapes together

Reading & Analysis

Tool	Description
list_shapes	List all shapes with IDs, text, and positions
get_shape_info	Get detailed info about a single shape
get_connections	Get all connections on a page
get_page_summary	Get page statistics
read_shape_data	Read custom Shape Data properties

Stencils & Masters

Tool	Description
list_stencils	List open stencils
open_stencil	Open a stencil file
list_masters	List all masters in a stencil

Diagram Standards

Tool	Description
list_diagram_types	List all 22 supported diagram types
get_diagram_standard	Get full standard (shapes, connectors, layout, example) for a type

Export

Tool	Description
export_page_as_image	Export a page to PNG, SVG, JPG, etc.

Coordinate System

Visio uses inches as the unit, with the origin at the bottom-left corner of the page:

• X increases to the right
• Y increases upward
• Default page size: 8.5 x 11 inches (US Letter)

Example Prompts

Here are some things you can ask Claude with this MCP server:

• "Draw a flowchart for a user login process"
• "Create a UML class diagram for an e-commerce system with Product, Order, and Customer classes"
• "Draw a network topology diagram with 3 servers, a load balancer, and a firewall"
• "Create a BPMN process for employee onboarding"
• "Draw an ER diagram with Crow's Foot notation for a blog database"
• "Create an AWS architecture diagram with VPC, EC2, RDS, and S3"
• "Open my existing diagram at C:/docs/arch.vsdx and add a new component"
• "Export the current page as a PNG image"

Troubleshooting

MCP server won't start:

1. Verify Visio is installed and can open normally
2. Test the server directly: uv run --with visio-mcp python -m visio_mcp
3. Verify pywin32 works: python -c "import win32com.client; print('OK')"

Shape drop fails with "master not found":

Always use create_diagram(diagram_type) instead of create_document(""). The standard template pre-loads the correct stencils. Check the master names in the returned standard.

Connector arrows look wrong (e.g., UML inheritance missing triangle):

Make sure connector_master and connector_stencil are specified in batch_connect_shapes. Using AutoConnect (empty connector) produces generic arrows without correct diagram-specific semantics.

License

MIT