Alternative Sources for Brand Onboarding in Diagram Design: 6 Methods Beyond URLs

Diagram Design supports six alternative brand onboarding sources including installed skills, local design-system folders, manual token paste, saved client profiles, and default skin fallback—enabling offline, version-controlled, and secure brand workflows.

The cathrynlavery/diagram-design repository implements a flexible brand acquisition architecture that separates token ingestion from diagram generation. According to the source code in skills/diagram-design/references/onboarding.md, teams can onboard brand visual tokens without ever connecting to an external URL.

Why URL-Free Onboarding Matters

Modern design workflows demand flexibility. CI pipelines run in isolated environments. Teams version-control brand assets in private repositories. Security policies block external web requests. Diagram Design's multi-source onboarding addresses these constraints by storing all tokens in a single style-guide.md file that applies consistently across every diagram type.

The Six Brand Onboarding Sources

The onboarding flow documented in onboarding.md provides these distinct acquisition methods:

1. Installed Skill

An existing skill such as brand-design or ui-kit that contains a pre-built design system. The skill is inspected and its tokens imported directly into Diagram Design.

# Import from an installed skill named "brand-design"

diagram-design import --source skill --skill brand-design

The skill's internal design system is queried, and its color/typography tokens merge into the current project.

2. Local Design-System Folder

A folder path containing JSON, YAML, or Style Dictionary format token files. The system scans for filenames containing color, token, brand, palette, style, or theme.

# Import from a local design tokens directory

diagram-design import --source local --path ~/my-brand/tokens/

This method supports offline development and integrates with existing design-token repositories.

3. Manual Token Paste

Direct JSON or YAML input supplied in the prompt itself. Useful for quick experiments or one-off brand applications.

diagram-design import --source manual <<EOF
{
  "colors": {
    "brand": {
      "primary": { "value": "#eb6c36" },
      "accent":  { "value": "#4f5d75" }
    }
  },
  "fonts": { "brand": "Inter" }
}
EOF

The payload parses immediately and writes to style-guide.md.

4. Saved Client Profile

A previously exported profile stored at ~/.diagram-design/profiles/<slug>.md. Loads brand tokens onboarded in earlier sessions.

# Load a saved brand profile

diagram-design profile load my-awesome-brand

Profiles enable instant brand switching across multiple client engagements.

5. Default Skin (Onboarding Bypass)

Skip brand acquisition entirely and use the out-of-box neutral palette. While technically not a "source," this provides a URL-free starting point for generic diagrams.

6. URL (Reference Only)

The original URL-based method completes the set, though the focus here remains on its alternatives.

Architecture: Token Storage and Application

All onboarding methods converge on a single source of truth. According to skills/diagram-design/references/style-guide.md, tokens are stored in style-guide.md and applied uniformly across diagram types. This separation of brand acquisition from diagram generation enables the flexibility described above.

Key implementation files include:

• skills/diagram-design/references/onboarding.md — Full onboarding flow documentation
• skills/diagram-design/references/style-guide.md — Token storage specification
• skills/diagram-design/SKILL.md — High-level skill description with onboarding prompts
• README.md — Overview of onboarding process and default palette

Summary

• Six sources support brand onboarding: installed skill, local folder, manual paste, saved profile, default skin, and URL
• Offline-first design enables CI pipelines and secure environments without external connectivity
• Single source of truth in style-guide.md ensures consistent token application
• Version-control friendly methods align with modern design-system workflows
• Profile system allows rapid brand switching across projects

Frequently Asked Questions

Can Diagram Design work completely offline for brand onboarding?

Yes. The local folder, installed skill, manual paste, and saved profile methods require no network access. As implemented in cathrynlavery/diagram-design, these sources ingest tokens directly from filesystem or prompt input without URL fetching.

What file formats does the local folder source support?

The system accepts JSON and YAML files. The scanner specifically looks for filenames containing color, token, brand, palette, style, or theme—supporting Style Dictionary and similar design-token formats.

Where are saved client profiles stored?

Profiles reside at ~/.diagram-design/profiles/<slug>.md on the user's system. This location is referenced by the skill but not included in the repository itself, keeping client brand data separate from the tool's codebase.

How does the default skin differ from brand onboarding?

The default skin uses Diagram Design's built-in neutral palette without importing any external tokens. This bypasses the onboarding flow entirely, making it the fastest path to diagram generation when brand specificity isn't required.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "instagit": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "instagit@latest"]
    }
  }
}