Bringing PlantUML Into a Metadata-Driven Diagram Workflow

Adding developer-friendly text diagrams to modern data engineering stacks

Exploring how PlantUML can complement Draw.io, GraphML, and Mermaid in metadata-driven, model-first data engineering.

Summary

Model-driven data engineering relies heavily on diagrams to communicate architecture, lineage, and models.

Tools such as Draw.io, GraphML, and Mermaid each have strengths — but developer feedback and community suggestions (thanks to Marco Wobben) highlight PlantUML as a compelling addition.

This article explores where PlantUML fits, its strengths and trade-offs, how to generate diagrams directly from metadata, and how to integrate it into a modern developer workflow.

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Why PlantUML Matters

When metadata drives data pipelines, diagrams become more than pictures — they are an interface between:

• Developers working in Git and VSCode
• Business stakeholders who review conceptual models
• Automation that validates, generates, and publishes models