Draw.io Desktop, install this diagram generator on Ubuntu

In the next article we are going to take a look at Draw.io Desktop. Is about a diagram generator which will allow users to create flow charts, process diagrams, organization charts, network diagrams, UML diagrams and much more. This is an open platform for creating and sharing diagrams. The service will allow us to develop drawings, graphics and more without the need for expensive and heavy software.

This program can be very useful if the user needs to create flowcharts, flowcharts and other types of diagrams. In the following lines we will see how we can install draw.io desktop diagram generator on Ubuntu.

Draw.io Desktop is also a flexible and privacy-focused diagramming tool. It also has a clean interface, with a menu bar at the top, a symbol toolbar on the left, a canvas in the center, and a format panel on the right. Draw.io Desktop is an Electron-based desktop application from diagrams.net.

The program is designed to be completely isolated from the internet. All JavaScript files are independent, the Content Security Policy prohibits running loaded JavaScript remotely.

Diagram data is never sent externally, nor is any analysis on the use of the application sent externally. This means that certain functions for which there is no JavaScript implementation do not work on the desktop build.

Install the draw.io Desktop diagram generator on Ubuntu

As a .deb package

To install this software on our Ubuntu operating system, we will only have to download the corresponding .deb package from the releases page of the project.

We can also download said package using the tool wget in terminal (Ctrl + Alt + T) as follows:

wget https://github.com/jgraph/drawio-desktop/releases/download/v13.0.3/draw.io-amd64-13.0.3.deb

Once the download is finished, we can install the program typing in the same terminal:

sudo dpkg -i draw.io-amd64-13.0.3.deb

Once the installation is finished, we will be able to find the program launcher on our computer:

We will also be able to run the program by typing in terminal (Ctrl + Alt + T):

drawio

uninstall

If we are interested remove this software from our system, in a terminal (Ctrl + Alt + T) we can do it by typing the command:

sudo apt purge draw.io

Like Flatpak

To install this desktop diagram generator through Flatpak, it is necessary to have support for this technology installed in our system. If you don't have it yet, you can follow the instructions a colleague wrote in an article on how to install flatpack on Ubuntu 20.04.

Once the flatpak packages are available, we can install the diagram generator for the draw.io desktop opening a terminal (Ctrl + Alt + T) and using the following command:

flatpak install --user https://flathub.org/repo/appstream/com.jgraph.drawio.desktop.flatpakref

When a new version of the program is published, we will have the possibility to update it using this other command in a terminal (Ctrl + Alt + T):

flatpak --user update com.jgraph.drawio.desktop

After the installation, whenever we want start the program. All you have to do is write the command:

flatpak run com.jgraph.drawio.desktop

We will also be able to start the program by looking for the pitcher on our team.

uninstall

If need uninstall the program, in a terminal (Ctrl + Alt + T) you just have to execute the command:

flatpak --user uninstall com.jgraph.drawio.desktop

O we can also use this other command:

flatpak uninstall com.jgraph.drawio.desktop

As AppImage

If it is more convenient for us to use this software as an AppImage package, also we will be able to download the necessary package from the project release page. Another way will be to use wget as follows:

wget https://github.com/jgraph/drawio-desktop/releases/download/v13.0.3/draw.io-x86_64-13.0.3.AppImage

Once the package is downloaded, you have to give you the necessary permissions to make the package executable. We can do this from the graphical environment or by writing in the terminal (Ctrl + Alt + T):

sudo chmod +x draw.io-x86_64-13.0.3.AppImage

After executing the previous command, we can launch the program by double clicking on the file.

Flowcharts are incredibly useful diagrams for explaining process flows. With this program we can easily create them from our desktop, but we also have the opportunity to use this online tool.

For more information about this project, users can check the website of the same or its corresponding page on GitHub.