Video Guide

Where To Find Mermaid In Notion

Where is mermaid?

1. Trigger the block menu in the body of any page (“/”)

2. Find “Code Block”

3. Change the code language to “Mermaid”

There should be a second dropdown menu next to the language selector with three options:

1. Code: see just the code

2. Preview: see just the chart

3. Split: see the code and the chart

Flowchart Orientation

There are four ways to view a flowchart with Mermaid:

1. Left to Right: LR

2. Right to Left : RL

3. Top to Bottom: TB

4. Bottom to Top: BT

Step 1: Connect Two Nodes

Each shape in the flowchart is called a node. The lines connecting nodes are called links. Connect the first two nodes, and let’s assume this flowchart is planning a basic project manager in Notion.

Each node has an ID and a Label

G(Goals)

This is a nice syntax to use because it allows you to quickly reference a node without spelling out the entire label further down in your code. You only have to label a node once.

Step 2: Adding More Nodes

There are two ways to string nodes together:

or

Step 3: Link In Multiple Directions

The goals database connects to the projects, of which connects to the tasks. Tasks also has two outcomes — complete or incomplete. This fork is created by connecting tasks to both complete and incomplete nodes like this:

or like this:

Step 4: Adding Comments

Now let’s add some context to the connections between nodes like this:

G(Goals) ---> |Connect To| P(Projects)

Step 5: Customizing Node Shapes

There are a handful of different node shapes you can choose from. Take a look at the link to Mermaid’s documentation below to see more. For Notion users, the database shape may be useful. Here are a few:

• Database

  • G[(Goals)]

• Pill Shape

  • IC([Incomplete])

• Subroutine

  • R[[Review]]

Step 6: Customizing Link Shapes

You can customize link shapes as well. There are a lot of different options including two-way arrows, plain lines, lines that indicate a stoppage in the flow, and more. Here are a few:

• Bold arrow

  • G ==> P

• Two-way arrow

  • G <--> P

• Line with circle

  • G --o P

• Line with x

  • G --x P

• Dotted line

  • G -.-> P

Step 7: Code Organization

I recommend organizing your code as the flowchart grows and links begin to multiply. Using %% comments %%, you can create different sections in the flow.

For example, this is how you can separate all connections in the Goals database from the Projects database:

Step 8: Customize Node Colors

Here is the best way to add colors to your flowchart’s nodes with mermaid. Firstly, create a section for only colors. Next, add all classDef lines inside to define each color you’ll be using in the graph like this:

%% Colors %% classDef blue fill:#2374f7,stroke:#000,stroke-width:2px,color:#fff

Next, add the defined colors above next to the node you want to fill.

G[(Goals)]:::blue <===> |Connect To| P[(Projects)]:::blue

flowchart LR

%% Colors %%

classDef blue fill:#2374f7,stroke:#000,stroke-width:2px,color:#fff

classDef pink fill:#eb3dd6,stroke:#000,stroke-width:2px,color:#fff

classDef orange fill:#fc822b,stroke:#000,stroke-width:2px,color:#fff

classDef red fill:#ed2633,stroke:#000,stroke-width:2px,color:#fff

classDef green fill:#16b522,stroke:#000,stroke-width:2px,color:#fff

%% GOALS DATABASE %%

%% Goals & Projects %%

G[(Goals)]:::blue <===> |Connect To| P[(Projects)]:::blue

%% PROJECTS DATABASE %%

%% Deadline %%

P ---o |Has| PD(Deadline):::orange

PD ---x |Is| MT([Met]):::green

PD ---- |Is| OV([Overdue]):::red

OV ---> |Push| OVF{4 Days}:::pink

%% Tasks %%

P ---o |Has| PT(Tasks):::orange

PT ---x |Is| IC([Incomplete]):::red

PT ---- |Is| C([Complete]):::green

C ---> |Needs| R[[Review]]

%% Review & Goals %%

R -..-> |Creates New| G

Bonus: Add Notion Links TO Nodes

Yes, you can also add links to your nodes. For example, if the Goals node is representing a database called Goals, you can navigate to that page in Notion and copy/paste the page link into this piece of code:

flowchart LR  G[(Goals)] click G "insert link here"

Further Reading