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Sequence Diagram

PlantUML streamlines the creation of sequence diagrams through its intuitive and user-friendly syntax. This approach allows both novices and experienced designers to quickly transition from concept to a polished graphical output.

• Intuitive syntax:
  

The syntax of PlantUML is designed for ease of use, ensuring that users can grasp the fundamentals with minimal effort. This clarity reduces the learning curve and accelerates the diagram creation process.

• Direct Text-to-Graphic translation:
  

There is a direct correlation between the textual input and the resulting diagram. This consistency guarantees that the visual output closely mirrors the initial draft, minimizing unexpected discrepancies and streamlining the workflow.

• Efficient workflow:
  

The close relationship between text and image not only simplifies the design process but also speeds it up. By reducing the need for extensive revisions, users can focus on refining their diagrams with greater efficiency.

• Real-time visualization:
  

The ability to visualize the final outcome while drafting the text enhances productivity. This immediate feedback loop helps in identifying and correcting errors early, ensuring a smoother transition from concept to completion.

• Seamless edits and revisions:
  

Editing is straightforward when working with text-based diagrams. Adjustments can be made directly in the source text, eliminating the complexities and potential errors associated with graphical editing tools.

In summary, PlantUML offers a robust and efficient approach to sequence diagram creation. Its emphasis on simplicity and precision makes it an invaluable asset for anyone looking to produce clear and accurate diagrams with ease.

For further enhancement of your diagram creation experience, please refer to the common commands in PlantUML.

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Basic Examples

In PlantUML sequence diagrams, the -> sequence denotes a message sent between two participants, which are automatically recognized and do not need to be declared beforehand.

Utilize dotted arrows by employing the --> sequence, offering a distinct visualization in your diagrams.

To improve readability without affecting the visual representation, use reverse arrows like <- or <--. However, be aware that this is specifically for sequence diagrams and the rules differ for other diagram types.

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@startuml Alice -> Bob: Authentication Request Bob --> Alice: Authentication Response Alice -> Bob: Another authentication Request Alice <-- Bob: Another authentication Response @enduml

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Declaring participant

If the keyword participant is used to declare a participant, more control on that participant is possible.

The order of declaration will be the (default) order of display.

Using these other keywords to declare participants will change the shape of the participant representation:

• actor
• boundary
• control
• entity
• database
• collections
• queue

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@startuml participant Participant as Foo actor Actor as Foo1 boundary Boundary as Foo2 control Control as Foo3 entity Entity as Foo4 database Database as Foo5 collections Collections as Foo6 queue Queue as Foo7 Foo -> Foo1 : To actor Foo -> Foo2 : To boundary Foo -> Foo3 : To control Foo -> Foo4 : To entity Foo -> Foo5 : To database Foo -> Foo6 : To collections Foo -> Foo7: To queue @enduml

Rename a participant using the as keyword.

You can also change the background color of actor or participant.

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@startuml actor Bob #red ' The only difference between actor 'and participant is the drawing participant Alice participant "I have a really\nlong name" as L #99FF99 /' You can also declare: participant L as "I have a really\nlong name" #99FF99 '/ Alice->Bob: Authentication Request Bob->Alice: Authentication Response Bob->L: Log transaction @enduml

You can use the order keyword to customize the display order of participants.

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@startuml participant Last order 30 participant Middle order 20 participant First order 10 @enduml

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Declaring participant on multiline

You can declare participant on multi-line.

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@startuml participant Participant [ =Title ---- ""SubTitle"" ] participant Bob Participant -> Bob @enduml

[Ref. QA-15232]

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Use non-letters in participants

You can use quotes to define participants. And you can use the as keyword to give an alias to those participants.

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@startuml Alice -> "Bob()" : Hello "Bob()" -> "This is very\nlong" as Long ' You can also declare: ' "Bob()" -> Long as "This is very\nlong" Long --> "Bob()" : ok @enduml

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Message to Self

A participant can send a message to itself.

It is also possible to have multi-line using \n.

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@startuml Alice -> Alice: This is a signal to self.\nIt also demonstrates\nmultiline \ntext @enduml

🎉 Copied!

@startuml Alice <- Alice: This is a signal to self.\nIt also demonstrates\nmultiline \ntext @enduml

[Ref. QA-1361]

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Text alignment

Text alignment on arrows can be set to left, right or center using skinparam sequenceMessageAlign.

You can also use direction or reverseDirection to align text depending on arrow direction. Further details and examples of this are available on the skinparam page.

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@startuml skinparam sequenceMessageAlign right Bob -> Alice : Request Alice -> Bob : Response @enduml

Text of response message below the arrow

You can put the text of the response message below the arrow, with the skinparam responseMessageBelowArrow true command.

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@startuml skinparam responseMessageBelowArrow true Bob -> Alice : hello Bob <- Alice : ok @enduml

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Change arrow style

You can change arrow style by several ways:

• add a final x to denote a lost message
• use \ or / instead of < or > to have only the bottom or top part of the arrow
• repeat the arrow head (for example, >> or //) head to have a thin drawing
• use -- instead of - to have a dotted arrow
• add a final "o" at arrow head
• use bidirectional arrow <->

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@startuml Bob ->x Alice Bob -> Alice Bob ->> Alice Bob -\ Alice Bob \\- Alice Bob //-- Alice Bob ->o Alice Bob o\\-- Alice Bob <-> Alice Bob <->o Alice @enduml

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Change arrow color

You can change the color of individual arrows using the following notation:

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@startuml Bob -[#red]> Alice : hello Alice -[#0000FF]->Bob : ok @enduml

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Message sequence numbering

The keyword autonumber is used to automatically add an incrementing number to messages.

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@startuml autonumber Bob -> Alice : Authentication Request Bob <- Alice : Authentication Response @enduml

You can specify a startnumber with autonumber <start> , and also an increment with autonumber <start> <increment>.

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@startuml autonumber Bob -> Alice : Authentication Request Bob <- Alice : Authentication Response autonumber 15 Bob -> Alice : Another authentication Request Bob <- Alice : Another authentication Response autonumber 40 10 Bob -> Alice : Yet another authentication Request Bob <- Alice : Yet another authentication Response @enduml

You can specify a format for your number by using between double-quote.

The formatting is done with the Java class DecimalFormat (0 means digit, # means digit and zero if absent).

You can use some html tag in the format.

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@startuml autonumber "<b>[000]" Bob -> Alice : Authentication Request Bob <- Alice : Authentication Response autonumber 15 "<b>(<u>##</u>)" Bob -> Alice : Another authentication Request Bob <- Alice : Another authentication Response autonumber 40 10 "<font color=red><b>Message 0 " Bob -> Alice : Yet another authentication Request Bob <- Alice : Yet another authentication Response @enduml

You can also use autonumber stop and autonumber resume <increment> <format> to respectively pause and resume automatic numbering.

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@startuml autonumber 10 10 "<b>[000]" Bob -> Alice : Authentication Request Bob <- Alice : Authentication Response autonumber stop Bob -> Alice : dummy autonumber resume "<font color=red><b>Message 0 " Bob -> Alice : Yet another authentication Request Bob <- Alice : Yet another authentication Response autonumber stop Bob -> Alice : dummy autonumber resume 1 "<font color=blue><b>Message 0 " Bob -> Alice : Yet another authentication Request Bob <- Alice : Yet another authentication Response @enduml

Your startnumber can also be a 2 or 3 digit sequence using a field delimiter such as ., ;, ,, : or a mix of these. For example: 1.1.1 or 1.1:1.

Automatically the last digit will increment.

To increment the first digit, use: autonumber inc A. To increment the second digit, use: autonumber inc B.

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@startuml autonumber 1.1.1 Alice -> Bob: Authentication request Bob --> Alice: Response autonumber inc A 'Now we have 2.1.1 Alice -> Bob: Another authentication request Bob --> Alice: Response autonumber inc B 'Now we have 2.2.1 Alice -> Bob: Another authentication request Bob --> Alice: Response autonumber inc A 'Now we have 3.1.1 Alice -> Bob: Another authentication request autonumber inc B 'Now we have 3.2.1 Bob --> Alice: Response @enduml

You can also use the value of autonumber with the %autonumber% variable:

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@startuml autonumber 10 Alice -> Bob note right the <U+0025>autonumber<U+0025> works everywhere. Here, its value is ** %autonumber% ** end note Bob --> Alice: //This is the response %autonumber%// @enduml

[Ref. QA-7119]

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Page Title, Header and Footer

The title keyword is used to add a title to the page.

Pages can display headers and footers using header and footer.

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@startuml header Page Header footer Page %page% of %lastpage% title Example Title Alice -> Bob : message 1 Alice -> Bob : message 2 @enduml

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Splitting diagrams

With newpage

The newpage keyword is used to split a diagram into several images.

You can put a title for the new page just after the newpage keyword. This title overrides the previously specified title if any.

This is very handy with Word to print long diagram on several pages.

(Note: this really does work. Only the first page is shown below, but it is a display artifact.)

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@startuml Alice -> Bob : message 1 Alice -> Bob : message 2 newpage Alice -> Bob : message 3 Alice -> Bob : message 4 newpage A title for the\nlast page Alice -> Bob : message 5 Alice -> Bob : message 6 @enduml

%page% and %lastpage% variables

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@startuml footer This is %page% of %lastpage% Alice --> Bob : A1 newpage Alice --> Bob : A2 newpage Alice --> Bob : A3 newpage Alice --> Bob : A4 @enduml

[Ref. QA-6699]

Ignore newpage

You can use the ignore newpage command to show all the pages, as if there was no newpage.

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@startuml ignore newpage Alice -> Bob : message 1 Alice -> Bob : message 2 newpage Alice -> Bob : message 3 Alice -> Bob : message 4 newpage A title for the\nlast page Alice -> Bob : message 5 Alice -> Bob : message 6 @enduml

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Grouping message

It is possible to group messages together using the following keywords:

• alt/else
• opt
• loop
• par
• break
• critical
• group, followed by a text to be displayed

It is possible to add a text that will be displayed into the header (for group, see next paragraph 'Secondary group label').

The end keyword is used to close the group.

Note that it is possible to nest groups.

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@startuml Alice -> Bob: Authentication Request alt successful case Bob -> Alice: Authentication Accepted else some kind of failure Bob -> Alice: Authentication Failure group My own label Alice -> Log : Log attack start loop 1000 times Alice -> Bob: DNS Attack end Alice -> Log : Log attack end end else Another type of failure Bob -> Alice: Please repeat end @enduml

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Secondary group label

For group, it is possible to add, between[ and ], a secondary text or label that will be displayed into the header.

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@startuml Alice -> Bob: Authentication Request Bob -> Alice: Authentication Failure group My own label [My own label 2] Alice -> Log : Log attack start loop 1000 times Alice -> Bob: DNS Attack end Alice -> Log : Log attack end end @enduml

[Ref. QA-2503]

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Notes on messages

It is possible to put notes on message using the note left or note right keywords just after the message.

You can have a multi-line note using the end note keywords.

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@startuml Alice->Bob : hello note left: this is a first note Bob->Alice : ok note right: this is another note Bob->Bob : I am thinking note left a note can also be defined on several lines end note @enduml

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Some other notes

It is also possible to place notes relative to participant with note left of , note right of or note over keywords.

It is possible to highlight a note by changing its background color.

You can also have a multi-line note using the end note keywords.

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@startuml participant Alice participant Bob note left of Alice #aqua This is displayed left of Alice. end note note right of Alice: This is displayed right of Alice. note over Alice: This is displayed over Alice. note over Alice, Bob #FFAAAA: This is displayed\n over Bob and Alice. note over Bob, Alice This is yet another example of a long note. end note @enduml

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Changing notes shape [hnote, rnote]

You can use hnote and rnote keywords to change note shapes :

• hnote for hexagonal note;
• rnote for rectangle note.

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@startuml caller -> server : conReq hnote over caller : idle caller <- server : conConf rnote over server "r" as rectangle "h" as hexagon endrnote rnote over server this is on several lines endrnote hnote over caller this is on several lines endhnote @enduml

[Ref. QA-1765]

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Note over all participants [across]

You can directly make a note over all participants, with the syntax:

• note across: note_description

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@startuml Alice->Bob:m1 Bob->Charlie:m2 note over Alice, Charlie: Old method for note over all part. with:\n ""note over //FirstPart, LastPart//"". note across: New method with:\n""note across"" Bob->Alice hnote across:Note across all part. @enduml

[Ref. QA-9738]

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Several notes aligned at the same level [/]

You can make several notes aligned at the same level, with the syntax /:

• without / (by default, the notes are not aligned)

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@startuml note over Alice : initial state of Alice note over Bob : initial state of Bob Bob -> Alice : hello @enduml

• with / (the notes are aligned)

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@startuml note over Alice : initial state of Alice / note over Bob : initial state of Bob Bob -> Alice : hello @enduml

[Ref. QA-354]

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Creole and HTML

It is also possible to use creole formatting:

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@startuml participant Alice participant "The **Famous** Bob" as Bob Alice -> Bob : hello --there-- ... Some ~~long delay~~ ... Bob -> Alice : ok note left This is **bold** This is //italics// This is ""monospaced"" This is --stroked-- This is __underlined__ This is ~~waved~~ end note Alice -> Bob : A //well formatted// message note right of Alice This is <back:cadetblue><size:18>displayed</size></back> __left of__ Alice. end note note left of Bob <u:red>This</u> is <color #118888>displayed</color> **<color purple>left of</color> <s:red>Alice</strike> Bob**. end note note over Alice, Bob <w:#FF33FF>This is hosted</w> by <img:https://plantuml.com/sourceforge.jpg> end note @enduml

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Divider or separator

If you want, you can split a diagram using == separator to divide your diagram into logical steps.

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@startuml == Initialization == Alice -> Bob: Authentication Request Bob --> Alice: Authentication Response == Repetition == Alice -> Bob: Another authentication Request Alice <-- Bob: another authentication Response @enduml

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Reference

You can use reference in a diagram, using the keyword ref over.

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@startuml participant Alice actor Bob ref over Alice, Bob : init Alice -> Bob : hello ref over Bob This can be on several lines end ref @enduml

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Delay

You can use ... to indicate a delay in the diagram. And it is also possible to put a message with this delay.

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@startuml Alice -> Bob: Authentication Request ... Bob --> Alice: Authentication Response ...5 minutes later... Bob --> Alice: Good Bye ! @enduml

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Text wrapping

To break long messages, you can manually add \n in your text.

Another option is to use maxMessageSize setting:

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@startuml skinparam maxMessageSize 50 participant a participant b a -> b :this\nis\nmanually\ndone a -> b :this is a very long message on several words @enduml

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Space

You can use ||| to indicate some spacing in the diagram.

It is also possible to specify a number of pixel to be used.

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@startuml Alice -> Bob: message 1 Bob --> Alice: ok ||| Alice -> Bob: message 2 Bob --> Alice: ok ||45|| Alice -> Bob: message 3 Bob --> Alice: ok @enduml

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Lifeline Activation and Destruction

The activate and deactivate are used to denote participant activation.

Once a participant is activated, its lifeline appears.

The activate and deactivate apply on the previous message.

The destroy denote the end of the lifeline of a participant.

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@startuml participant User User -> A: DoWork activate A A -> B: << createRequest >> activate B B -> C: DoWork activate C C --> B: WorkDone destroy C B --> A: RequestCreated deactivate B A -> User: Done deactivate A @enduml

Nested lifeline can be used, and it is possible to add a color on the lifeline.

🎉 Copied!

@startuml participant User User -> A: DoWork activate A #FFBBBB A -> A: Internal call activate A #DarkSalmon A -> B: << createRequest >> activate B B --> A: RequestCreated deactivate B deactivate A A -> User: Done deactivate A @enduml

Autoactivation is possible and works with the return keywords:

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@startuml autoactivate on alice -> bob : hello bob -> bob : self call bill -> bob #005500 : hello from thread 2 bob -> george ** : create return done in thread 2 return rc bob -> george !! : delete return success @enduml

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Return

Command return generates a return message with optional text label.

The return point is that which caused the most recent life-line activation.

The syntax is return label where label if provided is any string acceptable for conventional messages.

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@startuml Bob -> Alice : hello activate Alice Alice -> Alice : some action return bye @enduml

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Participant creation

You can use the create keyword just before the first reception of a message to emphasize the fact that this message is actually creating this new object.

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@startuml Bob -> Alice : hello create Other Alice -> Other : new create control String Alice -> String note right : You can also put notes! Alice --> Bob : ok @enduml

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Shortcut syntax for activation, deactivation, creation

Immediately after specifying the target participant, the following syntax can be used:

• ++ Activate the target (optionally a color may follow this)
• -- Deactivate the source
• ** Create an instance of the target
• !! Destroy an instance of the target

🎉 Copied!

@startuml alice -> bob ++ : hello bob -> bob ++ : self call bob -> bib ++ #005500 : hello bob -> george ** : create return done return rc bob -> george !! : delete return success @enduml

Then you can mix activation and deactivation, on same line:

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@startuml alice -> bob ++ : hello1 bob -> charlie --++ : hello2 charlie --> alice -- : ok @enduml

🎉 Copied!

@startuml alice -> bob --++ #gold: hello bob -> alice --++ #gold: you too alice -> bob --: step1 alice -> bob : step2 @enduml

[Ref. QA-4834, QA-9573 and QA-13234]

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Incoming and outgoing messages

You can use incoming or outgoing arrows if you want to focus on a part of the diagram.

Use square brackets to denote the left "[" or the right "]" side of the diagram.

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@startuml [-> A: DoWork activate A A -> A: Internal call activate A A ->] : << createRequest >> A<--] : RequestCreated deactivate A [<- A: Done deactivate A @enduml

You can also have the following syntax:

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@startuml participant Alice participant Bob #lightblue Alice -> Bob Bob -> Carol ... [-> Bob [o-> Bob [o->o Bob [x-> Bob ... [<- Bob [x<- Bob ... Bob ->] Bob ->o] Bob o->o] Bob ->x] ... Bob <-] Bob x<-] @enduml

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Short arrows for incoming and outgoing messages

You can have short arrows with using ?.

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@startuml ?-> Alice : ""?->""\n**short** to actor1 [-> Alice : ""[->""\n**from start** to actor1 [-> Bob : ""[->""\n**from start** to actor2 ?-> Bob : ""?->""\n**short** to actor2 Alice ->] : ""->]""\nfrom actor1 **to end** Alice ->? : ""->?""\n**short** from actor1 Alice -> Bob : ""->"" \nfrom actor1 to actor2 @enduml

[Ref. QA-310]

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Anchors and Duration

With teoz it is possible to add anchors to the diagram and use the anchors to specify duration time.

🎉 Copied!

@startuml !pragma teoz true {start} Alice -> Bob : start doing things during duration Bob -> Max : something Max -> Bob : something else {end} Bob -> Alice : finish {start} <-> {end} : some time @enduml

You can use the -P command-line option to specify the pragma:

java -jar plantuml.jar -Pteoz=true

[Ref. issue-582]

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Stereotypes and Spots

It is possible to add stereotypes to participants using << and >>.

In the stereotype, you can add a spotted character in a colored circle using the syntax (X,color).

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@startuml participant "Famous Bob" as Bob << Generated >> participant Alice << (C,#ADD1B2) Testable >> Bob->Alice: First message @enduml

By default, the guillemet character is used to display the stereotype. You can change this behavious using the skinparam guillemet:

🎉 Copied!

@startuml skinparam guillemet false participant "Famous Bob" as Bob << Generated >> participant Alice << (C,#ADD1B2) Testable >> Bob->Alice: First message @enduml

🎉 Copied!

@startuml participant Bob << (C,#ADD1B2) >> participant Alice << (C,#ADD1B2) >> Bob->Alice: First message @enduml

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Position of the stereotypes

It is possible to define stereotypes position (top or bottom) with the command skinparam stereotypePosition.

Top postion (by default)

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@startuml skinparam stereotypePosition top participant A<<st1>> participant B<<st2>> A --> B : stereo test @enduml

Bottom postion

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@startuml skinparam stereotypePosition bottom participant A<<st1>> participant B<<st2>> A --> B : stereo test @enduml

[Ref. QA-18650]

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More information on titles

You can use creole formatting in the title.

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@startuml title __Simple__ **communication** example Alice -> Bob: Authentication Request Bob -> Alice: Authentication Response @enduml

You can add newline using \n in the title description.

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@startuml title __Simple__ communication example\non several lines Alice -> Bob: Authentication Request Bob -> Alice: Authentication Response @enduml

You can also define title on several lines using title and end title keywords.

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@startuml title <u>Simple</u> communication example on <i>several</i> lines and using <font color=red>html</font> This is hosted by <img:sourceforge.jpg> end title Alice -> Bob: Authentication Request Bob -> Alice: Authentication Response @enduml

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Participants encompass

It is possible to draw a box around some participants, using box and end box commands.

You can add an optional title or a optional background color, after the box keyword.

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@startuml box "Internal Service" #LightBlue participant Bob participant Alice end box participant Other Bob -> Alice : hello Alice -> Other : hello @enduml

It is also possible to nest boxes - to draw a box within a box - when using the teoz rendering engine, for example:

🎉 Copied!

@startuml !pragma teoz true box "Internal Service" #LightBlue participant Bob box "Subteam" participant Alice participant John end box end box participant Other Bob -> Alice : hello Alice -> John : hello John -> Other: Hello @enduml

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Removing Foot Boxes

You can use the hide footbox keywords to remove the foot boxes of the diagram.

🎉 Copied!

@startuml hide footbox title Foot Box removed Alice -> Bob: Authentication Request Bob --> Alice: Authentication Response @enduml

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Skinparam

You can use the skinparam command to change colors and fonts for the drawing.

You can use this command:

• In the diagram definition, like any other commands,
• In an included file,
• In a configuration file, provided in the command line or the ANT task.

You can also change other rendering parameter, as seen in the following examples:

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@startuml skinparam sequenceArrowThickness 2 skinparam roundcorner 20 skinparam maxmessagesize 60 skinparam sequenceParticipant underline actor User participant "First Class" as A participant "Second Class" as B participant "Last Class" as C User -> A: DoWork activate A A -> B: Create Request activate B B -> C: DoWork activate C C --> B: WorkDone destroy C B --> A: Request Created deactivate B A --> User: Done deactivate A @enduml

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@startuml skinparam backgroundColor #EEEBDC skinparam handwritten true skinparam sequence { ArrowColor DeepSkyBlue ActorBorderColor DeepSkyBlue LifeLineBorderColor blue LifeLineBackgroundColor #A9DCDF ParticipantBorderColor DeepSkyBlue ParticipantBackgroundColor DodgerBlue ParticipantFontName Impact ParticipantFontSize 17 ParticipantFontColor #A9DCDF ActorBackgroundColor aqua ActorFontColor DeepSkyBlue ActorFontSize 17 ActorFontName Aapex } actor User participant "First Class" as A participant "Second Class" as B participant "Last Class" as C User -> A: DoWork activate A A -> B: Create Request activate B B -> C: DoWork activate C C --> B: WorkDone destroy C B --> A: Request Created deactivate B A --> User: Done deactivate A @enduml

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Changing padding

It is possible to tune some padding settings.

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@startuml skinparam ParticipantPadding 20 skinparam BoxPadding 10 box "Foo1" participant Alice1 participant Alice2 end box box "Foo2" participant Bob1 participant Bob2 end box Alice1 -> Bob1 : hello Alice1 -> Out : out @enduml

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Appendix: Examples of all arrow type

Normal arrow

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@startuml participant Alice as a participant Bob as b a -> b : ""-> "" a ->> b : ""->> "" a -\ b : ""-\ "" a -\\ b : ""-\\\\"" a -/ b : ""-/ "" a -// b : ""-// "" a ->x b : ""->x "" a x-> b : ""x-> "" a o-> b : ""o-> "" a ->o b : ""->o "" a o->o b : ""o->o "" a <-> b : ""<-> "" a o<->o b : ""o<->o"" a x<->x b : ""x<->x"" a ->>o b : ""->>o "" a -\o b : ""-\o "" a -\\o b : ""-\\\\o"" a -/o b : ""-/o "" a -//o b : ""-//o "" a x->o b : ""x->o "" @enduml

Itself arrow

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@startuml participant Alice as a participant Bob as b a -> a : ""-> "" a ->> a : ""->> "" a -\ a : ""-\ "" a -\\ a : ""-\\\\"" a -/ a : ""-/ "" a -// a : ""-// "" a ->x a : ""->x "" a x-> a : ""x-> "" a o-> a : ""o-> "" a ->o a : ""->o "" a o->o a : ""o->o "" a <-> a : ""<-> "" a o<->o a : ""o<->o"" a x<->x a : ""x<->x"" a ->>o a : ""->>o "" a -\o a : ""-\o "" a -\\o a : ""-\\\\o"" a -/o a : ""-/o "" a -//o a : ""-//o "" a x->o a : ""x->o "" @enduml

Incoming and outgoing messages (with '[', ']')

Incoming messages (with '[')

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@startuml participant Alice as a participant Bob as b [-> b : ""[-> "" [->> b : ""[->> "" [-\ b : ""[-\ "" [-\\ b : ""[-\\\\"" [-/ b : ""[-/ "" [-// b : ""[-// "" [->x b : ""[->x "" [x-> b : ""[x-> "" [o-> b : ""[o-> "" [->o b : ""[->o "" [o->o b : ""[o->o "" [<-> b : ""[<-> "" [o<->o b : ""[o<->o"" [x<->x b : ""[x<->x"" [->>o b : ""[->>o "" [-\o b : ""[-\o "" [-\\o b : ""[-\\\\o"" [-/o b : ""[-/o "" [-//o b : ""[-//o "" [x->o b : ""[x->o "" @enduml

Outgoing messages (with ']')

🎉 Copied!

@startuml participant Alice as a participant Bob as b a ->] : ""->] "" a ->>] : ""->>] "" a -\] : ""-\] "" a -\\] : ""-\\\\]"" a -/] : ""-/] "" a -//] : ""-//] "" a ->x] : ""->x] "" a x->] : ""x->] "" a o->] : ""o->] "" a ->o] : ""->o] "" a o->o] : ""o->o] "" a <->] : ""<->] "" a o<->o] : ""o<->o]"" a x<->x] : ""x<->x]"" a ->>o] : ""->>o] "" a -\o] : ""-\o] "" a -\\o] : ""-\\\\o]"" a -/o] : ""-/o] "" a -//o] : ""-//o] "" a x->o] : ""x->o] "" @enduml

Short incoming and outgoing messages (with '?')

Short incoming (with '?')

🎉 Copied!

@startuml participant Alice as a participant Bob as b a -> b : //Long long label// ?-> b : ""?-> "" ?->> b : ""?->> "" ?-\ b : ""?-\ "" ?-\\ b : ""?-\\\\"" ?-/ b : ""?-/ "" ?-// b : ""?-// "" ?->x b : ""?->x "" ?x-> b : ""?x-> "" ?o-> b : ""?o-> "" ?->o b : ""?->o "" ?o->o b : ""?o->o "" ?<-> b : ""?<-> "" ?o<->o b : ""?o<->o"" ?x<->x b : ""?x<->x"" ?->>o b : ""?->>o "" ?-\o b : ""?-\o "" ?-\\o b : ""?-\\\\o "" ?-/o b : ""?-/o "" ?-//o b : ""?-//o "" ?x->o b : ""?x->o "" @enduml

Short outgoing (with '?')

🎉 Copied!

@startuml participant Alice as a participant Bob as b a -> b : //Long long label// a ->? : ""->? "" a ->>? : ""->>? "" a -\? : ""-\? "" a -\\? : ""-\\\\?"" a -/? : ""-/? "" a -//? : ""-//? "" a ->x? : ""->x? "" a x->? : ""x->? "" a o->? : ""o->? "" a ->o? : ""->o? "" a o->o? : ""o->o? "" a <->? : ""<->? "" a o<->o? : ""o<->o?"" a x<->x? : ""x<->x?"" a ->>o? : ""->>o? "" a -\o? : ""-\o? "" a -\\o? : ""-\\\\o?"" a -/o? : ""-/o? "" a -//o? : ""-//o? "" a x->o? : ""x->o? "" @enduml

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Specific SkinParameter

By default

🎉 Copied!

@startuml Bob -> Alice : hello Alice -> Bob : ok @enduml

LifelineStrategy

• nosolid (by default)

🎉 Copied!

@startuml skinparam lifelineStrategy nosolid Bob -> Alice : hello Alice -> Bob : ok @enduml

[Ref. QA-9016]

• solid

In order to have solid life line in sequence diagrams, you can use: skinparam lifelineStrategy solid

🎉 Copied!

@startuml skinparam lifelineStrategy solid Bob -> Alice : hello Alice -> Bob : ok @enduml

[Ref. QA-2794]

style strictuml

To be conform to strict UML (for arrow style: emits triangle rather than sharp arrowheads), you can use:

• skinparam style strictuml

🎉 Copied!

@startuml skinparam style strictuml Bob -> Alice : hello Alice -> Bob : ok @enduml

[Ref. QA-1047]

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Hide unlinked participant

By default, all participants are displayed.

🎉 Copied!

@startuml participant Alice participant Bob participant Carol Alice -> Bob : hello @enduml

But you can hide unlinked participant.

🎉 Copied!

@startuml hide unlinked participant Alice participant Bob participant Carol Alice -> Bob : hello @enduml

[Ref. QA-4247]

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Color a group message

It is possible to color a group messages:

🎉 Copied!

@startuml Alice -> Bob: Authentication Request alt#Gold #LightBlue Successful case Bob -> Alice: Authentication Accepted else #Pink Failure Bob -> Alice: Authentication Rejected end @enduml

[Ref. QA-4750 and QA-6410]

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Mainframe

🎉 Copied!

@startuml mainframe This is a **mainframe** Alice->Bob : Hello @enduml

[Ref. QA-4019 and Issue#148]

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Slanted or odd arrows

You can use the (nn) option (before or after arrow) to make the arrows slanted, where nn is the number of shift pixels.

[Available only after v1.2022.6beta+]

🎉 Copied!

@startuml A ->(10) B: text 10 B ->(10) A: text 10 A ->(10) B: text 10 A (10)<- B: text 10 @enduml

🎉 Copied!

@startuml A ->(40) B++: Rq B -->(20) A--: Rs @enduml

[Ref. QA-14145]

🎉 Copied!

@startuml !pragma teoz true A ->(50) C: Starts\nwhen 'B' sends & B ->(25) C: \nBut B's message\n arrives before A's @enduml

[Ref. QA-6684]

🎉 Copied!

@startuml !pragma teoz true S1 ->(30) S2: msg 1\n & S2 ->(30) S1: msg 2 note left S1: msg\nS2 to S1 & note right S2: msg\nS1 to S2 @enduml

[Ref. QA-1072]

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Parallel messages (with teoz)

You can use the & teoz command to display parallel messages:

🎉 Copied!

@startuml !pragma teoz true Alice -> Bob : hello & Bob -> Charlie : hi @enduml

(See also Teoz architecture)