Comparison
Chiltepin vs Eraser: canvas or code
Eraser is good at what a diagramming product should be good at: a diagram-as-code DSL with a canvas next to it, AI generation from a prompt or a codebase, collaboration and sharing built in, and a look that is clean out of the box. It is a hosted, proprietary SaaS with a free tier. Chiltepin is the other shape of the same idea: an open-source CLI and renderer where the diagram is one typed block inside a Markdown document, your own agent writes it, and a validator checks it in CI.
Side by side
| Eraser | Chiltepin | |
|---|---|---|
| Source format | Its own diagram-as-code DSL, edited in the Eraser app; a canvas for hand edits | Markdown with typed YAML blocks, in your repo, next to the code |
| Who draws the layout | Eraser’s layout engine, with drag-and-drop adjustments on the canvas | The renderer, from the data — no coordinates in the source, nothing to nudge |
| AI agent workflow | AI diagram generation inside the product, from a prompt or a codebase connection | A skill your own agent installs (Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, Copilot, 70+); it writes YAML and runs the validator |
| Validation in CI | Not a CI tool; the app checks the DSL as you type | chiltepin check — strict schema, dangling refs, duplicate ids; exits non-zero in CI |
| Diagram types | Cloud architecture, sequence, flowcharts, ERD, BPMN and more | Dozens of block types: diagrams plus tables, API contracts, ADR structure, threat models, charts, decks |
| Output formats | Shareable canvases, image export, embeds; check their site for the current list | Static site, standalone HTML, slide deck, PDF — from one command, no runtime JS |
| Hosting and price | Hosted SaaS with a free tier and paid plans; check their site for limits | Free. Runs locally with npx; the browser Studio needs no signup |
| Open source / licence | Proprietary | MIT |
| Best for | Teams that want a polished collaborative diagramming app with AI built in | Teams whose agent writes the docs, and who want the result checked like code |
When to pick Eraser
Pick Eraser if the thing you want is a diagramming app: a canvas people can open in a browser, adjust by hand, comment on and share, with AI generation inside it and no CLI in the loop. If your diagrams live on their own rather than inside longer documents, and a hosted product with a free tier suits your team, Eraser is a good choice and its polish is real.
When to pick Chiltepin
Pick Chiltepin if the diagram is one part of a document your agent is writing — the architecture map next to the API contract, the threat register, the decision record — and you want the whole thing in Git, checked by chiltepin check on every pull request, rendered identically by code, and exported as a site, a deck or a PDF without a service in the middle. It is free, MIT-licensed, and needs nothing installed to try.
What a Chiltepin block looks like
This is the block starter template — a boxes-and-arrows architecture diagram, the kind of thing Eraser draws well. The source is a list of nodes and edges; the renderer decides where everything goes.
```block
title: System architecture
groups:
- { col: 1, row: 1, cols: 1, rows: 2, label: Edge, color: "#0e54a1" }
- { col: 2, row: 1, cols: 2, rows: 2, label: Services, color: "#1f9747" }
nodes:
- { id: cdn, col: 1, row: 1, kind: cdn, name: CDN, tech: Cloudflare }
- { id: gw, col: 1, row: 2, kind: gateway, name: Gateway, tech: Envoy }
- { id: api, col: 2, row: 1, kind: service, name: API, tech: Go }
- { id: worker, col: 3, row: 1, kind: service, name: Worker, tech: Go }
- { id: pg, col: 2, row: 2, kind: store, name: Postgres, tech: "16" }
- { id: q, col: 3, row: 2, kind: queue, name: Events, tech: NATS }
edges:
- cdn -> gw
- gw -> api
- api -> pg
- api -> q
- q --> worker
```Every block on this site is rendered this way, at build time, by the same pipeline chiltepin build runs. See the block catalog, the 40 documents an agent wrote, or the other comparison, Chiltepin vs Mermaid.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Chiltepin an Eraser alternative?
- For the diagram-as-code and AI-generation parts, yes. Eraser is a hosted app with a canvas; Chiltepin is a CLI, a renderer and an agent skill that keep everything in Markdown files in your repository. If you want a diagramming product with a canvas, Eraser is the closer fit. If you want documents your agent writes and CI checks, Chiltepin is.
- Can I edit a Chiltepin diagram by dragging?
- Not the geometry. Chiltepin’s rule is that layout is code, never prompt or mouse: the renderer places every node from the data. Studio lets you edit the data visually — reorder steps, rename lanes, add nodes — and the renderer redraws. That is what makes the output reproducible and diffable.
- Does Chiltepin generate diagrams from a codebase like Eraser does?
- Through your agent, yes. Point Claude Code or Cursor at a directory and ask for the document; the skill has the agent read the code, pick the blocks, write the YAML and run chiltepin check. chiltepin audit also scans a codebase and recommends which documents to write. chiltepin sync converts OpenAPI, SQL, DBML and Prisma files into blocks directly.
- Is Eraser free?
- Eraser has a free tier and paid plans; the limits change, so check their pricing page. Chiltepin is MIT-licensed and free in every form: the CLI, the renderer, the skill and the hosted Studio.
- Can I move diagrams from Eraser to Chiltepin?
- There is no importer for Eraser’s DSL. Mermaid, DBML and Prisma fences convert automatically when Chiltepin parses a file, and OpenAPI, SQL and CSV convert through chiltepin sync. For an Eraser diagram the practical path is to hand the description to your agent and let it write the block.