Protobuf UML diagram

A tool to generate UML diagrams from Protobuf compiled Python modules.

Note

This tool expects compiled Python protobuf modules (*_pb2.py). Install protoc separately if you need to compile .proto files.

Example

Generate a UML diagram from a compiled protobuf module:

protobuf-uml-diagram --proto "cylc.flow.ws_messages_pb2" --output /tmp/

Example logging output:

INFO:protobuf_uml_diagram:Imported: cylc.flow.ws_messages_pb2
INFO:protobuf_uml_diagram:Writing diagram to /tmp/ws_messages_pb2.png

Example output:

Installation

pip install protobuf-uml-diagram

Requirements

• Python >= 3.10
• protobuf >= 7.35.1
• Graphviz installed on the system

Quick start

Given a protobuf definition:

file issue_10.proto
issue_10.proto: ASCII text

Compile it:

protoc --python_out=./ issue_10.proto

Generate the UML diagram:

PYTHONPATH=. protobuf-uml-diagram --proto issue_10_pb2 --output /tmp

Example output:

INFO:protobuf_uml_diagram:Imported: issue_10_pb2
INFO:protobuf_uml_diagram:Writing diagram to /tmp/issue_10_pb2.png

Open the generated image:

eog /tmp/issue_10_pb2.png

The result should look like:

Names in diagrams

By default, diagrams use the full name of types (for example, SomeRequest.shipments).

You can use shorter field names with:

PYTHONPATH=. protobuf-uml-diagram \
    --proto issue_10_pb2 \
    --output /tmp \
    --full_names=false

Warning

Using shorter names can make diagrams ambiguous when different fields have the same name but represent different concepts. See #10 and #78.

Example output:

Docker

The Docker image can generate UML diagrams directly from .proto files.

Build the image:

./dockerbuild.sh

Run it:

./dockerrun.sh <path_containing_proto_files> <output_path>

The container:

1. Compiles the .proto files using protoc
2. Generates Python protobuf modules
3. Produces PNG and SVG UML diagrams

Development

Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/kinow/protobuf-uml-diagram.git
cd protobuf-uml-diagram

Install development dependencies:

pip install -e ".[all]"

Run tests:

pytest

Run type checks:

mypy .[protobuf_uml_diagram.py](protobuf_uml_diagram.py)

Support

If this project is useful to you, you can support it:

License

Apache Licence 2.0