Rule Graph Visualization

Generate dependency diagrams from your workflows for debugging, documentation, and code review. RoslynRules outputs both Graphviz DOT and Mermaid formats.

Overview

using RoslynRules.Models;

// From a workflow
var dot = RuleGraphVisualizer.ToDot(workflow);
var mermaid = RuleGraphVisualizer.ToMermaid(workflow);

// From a single rule tree
var dot = RuleGraphVisualizer.ToDot(rule);

Format	Renders In	Best For
DOT	Graphviz, VS Code extensions, web tools	Complex graphs, PDF export
Mermaid	GitHub, GitLab, Notion, Markdown	README docs, PR descriptions

Mermaid (Recommended for Docs)

Mermaid diagrams render natively in GitHub/GitLab markdown. Paste the output directly into a .md file:

var workflow = new Workflow
{
    Description = "Order validation",
    Rules =
    {
        new Rule
        {
            Description = "Validate customer",
            Expression = "customer.IsActive",
            Id = Guid.Parse("11111111-1111-1111-1111-111111111111")
        },
        new Rule
        {
            Description = "Check inventory",
            Expression = "inventory.HasStock",
            DependsOnRuleId = Guid.Parse("11111111-1111-1111-1111-111111111111")
        },
        new Rule
        {
            Description = "Apply discount",
            Expression = "order.Total > 100",
            DependsOnRuleId = Guid.Parse("22222222-2222-2222-2222-222222222222")
        }
    }
};

Console.WriteLine(RuleGraphVisualizer.ToMermaid(workflow));

Output:

graph TD
    R11111111111111111111111111111111[Validate customer]
    R22222222222222222222222222222222[Check inventory]:::inactive
    R33333333333333333333333333333333[Apply discount]:::inactive
    classDef inactive fill:#ccc,stroke:#666,stroke-dasharray: 5 5
    R11111111111111111111111111111111 -.depends on.-> R22222222222222222222222222222222
    R22222222222222222222222222222222 -.depends on.-> R33333333333333333333333333333333

Graphviz DOT

Use DOT for local visualization or CI pipeline checks:

var dot = RuleGraphVisualizer.ToDot(workflow);
File.WriteAllText("workflow.dot", dot);

Convert to PNG:

dot -Tpng workflow.dot -o workflow.png

Example DOT output:

digraph Rules {
    rankdir=TB;
    label="Order validation";
    labelloc=t;
    node [shape=box, style=rounded];

    "11111111..." [label="Validate customer", style="filled", fillcolor="lightblue", shape="box"];
    "22222222..." [label="Check inventory", style="filled", fillcolor="lightblue", shape="box"];
    "33333333..." [label="Apply discount", style="filled", fillcolor="lightblue", shape="box"];

    "11111111..." -> "22222222..." [color="red", style="dashed", label="depends on"];
    "22222222..." -> "33333333..." [color="red", style="dashed", label="depends on"];
}

Visual Elements

Element	Meaning
Red dashed edge	DependsOnRuleId dependency
Blue solid edge	Parent-child relationship
box3d shape	Rule with child rules
box shape	Leaf rule (no children)
Light blue fill	Active rule
Light grey / dashed	Inactive rule

Including Inactive Rules

By default, inactive rules are hidden. Include them to audit your full rule set:

var dot = RuleGraphVisualizer.ToDot(workflow, includeInactive: true);
var mermaid = RuleGraphVisualizer.ToMermaid(workflow, includeInactive: true);

Single Rule Trees

Visualize just one rule and its descendants:

var rootRule = workflow.Rules.First();
var dot = RuleGraphVisualizer.ToDot(rootRule);

CI Integration

Generate diagrams in CI to catch unintended dependency changes:

- name: Generate rule graph
  run: |
    dotnet run --project MyApp -- generate-rule-graph
    dot -Tpng rules.dot -o rules.png
- name: Upload diagram
  uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
  with:
    name: rule-graph
    path: rules.png

Escaping

Labels are automatically escaped for their target format:

• DOT: quotes, backslashes, newlines
• Mermaid: brackets, parentheses, braces

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Related

• Rule — ChildRules and DependsOnRuleId properties
• Workflow — Generate workflow-wide diagrams
• Examples: Visualization — CI/CD workflow diagrams