mermaidAPI Deprecation

[dpdlewis]

I am using the deprecated mermaidAPI object as I require the function getDiagramFromText, parse and render do not provide the same functionality. I need a function which can parse Mermaid and construct an AST from it, which the deprecated mermaidAPI object lets me do. If you can provide something for this which is not deprecated, it would be useful.

[abhishekkushwahaa]

Hi @dpdlewis,

Thanks for bringing this up!

I understand the concern — the mermaidAPI object being deprecated makes it tricky when you need to parse Mermaid text and construct an AST, as the standard parse and render functions don’t offer the same functionality.

A couple of points to consider:

1. Deprecation Doesn’t Mean Immediate Removal

   • Deprecated APIs often stay in the library for a while, so you can still use mermaidAPI temporarily, but it’s good to plan for a migration.

2. Possible Alternatives

   • Currently, there isn’t a direct replacement in the stable Mermaid API for building an AST from text.
   • One option is to explore internal parsing functions (mermaid.parse()) in combination with the new rendering pipeline, though this may require some custom code.

3. Feature Request

   • It would make sense for the Mermaid team to expose a non-deprecated AST parsing function, since programmatic diagram analysis is a valid use case. Submitting a feature request (or bumping this discussion) might help prioritize it.

In the meantime, using mermaidAPI carefully in a controlled environment may be the most practical approach until an official replacement exists.