Review: Diagrams.net 9.0 Deep Dive — What's New and Worth Trying

Diagrams.net released version 9.0 with several features aimed at larger teams and automation. In this review we test the release across usability, metadata, integrations, and automation. The verdict: version 9.0 makes diagrams.net significantly more compelling for engineering teams that want control without vendor lock-in.

Highlights of 9.0

• Structured Metadata Templates: You can now define templates of required properties on elements and enforce them across a workspace.
• Webhook-driven updates: Element changes can trigger webhooks for downstream automation like ticket creation or pipeline updates.
• Improved collaborative editing: The editing engine has reduced sync lag and improved merge conflict handling.
• Search and catalog: Workspaces include a searchable catalog of diagrams with semantic tags.

Usability and onboarding

The interface remains familiar. New users can create diagrams quickly, while power users will appreciate the metadata templates. Admins can define organization-wide templates that prompt diagram authors to fill required fields before publishing.

Metadata and governance

This release closes a major gap for enterprises: consistent metadata. The templates allow admins to require fields like owner, SLA, and compliance tags. That metadata is stored in the file and exposed via the API, enabling automated audits.

Automation and integrations

Webhooks open interesting possibilities. In our tests we configured a webhook to create a Jira ticket when a critical flag was toggled on a node. The webhook payload included structured element data, which allowed downstream automation to attach context and suggested owners to the ticket.

Collaboration performance

Real-time collaboration has improved. We saw faster cursor update rates and fewer transient conflicts in larger boards. However, for heavy facilitation use cases Miro still has the edge, while Lucidchart remains slightly smoother for dense technical editing.

Accessibility and export

Exports to SVG and PDF retain metadata and text layers, making diagrams more accessible and machine-readable. The new search catalog helps discover diagrams that were previously buried in drives or repos.

Where it falls short

• Onboarding for strict governance needs additional admin tooling that is not yet fully mature.
• Enterprise-level single sign-on and audit reporting require hosting and integration effort compared to commercial SaaS competitors.

Who should upgrade

If your team is already using diagrams.net and needs better metadata and automation, upgrading makes sense. For organizations seeking a vendor-hosted turnkey governance solution, Lucidchart may still be the better option, but diagrams.net 9.0 brings much of the necessary functionality to teams that prefer an open approach.

Scorecard

• User experience: 8/10
• Governance features: 8.5/10
• Integrations/automation: 8/10
• Accessibility and exports: 8/10
• Value for money: 9/10

"Diagrams.net 9.0 reduces the friction for teams that want to treat diagrams as living, governed artifacts without paying for enterprise SaaS lock-in."

Overall rating: 8.3/10. Highly recommended for technical teams that value control, integration, and low cost.