Pretty Fish: A slick, web-native editor for Mermaid diagrams

What is Pretty Fish?

Pretty Fish is a new web editor that aims to make Mermaid — the text-first diagram language beloved by engineers and documentation writers — less finicky and more delightful. The site bills itself as “a better mermaid diagram editor,” offering a live preview, export options, and a minimal interface that keeps your hands on the keyboard. Simple, focused. No bloat. Finally, a place where your flowcharts don't look like they were drawn by a sleep-deprived robot.

Features and first impressions

On a quick spin it feels fast. The editor shows code and rendered output side-by-side, supports themes, and offers image export. It has been reported that users on Hacker News praised the instant feedback loop and the clean UI. Some commenters allegedly noted missing advanced features (plugins, collaboration), but overall the reaction skewed positive: people tired of wrestling Mermaid’s quirks seemed relieved. Small details matter here — keyboard shortcuts, sensible defaults, and sane error messages — and Pretty Fish appears to have paid attention.

Why this matters

Mermaid has quietly become the lingua franca for docs, README diagrams, and quick architecture sketches. Tools that lower the friction of building and maintaining those visuals matter more than they might seem. Will Pretty Fish be the VS Code of Mermaid, or just another neat toy? Time will tell. In the meantime, it's a tidy, focused utility that scratches an itch many of us have felt: making diagrams without a fight. Who wouldn’t want that?

Sources: pretty.fish, Hacker News