# A more basic getting started Writing mermaid code is simple. But how is it turned into a diagram in a web page? To do this We need a mermaid renderer. Thankfully the mermaid renderer is very accessible. The requirement is on the part of the web browser (modern web browsers such as Firefox, Chrome, Safari work, but Internet Explorer does not). The web browser also needs to be able to access the online mermaid renderer at cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/ Here is one example using an online mermaid editor, one example using a mermaid plugin and one example using a generic web server. Following either of these examples, you can get started converting your own mermaid code into web diagrams. ## the mermaid live editor The quickest way to get started with mermaid is to visit [The mermaid live editor](https://mermaidjs.github.io/mermaid-live-editor). In the `Code` section one can write or edit raw mermaid code, and instantly `Preview` the rendered result. This is a great way to get started. It is also the easiest way to develop diagrams, the code of which can be pasted straight into documentation. ![Flowchart](./img/n00b-liveEditor.png) The `Mermaid configuration` is for controlling the behaviour of mermaid. An easy introduction is found in the [n00b Advanced section] and a complete configuration reference is found [here]. ## mermaid using plugins Thanks to the growing popularity of mermaid, many plugins already exist which incorporate a mermaid renderer. One example is the [Atlassian Confluence mermaid plugin](https://marketplace.atlassian.com/apps/1214124/mermaid-plugin-for-confluence?hosting=server&tab=overview) When the mermaid plugin is installed on a Confluence server, one can insert a mermaid object into any Confluence page. --- - In a Confluence page, Add Other macros. ![Flowchart](./img/n00b-Confluence1.png) --- - Search for mermaid. ![Flowchart](./img/n00b-Confluence2.png) --- - The mermaid object appears. Paste your mermaid code in it. ![Flowchart](./img/n00b-Confluence3.png) --- - Save the page. ![Flowchart](./img/n00b-Confluence4.png) --- ## mermaid using any web server This example can be used with any web server: Apache, IIS, nginx, node express [...] We do not need to install anything on the server, to have it serve a mermaid diagram to a web browser (such as Firefox, Chrome, Safari, but not Internet Explorer). Instead, we need to give the web browser three instructions inside the html code it retrieves: 1. a reference for fetching the online mermaid renderer, which in essence is a javascript. 2. the mermaid code we want to diagram. 3. the initialize mermaid command. All this is done in the html `` section of the web page. The reference to the mermaid renderer is done in a ` ``` The embedded mermaid code is similarly placed in a ` ``` Putting the three steps together is as simple as: ``` Here the mermaid renderer is loaded: Here we trigger the mermaid renderer, upon which it starts looking for mermaid
tags: Here is one mermaid diagram:
graph TD A[Client] --> B[Load Balancer] B --> C[Server01] B --> D[Server02]
And here is another diagram:
graph TD A[Client] -->|tcp_1234| B(Load Balancer) B -->|tcp_5678| C[Server01] B -->|tcp_5678| D[Server02]
``` Save this to a file and fetch it with a browser from the web server. Voila! --- Three additional comments from Knut, the creator of mermaid: - In early versions of mermaid, the `