How to Convert Excalidraw to Draw.io

Excalidraw and Draw.io are two of the most popular diagramming tools, but they use completely different file formats. This guide explains when and how to convert between them.

When You Need This Conversion

Excalidraw is great for quick, hand-drawn-style diagrams — many developers use it inside Obsidian or directly at excalidraw.com. But when you need to share diagrams with a team that uses Draw.io (diagrams.net), or when you need features like layering, advanced connectors, or Confluence/Jira integration, converting to .drawio format becomes necessary.

Common scenarios:

  • Sharing Excalidraw sketches with teammates who use Draw.io
  • Moving from personal notes (Obsidian + Excalidraw) to team documentation
  • Embedding diagrams in Confluence or Jira via the Draw.io plugin
  • Migrating a collection of Excalidraw files to a Draw.io-based workflow

Step-by-Step Conversion

1
Open Orriguii Diagram Converter

Go to the converter tool. No installation or sign-up is required.

2
Drop your Excalidraw file

Drag and drop your .excalidraw or .excalidraw.md file into the drop zone. You can also click to browse. The source format is auto-detected. Batch conversion is supported — drop multiple files at once.

3
Select “.drawio” as the output format

Click the .drawio option in the format selector. Conversion starts automatically.

4
Download the .drawio file

Click “Download” to save the converted file. Open it in diagrams.net or the Draw.io desktop app.

What Gets Converted

The converter preserves the following elements:

  • Rectangles, ellipses, diamonds, and other basic shapes
  • Text content and positioning
  • Arrows and connectors between shapes
  • Colors, stroke styles, and fill colors
  • Grouping and basic layout

Some Excalidraw-specific features like the hand-drawn style or freehand drawings may look different in Draw.io, since Draw.io uses a different rendering engine. The structural content and connections are preserved accurately.

Privacy Note

All conversion runs entirely in your browser. Your diagram files are never uploaded to any server. This makes the tool safe for proprietary or confidential diagrams.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I convert Excalidraw to Draw.io without installing software?

Yes. Orriguii Diagram Converter runs entirely in your browser. Just drag your .excalidraw file into the converter, select .drawio as the output, and download the result. No installation or account is needed.

What elements are preserved when converting Excalidraw to Draw.io?

The converter preserves rectangles, ellipses, diamonds, text, arrows, connectors, colors, stroke styles, fill colors, and grouping. Excalidraw's hand-drawn rendering style is not preserved since Draw.io uses a different rendering engine, but all structural content and connections are maintained.

Can I convert .excalidraw.md files from Obsidian to Draw.io?

Yes. The converter automatically detects the .excalidraw.md format used by the Obsidian Excalidraw plugin. It extracts the embedded Excalidraw data and converts it to .drawio format.