View and edit Wardley Maps directly inside VS Code. The extension
opens .wmap / .owm files (the Online-Wardley-Maps text DSL)
in a graphical editor — the text file stays the source of truth, so save, Git, and diff keep working.
Features
Custom editor for .wmap / .owm. Open a map file and you get the full graphical editor; the
file on disk stays plain OWM-DSL text.
The text file is the source of truth. VS Code handles dirty state, save (Ctrl/Cmd+S), Git,
and diffing for free; editing the text in a split view re-renders the canvas live (two-way sync).
Full modeler: palette, context pad, move, connect, resize, inline label editing, evolve by
drag. Undo/redo via Ctrl/Cmd+Z.
Export SVG & PNG with the scene embedded — exported images can be reopened as editable maps.
Editable embedded-PNG maps (*.wmap.png / *.owm.png). The map is stored inside the PNG (a
tEXt chunk), so the file stays a normal image you can drop into a wiki, README, or chat — and
still edit graphically.
Self-hosted font — no CDN, offline-capable.
Getting started
Install Wardley Maps from the VS Code Marketplace, then open any .wmap or .owm file — or
create one with the commands below.
Commands
Wardley: New Empty Map — pick a location, get a blank map.
Wardley: New Map from Example — same, pre-filled with the Tea Shop example.
Wardley: New Empty Map (embedded PNG) — pick a location for a *.wmap.png; press Ctrl/Cmd+S
once to render the first PNG, then edit it like any other map.
To reopen a map as raw text, use View: Reopen Editor With… → Text Editor.
Development
Building from source and the dev loop are documented in
CONTRIBUTING.md.
