Installation

You can use kUML in four ways: as a standalone CLI, as a Gradle plugin in your build, as an IntelliJ IDE plugin for editor support, or as a VS Code extension. Pick whichever matches the workflow you want; they all read the same *.kuml.kts script files.

Prerequisites

  • Java 21 or newer for the CLI, Gradle plugin, and JetBrains plugin.

  • Node 20+ for the VS Code extension’s command palette (rendering shells out to the CLI).

  • No additional native dependencies — kUML runs on plain Java, no GraphViz, no Python.

CLI

The CLI is the most direct way to render diagrams, generate code, validate OCL constraints, and run state-machine simulations.

Homebrew (macOS / Linux)

brew install kuml-dev/kuml/kuml
kuml --version

Chocolatey (Windows)

Chocolatey is the established package manager for Windows developers and DevOps — the Windows counterpart to Homebrew. The kUML package ships a self-contained Java 21 runtime (jlink), so no separate JDK installation is required.

choco install kuml
kuml --version

Upgrade or remove it the usual way:

choco upgrade kuml
choco uninstall kuml

The Chocolatey package is built and pushed automatically by the release pipeline on every version tag. The first release of a new package enters Chocolatey community moderation (typically 1–3 days); until it is approved, choco install kuml may not yet resolve. Use a direct download in the meantime. Subsequent version updates are approved automatically.

SDKMAN! (coming soon)

SDKMAN! is the JVM-ecosystem package manager (kotlin, gradle, maven, springboot, …). kUML is published as a single UNIVERSAL candidate — one archive for every platform, no bundled JRE — the same shape every other JVM candidate on SDKMAN! uses. Requires an active Java 21+ (sdk install java if you don’t already have one); SDKMAN!'s whole purpose is managing that for you, so kUML relies on it here instead of shipping its own runtime the way the Homebrew/Chocolatey/direct-download channels do.

SDKMAN! installation is not available yet. The release pipeline is in place, but the SDKMAN! vendor onboarding (API keys) is still pending. Until it completes, please use Homebrew, the native installers, or a direct download. This page will be updated with the working sdk install kuml command as soon as the candidate goes live.

Once the candidate is published, installation will work like this:

# Make sure a Java 21+ is active first (skip if you already have one):
sdk install java 21.0.10-tem
sdk use java 21.0.10-tem

# Install the latest stable kUML:
sdk install kuml

# Or pin a specific version:
sdk install kuml {kuml-version}

# Switch between installed versions:
sdk use kuml {kuml-version}

Because the candidate is UNIVERSAL, this works identically on macOS, Linux, and Windows (via WSL or Git Bash) — there is no per-platform gating.

Direct download

Pre-built distributions are attached to each GitHub release. Download the kuml-0.30.0.zip for your platform, unzip, and put bin/kuml on your PATH.

From source

git clone https://github.com/kuml-dev/kUML.git
cd kUML
./gradlew :kuml-cli:installDist
./kuml-cli/build/install/kuml-cli/bin/kuml --version

Gradle plugin

The dev.kuml Gradle plugin is published on the Gradle Plugin Portal and on Maven Central since v0.32.0 — see the Gradle plugin reference for details.

Add the plugin to any Gradle build. The plugin contributes three tasks: kumlRender, kumlGenerate, and kumlValidate.

plugins {
    id("dev.kuml") version "{kuml-version}"
}

kuml {
    sourceDir.set(file("src/main/kuml"))
    outputDir.set(layout.buildDirectory.dir("kuml"))
    format.set("svg")             // "svg" | "png"
    theme.set("kuml")             // any ThemeRegistry name
    generator.set("kotlin")       // "kotlin" | "java" | "sql" | any CodeGenRegistry name
}

Run any of the three tasks:

./gradlew kumlRender    // renders *.kuml.kts to SVG / PNG
./gradlew kumlGenerate  // emits code via the configured generator
./gradlew kumlValidate  // checks OCL invariants, fails on violations

The Gradle plugin uses @CacheableTask annotations throughout — running the same task twice with unchanged inputs is a no-op (UP-TO-DATE).

See the Gradle plugin reference for the full configuration surface.

JetBrains IDE plugin

The IntelliJ Platform plugin adds first-class support for *.kuml.kts files in IntelliJ IDEA, Android Studio, PyCharm, and any other JetBrains IDE based on platform build 243+ (2024.3 or newer).

Install via Settings → Plugins → Marketplace, search for kUML, click Install.

Features:

  • Syntax highlighting inherited from the bundled Kotlin plugin

  • Default imports (dev.kuml.core.dsl., dev.kuml.uml.dsl., dev.kuml.c4.dsl.*) resolve without explicit import statements

  • Custom file icon for *.kuml.kts

  • Refactoring, Find Usages, Structure View — all inherited from Kotlin scripting

See the JetBrains plugin reference for details.

VS Code extension

The VS Code extension provides syntax highlighting, snippets, and a one-click "Render to SVG" command that shells out to the CLI.

Install via Extensions → Search "kUML" → Install.

Features:

  • Syntax highlighting (own TextMate grammar — no Kotlin extension dependency)

  • Snippets: diagram, umlModel, classOf, interfaceOf, enumOf, c4Model, association, stateMachine, applyProfile, and more

  • File icon for *.kuml.kts

  • Command palette: kUML: Render to SVG

Configuration:

{
  "kuml.cliPath": "kuml",
  "kuml.theme": "kuml",
  "kuml.format": "svg"
}

See the VS Code extension reference for details.

Verifying the installation

Run this in any directory:

echo 'classDiagram(name = "Smoke") { classOf("Hello") }' > smoke.kuml.kts
kuml render smoke.kuml.kts --output smoke.svg
open smoke.svg     # or xdg-open / start, depending on your OS

If you see a labelled box for Hello, the installation is working. Continue with the quick start.