Text to org chart
Text to org chart: turn an indented list into a chart
In short
Type one person per line, indent people under their manager, and this page draws the org chart — top-down, one box per person with name and title. It also lists who reports to whom, counts levels and direct reports (span of control), and gives you the chart as Mermaid flowchart TB code. Two spaces, four spaces or tabs all work; a dash after the name separates the title.
Org chart
Span of control
Reports-to table
| Name | Title | Reports to | Level | Direct reports |
|---|
Mermaid flowchart code
Runs in your browser — the list is parsed locally and never uploaded. Only the finished chart spec (names and titles as box labels) is sent to our free image endpoint to draw the SVG; nothing is stored.
Updated · by the ChartCraft team
How should I write the list?
Indentation is the only structure: a line indented deeper than the one above reports to it. Everything else is optional. The parser normalises mixed tabs and spaces (a tab counts as four spaces), ignores blank lines and bullet markers, and accepts any consistent indent step.
| You write | The tool reads | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Maya Chen — CEO | name Maya Chen, title CEO | An em dash, en dash, hyphen or colon with spaces around it separates name from title; Maya Chen (CEO) also works. |
Daniel Okafor — CTO | reports to the nearest line above with less indent | Two spaces, four spaces or a tab — any step, as long as a report is deeper than its manager. |
Dana Ruiz | name only, no title | The box shows just the name; the title column reads —. |
| Two lines at indent 0 | two top-level people (a forest) | They are drawn side by side under a small virtual root labelled with the chart title, connected by dashed lines. |
Blank lines, - or * bullets | ignored | So a Markdown list pastes straight in. |
| A first line that is indented | error on that line | The chart needs a top: outdent the first person. |
| Same name twice | two separate people | Names are not deduplicated — a person with two managers (matrix) is drawn twice; use the studio for a true dotted line. |
What do the span-of-control numbers mean?
Span of control is the number of people who report directly to one manager. The tool reports the average across managers (people with at least one report), the largest span, the number of levels from the top person down to the deepest leaf, and the widest level — the layer with the most people, which is where a chart gets hard to read.
| Statistic | How it is computed | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Levels (max depth) | Longest chain from a top-level person to a leaf, counting both ends. | More levels mean more hand-offs between the top and the front line; many organisations try to keep this small. |
| Widest level | Level with the most people and how many. | Tells you where to split the chart into pages or departments. |
| Managers / individual contributors | People with ≥ 1 direct report vs. people with none. | A quick read of how top-heavy the structure is. |
| Average span of control | Total direct reports ÷ number of managers, one decimal. | A low average with many levels suggests a tall hierarchy; a high average a flat one. There is no single correct number — it depends on how similar and self-directed the work is. |
| Largest span of control | The manager with the most direct reports. | Flags the one box that may need a team lead underneath it. |
| Top-level people | Lines with no indent. | More than one means the list has no shared root; add a line above them if the chart should start from one person. |
What are the standard org chart conventions?
Org charts are not governed by a formal standard the way UML is, but a handful of conventions are so widely used that readers expect them. The last column says what this text tool draws and what needs the studio.
| Convention | Meaning | How it is drawn | This tool |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solid line | Direct (line) reporting relationship: the manager sets priorities and does the performance review. | Vertical line from the bottom of the manager's box to the top of the report's. | Yes — every indent becomes a solid line. |
| Dotted line | Secondary or functional reporting: the person takes direction from this manager for part of their work but is reviewed elsewhere. | Dashed line, usually drawn to the side so it does not cross the solid tree. | No — add it in the studio ("dotted line from X to Y"). |
| Assistant / staff position | A role that supports a manager without being in the chain of command (executive assistant, chief of staff). | Box hung off the side of the manager's vertical line, above the direct reports. | No — list them as a report, then move the box in the studio. |
| Matrix reporting | Two managers, typically a functional lead and a project or product lead. | One solid line plus one dotted line, or a grid of functions × projects. | Partly — list the person under one manager; add the second line in the studio. |
| Vacancy / open role | A position in the structure that is unfilled. | Dashed box, or the title with "TBH" / "Open" in place of the name. | Yes — write Open — Head of Marketing. |
| Co-leads / shared role | Two people jointly hold one position. | One box with both names, or two boxes joined by a horizontal bar. | Partly — write both names in one line: Ana Ruiz & Tom Lee — Co-founders. |
| Department grouping | Boxes of one department share a colour or a surrounding frame. | Colour band or a labelled container. | No — use groups in the studio. |
| Levels left to right | Some charts (especially for large organisations) run left to right so wide levels fit on a page. | Same tree rotated 90°. | Mermaid: change flowchart TB to flowchart LR in the code. |
What does the Mermaid code look like?
A Mermaid flowchart TB with one node per person — the name in bold and the title on a second line, using <br/> inside the label — and one --> edge per reporting line. The ids (p1, p2, …) follow the order of the list.
flowchart TB
p1["<b>Maya Chen</b><br/>CEO"]
p2["<b>Daniel Okafor</b><br/>CTO"]
p3["<b>Priya Raman</b><br/>Engineering Manager"]
p4["<b>Sofia Rossi</b><br/>COO"]
p1 --> p2
p2 --> p3
p1 --> p4For a departmental colour band, add classDef eng fill:#eef3ff and class p2,p3 eng at the end. The shapes and arrows are explained on the flowchart symbols page; a finished example is the 12-person startup org chart in the gallery.
Questions
How do I make an org chart from a text list?
Write one person per line and indent each person under their manager — two spaces, four spaces or a tab per level. Put the title after a dash (Maya Chen — CEO). The chart redraws as you type; download it as SVG or PNG, copy the Mermaid code, or open it in the studio to add dotted lines, photos or department colours.
Can I paste a list from Excel, Google Sheets or Notion?
Yes, if the hierarchy is expressed by indentation. From a spreadsheet, put the names in one column with leading spaces per level, or export the outline from Notion or Workflowy, which both copy as an indented list with tab characters — tabs are read as one level each.
What if my organisation has two or more people at the top?
Leave both at indent 0. The tool draws a forest: a small virtual root box with the chart title connected by dashed lines to each top-level person. If you want a single root, add a line above them (for example a board or a holding company).
Can it draw dotted-line or matrix reporting?
Not from text — indentation can only express one manager per person. List the person under their primary manager, open the chart in the studio and ask for a dotted line to the second manager; the studio draws it dashed and routed around the tree.
What is a good span of control?
There is no universal number. Spans tend to be wider where the work is similar and self-directed (a support team) and narrower where it needs close coordination (a research group). Use the average and the largest span on this page to spot the outliers rather than to hit a target.
Is the org chart maker free?
Yes. Parsing, the chart image, the SVG and PNG downloads and the Mermaid code are free and need no account. Editing in the studio is free for your first three diagrams; a free account gives you five a month.
Why does the chart show the title on the same line as the name?
The instant preview is drawn by ChartCraft's image API, which renders each box as a single wrapped label. The Mermaid code puts the title on its own line with <br/>, and the studio renders the two lines separately as well.