Lowercase end has special meaning in Mermaid flowchart syntax, so using it as a node ID can break the diagram. Rename or capitalize the ID, or use a safe ID and keep end as the visible label.
Why does a Mermaid flowchart fail on a node named end?
Mermaid’s official flowchart documentation warns that typing end in all lowercase letters will break a flowchart. The minimal reported example is state --> end, described in Mermaid GitHub issue #1444, opened June 5, 2020. Its author reported seeing the problem in VS Code Markdown Preview.
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The issue is in the flowchart text being parsed, not necessarily in the editor or preview pane. The report does not identify the Mermaid version bundled with VS Code, and the documentation’s warning does not establish which versions or third-party hosts implement the same parser behavior.
How do you fix a node ID called end?
Capitalize the ID
If the displayed capitalization can change, replace the lowercase ID with End or END. Mermaid’s documentation says capitalizing the whole word or any of its letters avoids the lowercase form that breaks the flowchart.
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flowchart LR
start --> EndKeep the displayed label lowercase
If the box must read exactly end, give it a different, safe ID and put the desired text in the node label. Mermaid distinguishes a node’s identifier from the text displayed in its box:
flowchart LR
start --> finish[end]Here, finish is the ID used to refer to the node; end is the visible label. This applies Mermaid’s documented ID-and-label distinction to the reported problem. If your editor or site uses an older or customized Mermaid release, check the result in that host.
Which fix should you choose?
- Use capitalization when changing the displayed case is acceptable; it is the quickest documented correction.
- Use a different ID with a separate label when the visible text must remain lowercase
end.
Mermaid’s reference links to an additional workaround, but its exact implementation is not described in the documentation material cited here. The two examples above are the fixes supported by the stated syntax guidance.
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