Eraser
Eraser turns prompts, infrastructure code, files or a Git repository into editable technical diagrams and design docs. Built for engineering teams, architects and DevOps groups that need architecture, sequence, ERD, flowchart and BPMN documentation kept current.
What is Eraser?
Eraser is an AI-assisted technical diagramming and documentation tool published by Eraser Labs, Inc., a San Francisco company. It positions itself around a single idea, AI for diagrams that matter, and describes itself as an AI tool for technical design and documentation built for engineering teams.
Three things can start a diagram: free text, code, or a file. Paste a prompt, drop in Terraform, or upload a design doc. Images are accepted as PNG, JPEG or WebP, documents as PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Draw.io or Visio. From those inputs Eraser produces cloud architecture diagrams, data flows, sequence and network diagrams, flowcharts, entity-relationship diagrams, BPMN swimlanes and wireframes.
What comes back is never a locked image. Every AI result lands on an infinite canvas that can be edited by hand, rewritten as diagram-as-code in Eraser's DSL, or adjusted through AI chat, three editing modes over the same object. Consistency across a team comes from reference libraries, naming and notation rules, policies, patterns, shared styles and templates, plus more than 3,000 built-in technical icons for AWS, GCP, Azure and Kubernetes. Documents sit alongside the canvas: markdown notes, figure embeds, wikilinks and AI-generated design doc outlines. Microsites map a whole system with interactive C4 drill-down across context, containers and components, with guided explanations.
Keeping diagrams true to reality is the other half of the product. Eraser syncs with sources of truth such as code, cloud accounts and internal catalogs, and Eraserbot hooks into CI to comment on pull requests with refreshed diagrams whenever watched files change. An MCP server exposes the same operations to AI agents over HTTP and stdio with OAuth or API tokens, and an MIT-licensed, self-hostable agent toolkit is published on GitHub. A REST API covers prompt-to-diagram generation, DSL rendering, CRUD on files, diagrams and folders, generation history, usage metrics and audit logs.
Eraser claims more than 5,000 customers and cites case studies reporting up to 90% less diagramming time, ten times faster delivery and a 30% developer productivity gain. Security rests on an independently audited SOC 2 Type 2 and an annual penetration test, with reports available under NDA through a trust portal. Deployment is multi-tenant, single-tenant or self-hosted, the latter two on Enterprise only, alongside a central admin console, roles and permissions, SAML SSO and SCIM. Eraser states that it does not train models on customer content.
What it does
- Generate a technical diagram from a natural-language prompt
- Convert Terraform, Helm and other infrastructure code into an architecture diagram
- Turn an uploaded document or image into an editable diagram
- Refine any diagram through AI chat, in diagram-as-code, or by hand on the canvas
- Anchor diagrams on a public or private Git repository and keep them current with Eraserbot in CI
- Draft design docs and technical documentation with AI assistance, and publish living diagrams into Notion and Confluence
- Create, search, read, update and export diagrams from an AI agent over MCP, or programmatically through the REST API
When to use Eraser / When not to
A quick filter to help you decide if Eraser is the right fit.
When to use Eraser
- Engineering teams that document a system architecture and then have to keep that documentation accurate as the codebase moves.
- Enterprise architects mapping entire systems, who need interactive C4 drill-down across context, container and component levels.
- DevOps and platform teams who would rather start from Terraform, Helm charts or a Git repository than from a blank canvas.
- Technical consultants who have to show a client's infrastructure clearly, the kind of work described in the DNX and 7EDGE testimonials.
- Security-conscious organizations that require SOC 2 Type 2, SAML SSO and, on the Enterprise plan, self-hosting or single-tenancy.
When not to use Eraser
- Anyone who needs to work from a phone or tablet: no iOS or Android application exists, so Eraser runs in a desktop browser only.
- Teams working in a language other than English, since the site advertises no other interface language.
- Designers looking for a general-purpose graphics, illustration or presentation tool; Eraser is built for technical diagrams.
- Small teams hoping to run on the free plan alone, which is capped at 3 files, 3 AI credits and 7 days of version history, or needing SAML SSO on a small budget since it starts at the Business plan.
- European organizations that need documented GDPR commitments before they can adopt a tool: the site mentions neither the GDPR nor a DPA, and every declared subprocessor is located in the United States.
How to use Eraser
A typical end-to-end flow, from setup to results.
- Create an account on app.eraser.io with an email address, Google or Microsoft; SAML SSO becomes available from the Business plan.
- Open a file: in Eraser, a file is an infinite canvas paired with a notes editor.
- Start the diagram the way that suits the task, by describing it in plain language, pasting code, or uploading a document or image.
- Refine the result through AI chat, by editing the diagram-as-code, or by moving elements around on the canvas.
- Ground future output by adding reference libraries, rules, custom styles and team templates.
- Connect a public or private Git repository so that diagrams are generated from the real codebase.
- Enable Eraserbot to watch chosen files and comment on pull requests with updated diagrams.
- Install the VS Code extension to edit the DSL without leaving the IDE, and embed diagrams in Notion or Confluence so they update at the source.
- For agents, add the mcpServers block pointing at the Eraser MCP endpoint, or run the npx skills install command; for code, issue an API token and call the REST endpoints.
- Work with the team through comments, mentions, real-time editing and unlimited free guests, with private files from Starter, then export to PDF, PNG, SVG or MD.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Three ways in, text, code or file, where most diagramming tools offer only one
- AI output is never frozen: every diagram stays editable by hand, in code, or through chat
- Reference libraries and house rules ground the output, so diagrams look like the team's actual systems rather than a generic cloud picture
- Diagrams that refresh themselves from the code, through Eraserbot in CI and Git repository sync
- A clear and repeated commitment that customer content is not used to train models, LLM provider included, backed by a public list of named subprocessors
- SOC 2 Type 2 audited with an annual penetration test, and deployment options that are rare at this level: single-tenant and self-hosted
- A permanently free plan, unlimited free guests on every plan, and education and non-profit discounts on request
Cons
- The free plan is very narrow: 3 files and 3 AI credits only
- AI credits stay capped on paid plans too, at 40 on Starter and 250 on Business, and API calls are billed on usage outside the plan price
- SAML SSO is unavailable before the Business plan, and self-hosting and single-tenancy are reserved for Enterprise, whose price is not public
- No mobile application, and no interface language other than English is announced
- No mention of the GDPR, no DPA identified and no Article 27 representative
- All declared subprocessors are located in the United States, with no regional hosting option announced
- A single generic contact address on tryeraser.com, a different domain from the product, with no dedicated legal or data protection mailbox
Pricing & Plans
Eraser follows a freemium model with four tiers: Free, Starter, Business and Enterprise. A permanently free plan is available at no cost. The lowest paid entry point is Starter at USD 15.00 per member per month on annual billing, or USD 20 per member per month billed monthly. Business is USD 45 per member per month billed annually, or USD 60 billed monthly, and Enterprise pricing is quoted on request through the sales team. Pricing is charged per member; guests are unlimited and free on every plan. API calls are billed on usage from the Starter plan onwards and sit outside the displayed plan price. No time-limited free trial is advertised on the pricing page, the terms stating only that Eraser may offer one. Education and non-profit discounts are available on request. Subscription fees are non-refundable except where the law requires otherwise, although Eraser indicates that requests may be reviewed case by case. Enterprise customers also gain extended payment methods, including ACH and wire transfer, and custom contracts.
- 3 files
- 3 AI diagrams
- 7-day version history
- unlimited guests
- diagram-as-code
- markdown notes and the GitHub
- Notion
- Confluence and VS Code integrations
- everything in Free plus unlimited files
- 40 AI diagrams
- 90-day version history
- private files
- 20 custom icons and API calls
- everything in Starter plus 250 AI diagrams
- unlimited version history
- SAML SSO
- 100 custom icons and reference diagrams
- everything in Business plus unlimited files and AI diagrams
- flexible deployments
- a customer success manager
- ACH and wire transfer payment
- usage reporting and custom contracts
Data, GDPR & hosting
A consolidated view of how Eraser handles your data.
GDPR overview
No GDPR documentation was found on the site. The privacy policy never mentions the GDPR, states no legal basis for processing, and describes no rights of access, rectification or erasure. No Article 27 EU representative is designated, no data protection officer is named, and the only privacy contact is hello@tryeraser.com. No DPA is published or announced as available on request. The single European reference in the terms is that an EU consumer keeps the mandatory provisions of the law of their country of residence. International transfers are described generically, with no standard contractual clauses cited, and Eraser Labs declares no EU presence. This is an observed absence of published documentation rather than a demonstrated breach: the company is SOC 2 Type 2 audited, runs an annual penetration test, publishes its subprocessor list, and states that it applies security and legal due diligence to each subprocessor.
Who owns the data?
Eraser's terms are unambiguous about ownership: you retain sole ownership of any content you post or otherwise submit through the service. Posting content grants Eraser Labs a revocable, worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive and sub-licensable license, but the scope of that license is expressly limited. It covers using, reproducing and displaying your content solely for the purpose of providing the service to you, and the terms add that Eraser will not use your content for any other purpose and will not distribute it to any third party without your permission. The Enterprise page restates the same principle in plainer language: your data is your data.
Reuse rights
The privacy policy lists the personal data collected: email address, first and last name, and usage data such as IP address, browser type, pages visited, time spent and device identifiers. The stated purposes are providing and maintaining the service, managing your account, performing the contract, contacting you, sending commercial information, handling your requests, business transfers and usage analysis. Data may be shared with service providers for analytics, payment and communication, during a business transfer, with other users in the public areas of the service, and with your consent. Cookies fall into four groups: necessary, acceptance, functionality, and tracking and performance, the last of these administered by third parties. Payment card details are never stored by Eraser and are handled by a PCI-DSS compliant payment processor. On the point that matters most for technical documentation, Eraser states that it will never use user data to train models, and that its LLM API provider OpenAI will not either. Nine subprocessors are named on a dedicated page, all of them located in the United States.
Data retention & training
Hosting summary
The subprocessor page names Google Cloud as Eraser's infrastructure provider, located in the United States. All nine declared subprocessors are listed in the United States, and no European hosting region and no data residency option is announced anywhere on the site. The privacy policy is generic about transfers, stating that your information, including personal data, is processed at the company's operating offices and in any other places where the parties involved in the processing are located; no standard contractual clauses or other named transfer mechanism appears. Two alternatives exist for customers who cannot accept a shared, US-hosted service: single-tenant hosting, or self-hosting inside the customer's own infrastructure, both restricted to the Enterprise plan. Note that the website itself is served behind Cloudflare on anycast addresses, which says nothing about where content is actually stored. In short, hosting is in the United States by default on Google Cloud, with no announced regional choice, and isolation is available only through an Enterprise deployment.
Where Eraser works
Country-level availability.
Not available in
Things to keep in mind
Risks and trade-offs to weigh before adopting Eraser.
- The privacy policy and terms still designate www.tryeraser.com as the site rather than eraser.io, and the only privacy contact, hello@tryeraser.com, sits on that older domain: the legal documents lag behind the product.
- No mention of the GDPR, no DPA, no Article 27 representative and no data protection officer, all of which a European buyer will have to raise directly with the vendor.
- The nine declared subprocessors are all located in the United States, including OpenAI and Anthropic as LLM providers.
- The Visit Trust Portal link on the Enterprise page points to trust.eraser.io, which does not respond; the actual portal sits on another domain.
- AI credits are consumed per diagram, 3 on the free plan, 40 on Starter and 250 on Business, and API calls are billed on usage outside the displayed plan price, so heavy months can cost more than the sticker price suggests.
- Subscriptions renew automatically and fees are non-refundable except where the law requires otherwise.
- AI-generated diagrams read as authoritative even when they are wrong: treat a generated architecture as a draft to be checked against the real system before it becomes the team's reference.
Setup & Integrations
Technical difficulty
Getting started needs no installation and no technical skill: sign up with an email address, Google or Microsoft, then work in the browser, where a first diagram takes a single prompt. Intermediate use means learning the diagram-as-code DSL, connecting Notion or Confluence, or installing the VS Code extension. Advanced use raises the bar: connecting a Git repository, configuring Eraserbot in CI, and calling the REST API with a token. MCP setup stays light, a three-line JSON block or one npx command. SAML SSO, SCIM and allowed email domains need an identity administrator, and self-hosting is a full infrastructure project.
Deployment
Integrations
Behind Eraser
Fundraising
Social
Resources
All the official URLs gathered for verification and reference.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use Eraser for free?
What is a file in Eraser?
What is the difference between a member and a guest?
Is my content used to train AI models?
How do AI diagrams work?
Is there an API?
Which AI agents work with Eraser, and what can the MCP server do?
Can Eraser be self-hosted?
What security certifications does Eraser hold?
Is there a minimum age to use Eraser?
Should you pick Eraser?
Eraser is a mature and deliberately narrow product: it makes technical diagrams and technical documentation, not general-purpose drawings or slideware. Its strongest idea is grounding. Reference libraries, house rules and team templates teach the AI what your systems actually look like, and a connected Git repository or a block of infrastructure code anchors the output on reality rather than on a generic cloud picture. The three editing modes matter just as much: whatever the AI produces can be reworked by prompt, rewritten as diagram-as-code, or dragged around on the canvas, so nothing arrives as a dead image. Eraserbot then handles the part teams usually skip, refreshing diagrams in CI and commenting on pull requests when watched files change.
The security story is solid for a product of this size: an independently audited SOC 2 Type 2, an annual penetration test, a public list of named subprocessors, an explicit commitment that customer content never trains models, the LLM provider included, and single-tenant or self-hosted deployment on Enterprise.
The main reservation is jurisdictional. The site documents no GDPR position, no DPA, no Article 27 representative and no DPO, and every declared subprocessor sits in the United States with no regional hosting option announced. That is an absence of published documentation rather than a demonstrated failing, but a European organization will need to raise those questions directly with Eraser Labs before adopting the tool. A secondary reservation is commercial: AI credits are capped on every plan, and the governance features, SAML SSO, single-tenancy and self-hosting, live on the upper tiers.
The verdict is straightforward. For an English-speaking engineering team documenting a living architecture, Eraser is convincing and unusually well fitted to the way that work already happens. For a regulated European buyer, it deserves a due diligence conversation first.
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