Install umlet with Homebrew, apt, Nix, scoop

Project links

• Homepage
• Repository
• Upstream docs
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

• umlet
• umlet-15.1

Project history

UMLet's official change history traces the project back to v0.1 on January 25, 2001 and records v1.0 on June 21, 2002. The v1.0 notes already contain the long-running identity of the project: a lightweight Java application, cross-platform usability, a text editor panel for element attributes, undo/redo, new diagram types, and image export.

The project evolved through a standalone Java application and an Eclipse plugin, with early releases adding SVG/PDF export, XML-based file storage, GPL licensing, custom graphical elements, EPS export, Eclipse 3 support, palette handling, and text-based sequence diagrams. Later official site text describes UMLetino as the web app and a Visual Studio Code extension as another way to use the same fast-diagramming idea.

UMLet's core concept has remained deliberately unusual among UML tools: diagram elements are changed through text input and a small markdown dialect instead of modal property dialogs. The official site also documents runtime-customizable Java code for custom elements, letting users tailor their own diagram elements inside the tool.

Adoption history

Official download pages and the homepage show adoption across Windows, macOS, Linux, Eclipse, web, and VS Code contexts. The Homebrew input also records packaging through Brew, Debian, Nix, and Scoop, reflecting the tool's long tail as a Java desktop utility that still fits modern package-manager distribution.

For developers and students, UMLet became useful where quick UML sketches mattered more than heavyweight model repositories. Its plain-text editing model, clipboard/export support, and small standalone footprint made it comfortable for people who install tools through package managers and want diagrams near code rather than inside a large modeling suite.

How it is used

Users create class, use-case, sequence, state, deployment, and activity diagrams; edit elements in a text panel; use palettes and Ctrl+Space help; export to EPS, PDF, JPG, SVG, or clipboard; and create custom UML elements. The package exposes command-line launchers in package managers, but the main workflow is a graphical desktop or plugin/web editor.

In package-nerd practice, UMLet is the sort of tool installed for occasional architecture diagrams, README illustrations, classroom material, or issue discussions: lightweight enough to keep available through Homebrew, Debian, Nix, or Scoop without committing to a full modeling environment.

Why package nerds care

UMLet is significant because it is a long-lived, cross-platform developer tool with a stable, packageable identity: Java-based, GPL, standalone/plugin/web/VS Code surfaces, and file/export workflows that do not require a hosted account.

Its history is unusually well documented by the project's own site, including the pre-1.0 era, which makes it stronger than many small GUI tools for source-backed package-history enrichment.

Timeline

• 2001: UMLet v0.1 released on January 25, according to the official change-history page.
• 2002: UMLet 1.0 released on June 21 as a lightweight Java application with text-panel editing and cross-platform usability.
• Early 2000s: Releases add SVG/PDF export, GPL open source licensing, XML file format, custom graphical elements, EPS export, and Eclipse plugin support.
• Later releases: UMLet adds text-based sequence/activity features, improved exports, OS/Eclipse integration, web improvements, dark mode, and a VS Code extension.

Related projects

• The official site names UMLetino as the web app, the Eclipse plugin, and the Visual Studio Code extension as related project surfaces.

Sources

• https://api.github.com/repos/umlet/umlet
• https://www.umlet.com/
• https://www.umlet.com/changes.htm
• source_facts.package-manager