yEd
yEd is a desktop graph editor for creating diagrams, flowcharts, network maps, UML, and other visual models with automatic layout tools.
What is yEd?
yEd is a desktop graph editor that helps you create diagrams and graph-based visuals on macOS and other major desktop platforms. It is designed for users who need to build flowcharts, UML diagrams, network maps, mind maps, BPMN diagrams, family trees, and other structured visual documents. The app combines manual drawing tools with automatic layout algorithms, which makes it useful both for designing a diagram from scratch and for arranging larger imported data sets into a readable view. yEd also supports importing data such as Excel spreadsheets or XML and exporting diagrams to common image and document formats. Its interface includes editing, navigation, and property tools for refining nodes, edges, labels, and overall structure. Published by yWorks GmbH, yEd is commonly used in business, education, software planning, documentation, and analysis workflows.
Key features
- Create flowcharts, UML diagrams, BPMN charts, network maps, and other graph-based visuals.
- Automatically arrange diagram elements with built-in layout algorithms.
- Import structured data from Excel spreadsheets and XML files.
- Edit node, edge, label, and style properties in a visual desktop interface.
- Export diagrams to formats such as PNG, JPG, SVG, and PDF.
- Work with large graphs using navigation and overview tools.
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Safety overview
Status: Mostly safe
yEd is a legitimate diagramming application from yWorks GmbH. For normal use, its file access and document-handling behavior are consistent with a desktop editor. As with any app that opens imported documents, use caution with files from untrusted sources, especially spreadsheet or XML-based imports. If you installed yEd manually, confirm that the app is the genuine yWorks release and that the bundle ID is com.yworks.yEd before granting ongoing trust.
Recommendation: Keep yEd if you use it for diagramming, planning, or graph visualization. If you no longer open it, you can remove the app to free space without affecting macOS, though you may also want to remove its saved support and preference files if you want a complete cleanup.
Common paths
/Applications/yEd.app
Support paths
~/Library/yWorks/yEd
Preference paths
~/Library/Preferences/com.yworks.yEd.plist
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