Free Flowchart Templates — Copy, Paste, Customize

The fastest way to create a flowchart is to start from a template that matches your use case. The templates below cover the most common flowchart patterns — approval workflows, troubleshooting guides, onboarding processes, and more. Copy the code, paste it into the free flowchart maker, replace the labels with your content, and export. Each template takes under 5 minutes to customize.

Template 1: Approval Workflow

Use for: expense approvals, leave requests, purchase orders, content sign-off, any request that requires someone else's authorization.

flowchart TD
    A([Request submitted]) --> B[Manager reviews]
    B --> C{Approved?}
    C -- Yes --> D[Process request]
    C -- No --> E[Notify requester with reason]
    E --> F{Resubmit?}
    F -- Yes --> A
    F -- No --> G([Request closed])
    D --> H([Complete])

How to customize: Replace "Manager reviews" with your specific reviewer role. Replace "Process request" with your next step (e.g., "HR processes leave," "Finance issues payment"). Add approval tiers by inserting additional decision diamonds before the final approval.

Template 2: Troubleshooting Decision Tree

Use for: IT support scripts, customer service guides, product troubleshooting documentation, technical runbooks.

flowchart TD
    A{Does the issue occur?} -- No --> B[Monitor for recurrence]
    A -- Yes --> C{Restart fixed it?}
    C -- Yes --> D[Document fix and close]
    C -- No --> E{Error message shown?}
    E -- Yes --> F[Search knowledge base for error]
    E -- No --> G[Check system logs]
    F --> H{Solution found?}
    G --> H
    H -- Yes --> I[Apply fix] --> D
    H -- No --> J[Escalate to tier 2]
    J --> K([Escalated])

How to customize: Replace the generic questions with your product's specific troubleshooting steps. Each diamond is a question with Yes/No paths. Add or remove levels of depth depending on how many known failure modes you have.

Template 3: Employee Onboarding Process

Use for: HR documentation, manager guides, onboarding checklists visualized as a flow.

flowchart TD
    A([Offer accepted]) --> B[IT sets up accounts]
    B --> C[Send welcome email with day 1 details]
    C --> D[Day 1: Orientation]
    D --> E[Week 1: Department intro meetings]
    E --> F{Equipment received?}
    F -- No --> G[Escalate to IT] --> F
    F -- Yes --> H[Setup work environment]
    H --> I[30-day check-in]
    I --> J{On track?}
    J -- Yes --> K[Continue onboarding plan]
    J -- No --> L[Create support plan]
    K --> M([Onboarding complete])
    L --> K

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Template 4: Customer Support Escalation

Use for: support team SOPs, ticket routing documentation, escalation path training.

flowchart TD
    A([Ticket received]) --> B[Tier 1 reviews]
    B --> C{Can resolve?}
    C -- Yes --> D[Resolve and close]
    C -- No --> E{Known bug?}
    E -- Yes --> F[Log and link to bug] --> G[Notify customer of timeline]
    E -- No --> H[Escalate to tier 2]
    H --> I{Resolved in 24h?}
    I -- Yes --> D
    I -- No --> J[Escalate to engineering]
    J --> K[Engineering investigates]
    K --> L{Fix available?}
    L -- Yes --> M[Deploy fix] --> D
    L -- No --> G
    D --> N([Ticket closed])

Template 5: Software Deployment Pipeline

Use for: DevOps documentation, CI/CD pipeline visualization, deployment runbooks.

flowchart LR
    A([Code merged]) --> B[Automated tests]
    B --> C{Tests pass?}
    C -- No --> D([Build failed])
    C -- Yes --> E[Build artifact]
    E --> F[Deploy to staging]
    F --> G[Smoke tests]
    G --> H{Pass?}
    H -- No --> I[Rollback staging] --> D
    H -- Yes --> J{Manual approval?}
    J -- No --> K[Deploy to production]
    J -- Yes --> L[Wait for approval]
    L --> M{Approved?}
    M -- No --> D
    M -- Yes --> K
    K --> N[Monitor for 30 min]
    N --> O{Issues?}
    O -- Yes --> P[Rollback prod] --> D
    O -- No --> Q([Deploy complete])

How to customize: Add or remove test stages. Change "Manual approval" to match your release process — some teams auto-deploy to production, others require a release manager sign-off.

How to Use These Templates

1. Choose the template closest to your use case
2. Open the free flowchart maker in a new tab
3. Copy the template code above and paste it into the editor
4. The diagram renders immediately — verify the structure looks right
5. Replace the labels with your specific steps, roles, and conditions
6. Add new nodes or remove unnecessary ones — each change is one line of text
7. Export PNG or SVG when ready

To change the layout from top-down to left-right, replace flowchart TD with flowchart LR on the first line. Left-right works better for wide processes with many sequential steps.

For a full syntax reference covering all available shapes and arrow types, see the flowchart shapes and symbols guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I add more steps to a template without breaking the layout?

Yes — the auto-layout engine recalculates every time you change the diagram. Add a node by inserting a new line with the node definition and connect it with an arrow. The layout adjusts automatically.

How do I make the flowchart wider or narrower?

Change the direction: TD (top-down) creates a tall diagram, LR (left-right) creates a wide one. Choose based on the proportions that fit your target document or presentation slide.

Can I use these templates commercially?

Yes — there are no usage restrictions on the tool or the templates. Diagrams you create are yours to use in any context, commercial or personal.

Where can I find more flowchart templates?

The syntax examples throughout the flowchart guides on this site serve as templates. The text-to-flowchart guide, the decision tree guide, and the process map guide all contain copy-paste examples for specific use cases.