How to Align Graphviz Nodes on the Same Rank

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With the dot layout engine, put nodes in { rank=same; ... } to align their centers on one rank. With the default top-to-bottom direction, that makes a horizontal row.

Place parallel steps on one row

digraph Build {
  graph [rankdir=TB, nodesep=0.6];
  node [shape=box];
  source -> lint;
  source -> test;
  lint -> release;
  test -> release;
  { rank=same; lint; test; }
  lint -> test [style=dashed, constraint=false, label="report"];
}

Run this example

Lint and Test share a row between Source and Release. The dashed reporting edge is drawn without demanding another rank.

Align a column in a left-to-right graph

digraph Build {
  graph [rankdir=LR, ranksep=0.8];
  node [shape=box];
  source -> lint;
  source -> test;
  lint -> release;
  test -> release;
  { rank=same; lint; test; }
}

Run this example

With left-to-right flow, Lint and Test now share a vertical column. The rank rule is unchanged; the overall graph direction determines its orientation.

What to watch for

A rank aligns centers rather than box edges. If labels have different lengths, their boxes can have different widths. rank=same also does not prescribe the order of nodes within the rank.

Use this with dot; switching to a force-directed engine changes the layout rules. If a secondary edge makes the hierarchy awkward, consider constraint=false for that edge only. Keep real dependencies as normal edges. For a larger example, see the decision-tree guide.

Related guides

• How to Draw Edges Between Graphviz Clusters
• How to Add Multiline Labels in Graphviz
• Graphviz cheatsheet

Reference: Official documentation.