diff --git a/.github/workflows/lint.yml b/.github/workflows/lint.yml
index 493bacaf74..f59c8af31d 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/lint.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/lint.yml
@@ -62,8 +62,22 @@ jobs:
             ERROR_MESSAGE+=' `pnpm run --filter mermaid types:build-config`'
             ERROR_MESSAGE+=' on your local machine.'
             echo "::error title=Lint failure::${ERROR_MESSAGE}"
-              # make sure to return an error exitcode so that GitHub actions shows a red-cross
-              exit 1
+            # make sure to return an error exitcode so that GitHub actions shows a red-cross
+            exit 1
+          fi
+
+      - name: Verify no circular dependencies
+        working-directory: ./packages/mermaid
+        shell: bash
+        run: |
+          if ! pnpm run --filter mermaid checkCircle; then
+            ERROR_MESSAGE='Circular dependency detected.'
+            ERROR_MESSAGE+=' This should be fixed by removing the circular dependency.'
+            ERROR_MESSAGE+=' Run `pnpm run --filter mermaid checkCircle` on your local machine'
+            ERROR_MESSAGE+=' to see the circular dependency.'
+            echo "::error title=Lint failure::${ERROR_MESSAGE}"
+            # make sure to return an error exitcode so that GitHub actions shows a red-cross
+            exit 1
           fi
 
       - name: Verify Docs
diff --git a/cSpell.json b/cSpell.json
index af7a9ca46f..9e10e41d0c 100644
--- a/cSpell.json
+++ b/cSpell.json
@@ -106,6 +106,7 @@
     "rects",
     "reda",
     "redmine",
+    "regexes",
     "rehype",
     "roledescription",
     "rozhkov",
diff --git a/packages/mermaid/.madgerc b/packages/mermaid/.madgerc
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..1a558d9e62
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/mermaid/.madgerc
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+{
+  "detectiveOptions": {
+    "ts": {
+      "skipTypeImports": true
+    },
+    "es6": {
+      "skipTypeImports": true
+    }
+  },
+  "fileExtensions": [
+    "js",
+    "ts"
+  ],
+  "excludeRegExp": [
+    "node_modules",
+    "docs",
+    "vitepress",
+    "detector",
+    "Detector"
+  ],
+  "tsConfig": "./tsconfig.json"
+}
diff --git a/packages/mermaid/package.json b/packages/mermaid/package.json
index d9eb8701f7..029b182657 100644
--- a/packages/mermaid/package.json
+++ b/packages/mermaid/package.json
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@
     "docs:verify-version": "ts-node-esm scripts/update-release-version.mts --verify",
     "types:build-config": "ts-node-esm --transpileOnly scripts/create-types-from-json-schema.mts",
     "types:verify-config": "ts-node-esm scripts/create-types-from-json-schema.mts --verify",
+    "checkCircle": "npx madge --circular ./src",
     "release": "pnpm build",
     "prepublishOnly": "cpy '../../README.*' ./ --cwd=. && pnpm -w run build"
   },
diff --git a/packages/mermaid/src/diagram-api/detectType.ts b/packages/mermaid/src/diagram-api/detectType.ts
index 8351a67dff..aae9131551 100644
--- a/packages/mermaid/src/diagram-api/detectType.ts
+++ b/packages/mermaid/src/diagram-api/detectType.ts
@@ -6,14 +6,10 @@ import type {
   DiagramLoader,
   ExternalDiagramDefinition,
 } from './types.js';
-import { frontMatterRegex } from './frontmatter.js';
-import { getDiagram, registerDiagram } from './diagramAPI.js';
+import { anyCommentRegex, directiveRegex, frontMatterRegex } from './regexes.js';
 import { UnknownDiagramError } from '../errors.js';
 
-const directive = /%{2}{\s*(?:(\w+)\s*:|(\w+))\s*(?:(\w+)|((?:(?!}%{2}).|\r?\n)*))?\s*(?:}%{2})?/gi;
-const anyComment = /\s*%%.*\n/gm;
-
-const detectors: Record<string, DetectorRecord> = {};
+export const detectors: Record<string, DetectorRecord> = {};
 
 /**
  * Detects the type of the graph text.
@@ -38,7 +34,10 @@ const detectors: Record<string, DetectorRecord> = {};
  * @returns A graph definition key
  */
 export const detectType = function (text: string, config?: MermaidConfig): string {
-  text = text.replace(frontMatterRegex, '').replace(directive, '').replace(anyComment, '\n');
+  text = text
+    .replace(frontMatterRegex, '')
+    .replace(directiveRegex, '')
+    .replace(anyCommentRegex, '\n');
   for (const [key, { detector }] of Object.entries(detectors)) {
     const diagram = detector(text, config);
     if (diagram) {
@@ -70,39 +69,6 @@ export const registerLazyLoadedDiagrams = (...diagrams: ExternalDiagramDefinitio
   }
 };
 
-export const loadRegisteredDiagrams = async () => {
-  log.debug(`Loading registered diagrams`);
-  // Load all lazy loaded diagrams in parallel
-  const results = await Promise.allSettled(
-    Object.entries(detectors).map(async ([key, { detector, loader }]) => {
-      if (loader) {
-        try {
-          getDiagram(key);
-        } catch (error) {
-          try {
-            // Register diagram if it is not already registered
-            const { diagram, id } = await loader();
-            registerDiagram(id, diagram, detector);
-          } catch (err) {
-            // Remove failed diagram from detectors
-            log.error(`Failed to load external diagram with key ${key}. Removing from detectors.`);
-            delete detectors[key];
-            throw err;
-          }
-        }
-      }
-    })
-  );
-  const failed = results.filter((result) => result.status === 'rejected');
-  if (failed.length > 0) {
-    log.error(`Failed to load ${failed.length} external diagrams`);
-    for (const res of failed) {
-      log.error(res);
-    }
-    throw new Error(`Failed to load ${failed.length} external diagrams`);
-  }
-};
-
 export const addDetector = (key: string, detector: DiagramDetector, loader?: DiagramLoader) => {
   if (detectors[key]) {
     log.error(`Detector with key ${key} already exists`);
diff --git a/packages/mermaid/src/diagram-api/diagramAPI.ts b/packages/mermaid/src/diagram-api/diagramAPI.ts
index 3edd982bb4..00da66ffe4 100644
--- a/packages/mermaid/src/diagram-api/diagramAPI.ts
+++ b/packages/mermaid/src/diagram-api/diagramAPI.ts
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ import { getConfig as _getConfig } from '../config.js';
 import { sanitizeText as _sanitizeText } from '../diagrams/common/common.js';
 import { setupGraphViewbox as _setupGraphViewbox } from '../setupGraphViewbox.js';
 import { addStylesForDiagram } from '../styles.js';
-import { DiagramDefinition, DiagramDetector } from './types.js';
+import type { DiagramDefinition, DiagramDetector } from './types.js';
 import * as _commonDb from '../commonDb.js';
 import { parseDirective as _parseDirective } from '../directiveUtils.js';
 
diff --git a/packages/mermaid/src/diagram-api/frontmatter.ts b/packages/mermaid/src/diagram-api/frontmatter.ts
index f8d2e9c415..ab09487371 100644
--- a/packages/mermaid/src/diagram-api/frontmatter.ts
+++ b/packages/mermaid/src/diagram-api/frontmatter.ts
@@ -1,14 +1,8 @@
-import { DiagramDB } from './types.js';
+import type { DiagramDB } from './types.js';
+import { frontMatterRegex } from './regexes.js';
 // The "* as yaml" part is necessary for tree-shaking
 import * as yaml from 'js-yaml';
 
-// Match Jekyll-style front matter blocks (https://jekyllrb.com/docs/front-matter/).
-// Based on regex used by Jekyll: https://github.com/jekyll/jekyll/blob/6dd3cc21c40b98054851846425af06c64f9fb466/lib/jekyll/document.rb#L10
-// Note that JS doesn't support the "\A" anchor, which means we can't use
-// multiline mode.
-// Relevant YAML spec: https://yaml.org/spec/1.2.2/#914-explicit-documents
-export const frontMatterRegex = /^-{3}\s*[\n\r](.*?)[\n\r]-{3}\s*[\n\r]+/s;
-
 type FrontMatterMetadata = {
   title?: string;
   // Allows custom display modes. Currently used for compact mode in gantt charts.
diff --git a/packages/mermaid/src/diagram-api/loadDiagram.ts b/packages/mermaid/src/diagram-api/loadDiagram.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..c1b445bf64
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/mermaid/src/diagram-api/loadDiagram.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+import { log } from '../logger.js';
+import { detectors } from './detectType.js';
+import { getDiagram, registerDiagram } from './diagramAPI.js';
+
+export const loadRegisteredDiagrams = async () => {
+  log.debug(`Loading registered diagrams`);
+  // Load all lazy loaded diagrams in parallel
+  const results = await Promise.allSettled(
+    Object.entries(detectors).map(async ([key, { detector, loader }]) => {
+      if (loader) {
+        try {
+          getDiagram(key);
+        } catch (error) {
+          try {
+            // Register diagram if it is not already registered
+            const { diagram, id } = await loader();
+            registerDiagram(id, diagram, detector);
+          } catch (err) {
+            // Remove failed diagram from detectors
+            log.error(`Failed to load external diagram with key ${key}. Removing from detectors.`);
+            delete detectors[key];
+            throw err;
+          }
+        }
+      }
+    })
+  );
+  const failed = results.filter((result) => result.status === 'rejected');
+  if (failed.length > 0) {
+    log.error(`Failed to load ${failed.length} external diagrams`);
+    for (const res of failed) {
+      log.error(res);
+    }
+    throw new Error(`Failed to load ${failed.length} external diagrams`);
+  }
+};
diff --git a/packages/mermaid/src/diagram-api/regexes.ts b/packages/mermaid/src/diagram-api/regexes.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..bb688b9c2a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/mermaid/src/diagram-api/regexes.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+// Match Jekyll-style front matter blocks (https://jekyllrb.com/docs/front-matter/).
+// Based on regex used by Jekyll: https://github.com/jekyll/jekyll/blob/6dd3cc21c40b98054851846425af06c64f9fb466/lib/jekyll/document.rb#L10
+// Note that JS doesn't support the "\A" anchor, which means we can't use
+// multiline mode.
+// Relevant YAML spec: https://yaml.org/spec/1.2.2/#914-explicit-documents
+export const frontMatterRegex = /^-{3}\s*[\n\r](.*?)[\n\r]-{3}\s*[\n\r]+/s;
+
+export const directiveRegex =
+  /%{2}{\s*(?:(\w+)\s*:|(\w+))\s*(?:(\w+)|((?:(?!}%{2}).|\r?\n)*))?\s*(?:}%{2})?/gi;
+
+export const anyCommentRegex = /\s*%%.*\n/gm;
diff --git a/packages/mermaid/src/docs/package.json b/packages/mermaid/src/docs/package.json
index a5cb5859c6..94ab7a535c 100644
--- a/packages/mermaid/src/docs/package.json
+++ b/packages/mermaid/src/docs/package.json
@@ -17,7 +17,8 @@
   "dependencies": {
     "@vueuse/core": "^10.1.0",
     "jiti": "^1.18.2",
-    "vue": "^3.3"
+    "vue": "^3.3",
+    "mermaid": "workspace:^"
   },
   "devDependencies": {
     "@iconify-json/carbon": "^1.1.16",
diff --git a/packages/mermaid/src/mermaid.ts b/packages/mermaid/src/mermaid.ts
index 30297e7b5e..d140ded4f6 100644
--- a/packages/mermaid/src/mermaid.ts
+++ b/packages/mermaid/src/mermaid.ts
@@ -7,11 +7,8 @@ import { MermaidConfig } from './config.type.js';
 import { log } from './logger.js';
 import utils from './utils.js';
 import { mermaidAPI, ParseOptions, RenderResult } from './mermaidAPI.js';
-import {
-  registerLazyLoadedDiagrams,
-  loadRegisteredDiagrams,
-  detectType,
-} from './diagram-api/detectType.js';
+import { registerLazyLoadedDiagrams, detectType } from './diagram-api/detectType.js';
+import { loadRegisteredDiagrams } from './diagram-api/loadDiagram.js';
 import type { ParseErrorFunction } from './Diagram.js';
 import { isDetailedError } from './utils.js';
 import type { DetailedError } from './utils.js';
diff --git a/packages/mermaid/src/utils.ts b/packages/mermaid/src/utils.ts
index 937f3f8f84..0c5eca2aee 100644
--- a/packages/mermaid/src/utils.ts
+++ b/packages/mermaid/src/utils.ts
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ import assignWithDepth from './assignWithDepth.js';
 import { MermaidConfig } from './config.type.js';
 import memoize from 'lodash-es/memoize.js';
 import merge from 'lodash-es/merge.js';
+import { directiveRegex } from './diagram-api/regexes.js';
 
 export const ZERO_WIDTH_SPACE = '\u200b';
 
@@ -58,7 +59,7 @@ const d3CurveTypes = {
   curveStepAfter: curveStepAfter,
   curveStepBefore: curveStepBefore,
 };
-const directive = /%{2}{\s*(?:(\w+)\s*:|(\w+))\s*(?:(\w+)|((?:(?!}%{2}).|\r?\n)*))?\s*(?:}%{2})?/gi;
+
 const directiveWithoutOpen =
   /\s*(?:(\w+)(?=:):|(\w+))\s*(?:(\w+)|((?:(?!}%{2}).|\r?\n)*))?\s*(?:}%{2})?/gi;
 
@@ -163,10 +164,10 @@ export const detectDirective = function (
     );
     let match;
     const result = [];
-    while ((match = directive.exec(text)) !== null) {
+    while ((match = directiveRegex.exec(text)) !== null) {
       // This is necessary to avoid infinite loops with zero-width matches
-      if (match.index === directive.lastIndex) {
-        directive.lastIndex++;
+      if (match.index === directiveRegex.lastIndex) {
+        directiveRegex.lastIndex++;
       }
       if (
         (match && !type) ||
diff --git a/pnpm-lock.yaml b/pnpm-lock.yaml
index 8dc7ec8462..42a336739f 100644
--- a/pnpm-lock.yaml
+++ b/pnpm-lock.yaml
@@ -434,6 +434,9 @@ importers:
       jiti:
         specifier: ^1.18.2
         version: 1.18.2
+      mermaid:
+        specifier: workspace:^
+        version: link:../..
       vue:
         specifier: ^3.3
         version: 3.3.4
@@ -486,6 +489,9 @@ importers:
       jiti:
         specifier: ^1.18.2
         version: 1.18.2
+      mermaid:
+        specifier: workspace:^
+        version: link:../..
       vue:
         specifier: ^3.3
         version: 3.3.4