fix: save flow plot HTML to current working directory instead of temp dir

Fixes #4991

Previously,  saved generated HTML/CSS/JS files to a
hidden system temp directory (via ), making the output
inaccessible from the user's project folder. The CLI also printed a
misleading message suggesting the file was saved locally.

Changes:
-  now defaults to saving files in the current
  working directory () instead of a temp directory.
- Added an  parameter to both  and
   so users can optionally specify a custom output directory.
- Added 5 new tests covering CWD output, explicit output_dir, and
  absolute path guarantees.

Co-Authored-By: João <joao@crewai.com>

lib/crewai/src/crewai/flow/flow.py

@@ -3153,12 +3153,19 @@ class Flow(Generic[T], metaclass=FlowMeta):
         else:
             logger.warning(message)
 
-    def plot(self, filename: str = "crewai_flow.html", show: bool = True) -> str:
+    def plot(
+        self,
+        filename: str = "crewai_flow.html",
+        show: bool = True,
+        output_dir: str | None = None,
+    ) -> str:
         """Create interactive HTML visualization of Flow structure.
 
         Args:
             filename: Output HTML filename (default: "crewai_flow.html").
             show: Whether to open in browser (default: True).
+            output_dir: Directory to save generated files. Defaults to the
+                current working directory.
 
         Returns:
             Absolute path to generated HTML file.
@@ -3171,7 +3178,9 @@ class Flow(Generic[T], metaclass=FlowMeta):
             ),
         )
         structure = build_flow_structure(self)
-        return render_interactive(structure, filename=filename, show=show)
+        return render_interactive(
+            structure, filename=filename, show=show, output_dir=output_dir
+        )
 
     @staticmethod
     def _show_tracing_disabled_message() -> None:

lib/crewai/src/crewai/flow/visualization/renderers/interactive.py

@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@
 
 import json
 from pathlib import Path
-import tempfile
 from typing import Any, ClassVar
 import webbrowser
 
@@ -205,20 +204,24 @@ def render_interactive(
     dag: FlowStructure,
     filename: str = "flow_dag.html",
     show: bool = True,
+    output_dir: str | None = None,
 ) -> str:
     """Create interactive HTML visualization of Flow structure.
 
-    Generates three output files in a temporary directory: HTML template,
-    CSS stylesheet, and JavaScript. Optionally opens the visualization in
-    default browser.
+    Generates three output files: HTML template, CSS stylesheet, and
+    JavaScript. Files are saved to the specified output directory, or the
+    current working directory when *output_dir* is ``None``. Optionally
+    opens the visualization in the default browser.
 
     Args:
         dag: FlowStructure to visualize.
         filename: Output HTML filename (basename only, no path).
         show: Whether to open in browser.
+        output_dir: Directory to save generated files.  Defaults to the
+            current working directory (``os.getcwd()``).
 
     Returns:
-        Absolute path to generated HTML file in temporary directory.
+        Absolute path to generated HTML file.
     """
     node_positions = calculate_node_positions(dag)
 
@@ -403,12 +406,13 @@ def render_interactive(
         extensions=[CSSExtension, JSExtension],
     )
 
-    temp_dir = Path(tempfile.mkdtemp(prefix="crewai_flow_"))
-    output_path = temp_dir / Path(filename).name
+    dest_dir = Path(output_dir) if output_dir else Path.cwd()
+    dest_dir.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+    output_path = dest_dir / Path(filename).name
     css_filename = output_path.stem + "_style.css"
-    css_output_path = temp_dir / css_filename
+    css_output_path = dest_dir / css_filename
     js_filename = output_path.stem + "_script.js"
-    js_output_path = temp_dir / js_filename
+    js_output_path = dest_dir / js_filename
 
     css_file = template_dir / "style.css"
     css_content = css_file.read_text(encoding="utf-8")

lib/crewai/tests/test_flow_visualization.py

@@ -333,9 +333,9 @@ def test_visualization_plot_method():
     """Test that flow.plot() method works."""
     flow = SimpleFlow()
 
-    html_file = flow.plot("test_plot.html", show=False)
-
-    assert os.path.exists(html_file)
+    with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as tmp_dir:
+        html_file = flow.plot("test_plot.html", show=False, output_dir=tmp_dir)
+        assert os.path.exists(html_file)
 
 
 def test_router_paths_to_string_conditions():
@@ -667,4 +667,94 @@ def test_no_warning_for_properly_typed_router(caplog):
     # No warnings should be logged
     warning_messages = [r.message for r in caplog.records if r.levelno >= logging.WARNING]
     assert not any("Could not determine return paths" in msg for msg in warning_messages)
-    assert not any("Found listeners waiting for triggers" in msg for msg in warning_messages)
+    assert not any("Found listeners waiting for triggers" in msg for msg in warning_messages)
+
+
+def test_plot_saves_to_current_working_directory():
+    """Test that plot() saves the HTML file to the current working directory by default.
+
+    Regression test for https://github.com/crewAIInc/crewAI/issues/4991
+    """
+    flow = SimpleFlow()
+
+    with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as tmp_dir:
+        original_cwd = os.getcwd()
+        try:
+            os.chdir(tmp_dir)
+            html_file = flow.plot("test_cwd_plot.html", show=False)
+
+            # The returned path must live inside the CWD, not a hidden temp dir
+            assert Path(html_file).parent == Path(tmp_dir)
+            assert os.path.exists(html_file)
+            assert html_file == str(Path(tmp_dir) / "test_cwd_plot.html")
+        finally:
+            os.chdir(original_cwd)
+
+
+def test_plot_saves_to_explicit_output_dir():
+    """Test that plot() saves files to a user-specified output directory."""
+    flow = SimpleFlow()
+
+    with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as output_dir:
+        html_file = flow.plot(
+            "custom_output.html", show=False, output_dir=output_dir
+        )
+
+        assert Path(html_file).parent == Path(output_dir)
+        assert os.path.exists(html_file)
+
+        # CSS and JS companion files should also be in the same directory
+        html_path = Path(html_file)
+        css_file = html_path.parent / f"{html_path.stem}_style.css"
+        js_file = html_path.parent / f"{html_path.stem}_script.js"
+        assert css_file.exists()
+        assert js_file.exists()
+
+
+def test_render_interactive_saves_to_cwd_by_default():
+    """Test that render_interactive() writes to CWD when output_dir is None.
+
+    Regression test for https://github.com/crewAIInc/crewAI/issues/4991
+    """
+    flow = SimpleFlow()
+    structure = build_flow_structure(flow)
+
+    with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as tmp_dir:
+        original_cwd = os.getcwd()
+        try:
+            os.chdir(tmp_dir)
+            html_file = visualize_flow_structure(
+                structure, "cwd_test.html", show=False
+            )
+
+            assert Path(html_file).parent == Path(tmp_dir)
+            assert os.path.exists(html_file)
+        finally:
+            os.chdir(original_cwd)
+
+
+def test_render_interactive_saves_to_specified_output_dir():
+    """Test that render_interactive() writes to the specified output_dir."""
+    flow = SimpleFlow()
+    structure = build_flow_structure(flow)
+
+    with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as output_dir:
+        html_file = visualize_flow_structure(
+            structure, "output_dir_test.html", show=False, output_dir=output_dir
+        )
+
+        assert Path(html_file).parent == Path(output_dir)
+        assert os.path.exists(html_file)
+
+        with open(html_file, "r", encoding="utf-8") as f:
+            html_content = f.read()
+        assert "<!DOCTYPE html>" in html_content
+
+
+def test_plot_returned_path_is_absolute():
+    """Test that the path returned by plot() is always absolute."""
+    flow = SimpleFlow()
+
+    with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as tmp_dir:
+        html_file = flow.plot("abs_path_test.html", show=False, output_dir=tmp_dir)
+        assert os.path.isabs(html_file)