- 3 minutes to read

C4 Designer

The C4 Designer is the Nodinite interactive C4 canvas, the architecture diagram editor for creating and editing Architecture Diagrams (C4 Diagrams). Drag and drop element shapes from the toolbox onto the canvas, draw connectors between them, group nodes in boundaries bound to Domains, manage connector message members, bind nodes to real Systems and Services in your Repository, and when UseContracts is enabled, bind nodes to Contracts as first-class participants. Manage the Draft/Active lifecycle with auto-save and live monitoring state.

When the current Diagram Set has enough context, the Designer can also surface Diagram Assistance. Use it to review Built-in Suggestions, Add from Set, Coverage, and Review Impacts. If EnableDiagramAiAssistance is enabled, the same workspace also exposes an AI Assistance tab.

Important

Architecture Diagrams is part of experimental builds. This capability is actively evolving. Contact your sales representative to enable the feature.

Designer Guide

The full Designer documentation is organised as a step-by-step guide in the Designer section; start with the C4 Designer guides:

Guide What you will learn
C4 Designer Overview The two-page model (View vs Designer), Draft/Active states, navigating to the editor
Navigating the Canvas Pan, zoom, viewport controls, and the toolbar
Building a Diagram Adding shapes from the Toolbox, drag-and-drop, Auto-arrange
Organising with Boundaries Binding to Domains, collapse/expand, Focus and Isolate modes
Drawing Connectors Port handles, C4 validation rules, connector types, connector message members, labels, and protocols
Editing Elements Node, Connector, and Boundary Inspector panels, auto-save
Repository Bindings Linking shapes to Systems, Services, and Contracts, monitoring state, drill-through links
Diagram Lifecycle Draft, Active, Archived; Promote, Clone, and delete
Diagram Assistance Add from Set, Coverage, Review Impacts, and optional AI guidance
Keyboard Shortcuts Quick reference
Technical Reference Layout constants and the full View vs Designer feature matrix

How the Designer Works

flowchart LR Toolbox["fa:fa-toolbox Toolbox"] --> Canvas["fa:fa-pen-ruler Canvas"] Canvas --> Save["fa:fa-floppy-disk Auto-save per change"] Canvas --> Bind["fa:fa-link Repository bindings"] Bind --> Monitor["fa:fa-heart-pulse Live monitoring state"]

You place shapes from the toolbox on the canvas; every change auto-saves, and Repository bindings connect nodes to real entities and their monitoring state.

Every change you make on the canvas is saved automatically and immediately. There is no Save button.

Action What is saved
Drag a shape from the Toolbox Element placement and position on the canvas
Move a node Updated position on the canvas
Add or move a boundary Boundary position and nesting
Draw a connector Connector shell plus its first connector message member
Remove a node Node removed from the diagram — the underlying Repository entity is unchanged

Because only the specific change is saved, multiple people can edit the same diagram simultaneously without overwriting each other's work.

Next Steps