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Diagram Assistance

Diagram Assistance helps you extend and review a Diagram Set without guessing. It combines Built-in Suggestions, Coverage, and Review Impacts so you can see what to add, what changed elsewhere, and which diagrams still need attention across Architecture Diagrams and C4 Diagrams.

  • Add from Set faster — surface related Systems, Services, Domains, and connectors already known through the Diagram Set and Repository bindings
  • Review before you apply — suggestions are add-only and preview-first, while removals become review events instead of silent propagation
  • Track Coverage — identify missing diagram candidates, reused entities, and layer gaps across the Diagram Set
  • Use optional AI Assistance — explain suggestions and architecture tradeoffs when EnableDiagramAiAssistance is enabled

Important

Built-in Suggestions are the primary product experience and remain available without AI. AI Assistance is optional and never bypasses preview, review, or apply controls.

How Diagram Assistance Works

graph TD Set[" Diagram Set"] --> BuiltIn[" Built-in Suggestions"] Repo[" Repository bindings"] --> BuiltIn BuiltIn --> Add[" Add from Set"] BuiltIn --> CoverageNode[" Coverage"] BuiltIn --> Impacts[" Review Impacts"] BuiltIn --> States[" Review states"] DiagramFlag[" EnableDiagramAiAssistance"] --> AI[" AI Assistance"] Provider[" AI provider"] --> AI Set --> AI style Set fill:#FFD700 style BuiltIn fill:#90EE90 style Add fill:#90EE90 style CoverageNode fill:#90EE90 style Impacts fill:#FFD700 style States fill:#87CEEB style AI fill:#87CEEB

Diagram: Diagram Assistance combines Diagram Set facts and Repository bindings to power Built-in Suggestions. When EnableDiagramAiAssistance is enabled and an AI provider is configured, the same workspace also offers AI Assistance.

Where Diagram Assistance Appears

Surface What you use it for
Top toolbar Open Add from Set, review Review Impacts, and jump to Coverage indicators for the current diagram
Right-docked Assistance panel Work through Built-in Suggestions and, when enabled, the AI Assistance tab
Node Inspector and right-click menu Review contextual suggestions for the selected entity or boundary
Diagram Set detail page Handle set-wide review items, stale indicators, and missing diagram candidates

Built-in Suggestions

Built-in Suggestions are the core Diagram Assistance experience. They use Diagram Set structure, generated provenance, sibling diagrams, reused entities, and Repository bindings that already exist in Nodinite.

Add from Set

Use Add from Set when you want to populate the current diagram with safe, relevant additions instead of dragging every element manually.

Typical actions include:

  • Add selected items
  • Add all safe items
  • Preview placement before you apply
  • Dismiss a suggestion
  • Mark an item as intentionally omitted

Coverage

Coverage shows whether the Diagram Set already tells a complete story across layers. It highlights missing diagram candidates such as:

  • A central System in L1 with no L2 Container diagram
  • A key Service in L2 with no L3 Component diagram
  • Runtime participants with no Dynamic diagram
  • Technical diagrams that still lack a stakeholder-friendly L1 or L0 view

Review Impacts

Review Impacts helps you understand which sibling diagrams may need attention after a change. Typical triggers include:

  • A node or connector added to the current diagram
  • A node removed from the current diagram
  • A binding changed to a different System, Service, or Domain
  • A diagram promoted from Draft to Active
  • A Repository entity changed, was archived, or was removed

Diagram Assistance treats removals as review events. It does not auto-delete content across other diagrams.

Review States

Diagram Assistance can surface review states such as New, Acknowledged, Applied, Dismissed, Snoozed, Intentional divergence, and Stale so teams can distinguish deliberate differences from accidental drift.

Optional AI Assistance

When you enable EnableDiagramAiAssistance in the AI System Parameter and configure the provider in AI Assistant, Diagram Assistance adds an AI Assistance tab.

Area Built-in Suggestions AI Assistance
Source Diagram Set facts and Repository bindings The same Diagram Set facts explained through AI
Availability Always available in Diagram Assistance Available only when EnableDiagramAiAssistance is enabled
Best for Authoritative guidance, Coverage, Review Impacts, safe apply flows Summaries, explanations, tradeoffs, and suggested next diagrams
Change safety Preview-first and add-only Advisory only — never bypasses preview or review

Note

AI Assistance complements Diagram Assistance. It does not replace the built-in experience, and it does not silently mutate diagrams.

Use the right tool for the job.

Need Diagram Assistance Sync Diagram Links
Find missing related entities for the current diagram
Review Coverage and missing diagram candidates
Review Review Impacts across sibling diagrams
Rebuild drill-through links from shared Repository bindings

Example Workflow

  1. Open a Draft diagram in the C4 Designer.
  2. Review Built-in Suggestions and use Add from Set for safe additions.
  3. Use Coverage to find missing diagram candidates for the same Diagram Set.
  4. Check Review Impacts before you promote changes to Active.
  5. If AI is enabled, open AI Assistance for explanations and next-diagram guidance.
  6. Run Sync Diagram Links when you need to rebuild drill-through navigation across the whole set.

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