Architecture Diagrams

Important

Architecture Diagrams is part of experimental builds. This capability is actively evolving. APIs, UI, and workflows may change between releases. To enable this feature, contact your sales representative.

Nodinite Architecture Diagrams brings the world's most widely adopted software architecture notation — the C4 model — directly into your Repository, organized as Diagram Sets. A Set groups all the architectural views for one subject into a single navigable collection: System Landscape, Context, Container, Component, Dynamic, and Deployment diagrams living together, cross-linked, and bound to the same live Repository entities.

✅ Diagram Sets as the organizing unit — all views for "Order-to-Cash" live in one named set, navigable together
✅ Industry-standard C4 notation — all six diagram types from L0 Landscape to Deployment
✅ Drill-through navigation — click ERP in L1 Context and jump directly to the L2 Container view for ERP
✅ Live Repository bindings — nodes link to real Systems, Services, and (when enabled) Contracts; rename an entity once and every diagram reflects it
✅ Import-first workflow — paste existing Mermaid, PlantUML, Structurizr DSL, or Draw.io XML and the wizard resolves entities against your Repository
✅ Auto-generated Mermaid output — every diagram produces sharable, embeddable C4 markup
✅ Draft → Active → Archived lifecycle — iterate safely and promote only when the diagram is ready
✅ Generate from Integration Landscape — create a complete Diagram Set from your Integration Landscape in one operation
✅ Runtime inspection from grouped Log Views — inspect related events in Participants mode or Systems mode without creating a stored diagram
✅ Killer feature: no-designer runtime architecture — grouped search context plus Repository data generates dynamic runtime views instantly
✅ Diagram Assistance across the set — use Add from Set, Coverage, and Review Impacts to evolve related diagrams faster

What Is a Diagram Set?

A Diagram Set is the central concept in Architecture Diagrams. Every diagram lives inside a set. A set groups all the architectural views for one subject — all the zoom levels and supplementary perspectives that together tell the same architectural story.

Repository
└── Architecture Diagrams
    └── Diagram Sets
        ├── Order-to-Cash                     ← a Set
        │   ├── L0 – System Landscape
        │   ├── L1 – Context
        │   ├── L2 – Container (ERP)          ← scoped to the ERP System
        │   ├── L2 – Container (Portal)       ← scoped to the Portal System
        │   ├── L3 – Component (INV-Order-Invoiced)
        │   ├── Dynamic – Runtime Checkout Flow
        │   └── Deployment – Production
        └── Supplier Onboarding               ← another Set
            ├── L1 – Context
            ├── L2 – Container (Supplier API)
            └── Dynamic – EDI 850 Flow

Every diagram in the set references the same Repository entities. The System named in L1 is the exact same entity referenced in L2 — allowing Nodinite to automatically build navigation links between them. This is the foundation of drill-through.

Why Sets Matter

The Six Diagram Types

A Diagram Set can hold any combination of these diagram types:

Tip

System Landscape (L0) is a first-class diagram type in Nodinite, not a variant of L1 Context. Where an L1 focuses on one central system, an L0 Landscape shows how multiple enterprise systems relate across the whole organisation.

How Architecture Diagrams Work

Architecture Diagrams provides two creation paths: the Import wizard accepts text-based C4 markup, while Generate from Integration Landscape derives a full Diagram Set directly from Repository entity IDs. Both paths populate the same Diagram Set; all diagrams are then rendered by the server-side Mermaid Generator. Drill-through links are automatically derived from shared entity bindings within the same set.

Drill-Through Navigation

When two diagrams in the same set share a bound repository entity — for example, both the L1 Context diagram and an L2 Container diagram reference System: ERP — Nodinite automatically creates a drill-through link:

• In the L1 Context diagram, the ERP node displays a navigation badge
• Clicking the badge navigates directly to the L2 Container diagram that is scoped to ERP
• From the L2, Container nodes bound to Services with a corresponding L3 diagram display the same badge

The Related Diagrams panel on every diagram detail page lists all drill-through connections in the set, so the full layer hierarchy is always one click away. Rather than hunting through a flat list of diagrams, stakeholders follow the architecture naturally — from landscape to context to container to component.

Diagram Assistance Across the Set

Architecture Diagrams includes Diagram Assistance so teams can extend and review related diagrams using Diagram Set facts instead of guesswork.

Built-in Suggestions are always the primary experience. They stay deterministic, preview-first, and add-only. If the AI system parameter enables EnableDiagramAiAssistance, the same workspace also adds an AI Assistance tab for explanations, summaries, and next-diagram guidance.

Learn how Diagram Assistance works →

Creation Paths

Nodinite provides two dedicated creation paths depending on where your architectural data lives:

Import from Markup

The import wizard accepts Mermaid, PlantUML, Structurizr DSL, and Draw.io XML. If you already have C4 diagrams in a text-based format or a draw.io canvas, you can bring them into Nodinite in minutes:

1. Create or select a Diagram Set for the architectural subject
2. Choose Import Diagram and select the diagram type (L0, L1, L2, etc.)
3. Paste your source text or XML into the import dialog
4. If you are importing Draw.io XML, confirm the Diagram Name, choose the correct Level, and set the Diagram State before continuing
5. The wizard identifies every relevant node, connector, and boundary it can map from the source
6. For each node, Nodinite searches your Repository for a matching System or Service
7. You confirm matches, resolve ambiguities, and optionally create new repository entities
8. The diagram is saved with all resolved nodes bound to real Repository entities

Once imported, the diagram is a live document. Every subsequent export, share link, and Mermaid view automatically shows the current entity name — not a snapshot.

Tip

See Creating Your First C4 Diagram for the complete step-by-step import walkthrough.

Current contract enhancements focus on designer binding and grouped runtime inspection. Import behavior remains unchanged in this iteration.

Runtime inspection from grouped Log Views

Architecture Diagrams also powers an on-demand runtime inspection view opened from a grouped Log View. Unlike a stored diagram in a Diagram Set, this runtime diagram is built from related events and is meant for investigation rather than authoring.

This runtime path is intentionally designer-free. The grouped search context and Repository data generate the dynamic view when you open it.

Users can switch between:

• Participants mode when they need the best available Service or Contract detail
• Systems mode when they need a clearer system-to-system overview

For service-resolved steps, teams can continue directly into operational context such as service monitoring and remote actions.

When UseContracts=true, runtime classification can resolve a single contract participant from transport context and use that contract owner for Systems-mode boundary placement.

Learn how grouped runtime inspection works ->

Diagram Lifecycle

Every diagram in a set has a lifecycle state:

Only one Active diagram per type and scope is allowed within a set. When you promote a Draft to Active, the previous Active is automatically archived.

Pages in the Architecture Diagrams Section

Why Architecture Diagrams Instead of Traditional Tools?

Availability

Architecture Diagrams is available in experimental builds and requires the Mapify module license. Contact your sales representative to enable it for your environment.

• Requires the Mapify module license
• All Repository users with Repository access can view and navigate Architecture Diagrams
• The IsShared flag on each diagram controls whether it is visible to all Repository users or only the creator

Next Steps

• What is C4 Diagrams?
• Creating Your First C4 Diagram
• Mermaid View – Read-Only Rendering
• Export and Sharing
• C4 Designer – Interactive Canvas
• Diagram Assistance
• Monitoring – Operational Health on Nodes
• Inspect Grouped Log Views as Runtime Diagrams
• Generate from Integration Landscape
• C4 Model vs Nodinite Concept Mapping
• Repository Properties for C4 Diagramming

Related Topics

• Repository Model Overview
• BPM Designer
• Inspect Grouped Log Views as Runtime Diagrams
• Services
• Systems
• Contracts
• Domains