Basic Components

Every architecture diagram is built from nodes (components) and edges (connections).

Nodes

Nodes represent components in your system: services, databases, queues, users, etc.

Syntax

id:Label
  • id - Unique identifier (used for edges)

  • Label - Display text

Examples

@arch
[nodes]
  api:API Gateway
  users:User Service
  orders:Order Service
  db:PostgreSQL Database
  queue:Message Queue
Rendered diagram

Naming Conventions

ID Style
Example
Best For

Short

api, db, q

Small diagrams

Descriptive

userService, orderDb

Large diagrams

Namespaced

backend_api, data_db

Multi-team systems

Multi-word Labels

Labels can contain spaces without quotes:

Rendered diagram

Special Characters in Labels

For labels with special characters, use quotes:

Rendered diagram

Edges

Edges show relationships between nodes.

Basic Syntax

Examples

Rendered diagram

Edge Types

Syntax
Style
Use For

->

Solid arrow

Synchronous calls

-->

Dashed arrow

Async, responses

..

Dotted line

Weak dependency

<->

Bidirectional solid

Two-way sync

<-->

Bidirectional dashed

Two-way async

Edge Labels

Add context with labels:

Complete Example

Rendered diagram

Next Steps

Last updated