00 Architecture docs

Architecture docs that change when the system does

An architecture doc describes your system as it runs today. The services, databases and APIs on it are catalog objects, so one edit updates every doc that shows them.

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01Draw
02Reference
03Check impact
04Docs as code
05Import
06Work together
07Share

Dispatch Service canvas with a booking-events to carrier dispatch flow above four endpoint cards: POST load tender, GET load status, gRPC AssignDriver, and server-streaming StreamLoadStatus. — **fig. 0** · Dispatch Service canvasReal capture

01 Draw

Real parts, not boxes with labels

REST and gRPC endpoints, database tables, sequences and cloud blocks sit on one canvas. Insert them from the "+" menu or the Shift+N palette.

Four endpoint cards: POST load tender and GET load status with authentication, parameters, and responses, plus gRPC AssignDriver and server-streaming StreamLoadStatus with request, reply, and error types. — **fig. 1.1** · API endpointsReal capture

01.1.1Method, path, params and responses
01.1.2gRPC with streaming modes

Shippers, shipments, quotes, bookings, drivers, carriers, loads, and stops tables with typed columns, primary and foreign keys, and connecting relationship lines. — **fig. 1.2** · Data modelReal capture

01.2.1Typed columns and keys
01.2.2Crow's-foot cardinality

Book a load sequence showing Shipper TMS requesting a quote and booking through Public API, Quote Engine, and Booking Service, then BookingConfirmed events reaching Dispatch Service. — **fig. 1.3** · Sequence diagramReal capture

01.3.1Participants
01.3.2Ordered sequence steps

Also on the canvas: built-in and custom organization icons, circuit-style connectors that turn at 45 degrees, shapes, text, images, the laser pointer and element locking.

02 Reference

Define each service once

A service, database or queue gets one catalog entry. Docs reference it instead of redrawing it, and its "Used in" tab lists every doc that does.

02.1"Used in" derived from references, never typed
02.2Typed fields, tags and object templates
02.3Embed another doc live inside a diagram, and resize it to fit
02.4Open any doc straight from a reference, in its own tab

Plan · Custom object kinds on Business and above.

Dispatch Service object with its Used in tab listing architecture documents that reference it. — **fig. 2** · Used inReal capture

03 Check impact

Know what a change touches before you make it

Open any object to see what depends on it, directly and further down. The list comes from your docs, so nobody keeps it up to date by hand.

03.1Direct and transitive dependents, listed separately
03.2Switch direction to see what it depends on
03.3Choose the depth to follow
03.4Open the same view in the dependency graph

“Changing Bookings DB affects 9 objects across 7 docs.”From the Dependencies tab, word for word

Bookings DB dependency list at depth 4, split into 2 direct dependents, Booking Service and Dispatch Service, and 7 transitive dependents across 7 docs, with direction and Open in graph controls. — **fig. 3** · DependenciesReal capture

04 Docs as code

Every diagram is also YAML

Keep docs in Git and review them like code. Generate them from a script, or let an agent write them over MCP.

04.1YAML editor with live validation, for a doc or a selection
04.2Mermaid import and export, OpenAPI import and re-import
04.3Docs drift check flags a pull request that changes mapped code without its doc
04.4Hosted MCP server, on every plan

How agents use ArchDocs →

Dispatch Service editor with the architecture canvas on the left and a Document YAML panel on the right showing REST and gRPC endpoint definitions, live validation, and Close and Apply controls. — **fig. 4** · Document YAMLReal capture

05 Import · Beta

Start from what is deployed

Import resources from AWS, Azure, GCP, Kubernetes or Terraform state, grouped into accounts, regions, VPCs and subnets.

05.1AWS accounts, including AWS Organizations
05.2Scheduled sync and cloud drift detection
05.3Cost heatmap overlay for cloud resources

Plan · Business plan and above.

Cloud architecture canvas with AWS services grouped inside account, region, VPC, and subnet containers. — **fig. 5** · Cloud importReal capture

06 Work together

Keep docs right as a team

Review changes where the diagram is, keep the history, and see which docs need an owner.

Document comment thread from Maya Chen asking whether the 15 minute tender window is still needed when most carriers reply over API, with reply and Show resolved controls. — **fig. 6.1** · CommentsReal capture

Version history panel with a current version and five earlier revisions by Maya Chen, each with a preview thumbnail. — **fig. 6.2** · Version historyReal capture

Documentation health dashboard with 26 empty doc slots and 1 unowned document, listing empty slots by object and owner. — **fig. 6.3** · Documentation healthReal capture

06.1

Co-editing

Live cursors, presence and editing the same canvas.

Team and above

06.2

Comments and suggest mode

Discuss a change on the canvas and request a review of it.

06.3

Version history

Thumbnails for every revision, and restore any of them.

06.4

Search

Cmd+K finds text inside diagrams, catalog objects and comments.

06.5

Documentation health

Stale docs, coverage gaps, owners and a daily digest.

Business and above

06.6

Templates

Reusable templates with variables, plus spaces and folders.

07 Share

Put architecture where people read it

Send a link, embed a live diagram in a wiki, or publish a whole space as a site.

07.1Live embeds for Notion and Confluence
07.2README images
07.3Publish a space as a public site
07.4SVG, PNG and PDF export

Plan · Public sharing on every plan. Private sharing on Team and above.

Document sharing dialog offering Private, Organization, and Public visibility, with Organization selected. — **fig. 7** · SharingReal capture

08 Design docs

Changing the system? Write it down first.

Architecture docs show the system as it is. A design doc records one change to it: the spec, the plan and what shipped, with every mention linked to these same objects.

Explore design docs →

09 Start

Document the system you run

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