# Archify Diagram Viewer
Create and view [Archify](https://github.com/tt-a1i/archify) diagrams inside VS Code. You write a diagram as a **`.archify` file in YAML**; clicking it opens the interactive diagram, and the diagram follows your edits as you type.
This is an unofficial extension. It bundles the Archify renderer (MIT, © tt-a1i) and runs it on VS Code's own Node runtime, so nothing else needs to be installed.
Free and open source. If it saves you time, you can [buy me a coffee](https://buymeacoffee.com/root.at.skic) ☕
## Supported files
| File | Format | What the extension does |
|---|---|---|
| **`name.archify`** | **YAML** (the main format) | Opens as the interactive diagram. Show Source, live updates, validation, completion, templates. |
| `name.architecture.json`, `name.workflow.json`, `name.sequence.json`, `name.dataflow.json`, `name.lifecycle.json` | JSON (Archify's own CLI format) | Opens as text, with a preview beside it and validation. For files produced by the Archify CLI or AI agents. |
| Rendered Archify `.html` | HTML | Read-only viewer instead of a browser. |
New diagrams should be `.archify` files; everything below describes them unless it says otherwise.
## Quick start
The fastest start: right-click a folder in the Explorer and choose **Archify | New Diagram…** (also in *File → New File…* and the Command Palette). Pick a kind of diagram (Architecture, Workflow, Sequence, Data Flow, Lifecycle or Everyday Plan), give it a name, and a small working `.archify` file is created and opened. Change its YAML to fit your case.
For a whole set of diagrams, choose **Archify | New Model…** instead and pick one of the examples (C4 - Standard Web App, C4 - E-Shop, C4 - Event-Based Integration). A model folder with context, container and component diagrams and a shared registry is created and its model page opens. See [Models](#models).
To write one by hand:
1. Create a file ending in `.archify`, for example `hello.archify`:
```yaml
schema_version: 1
diagram_type: architecture
meta:
title: Hello Archify
output: hello.html
components:
- { id: browser, type: frontend, label: Browser, pos: [40, 120], size: [140, 60] }
- { id: api, type: backend, label: API, pos: [260, 120], size: [140, 60] }
- { id: db, type: database, label: PostgreSQL, pos: [480, 120], size: [140, 60] }
connections:
- { from: browser, to: api, label: HTTPS }
- { from: api, to: db, label: SQL }
```
2. Click it in the Explorer: the diagram opens.
3. To edit, use **Show Source** in the editor title. The YAML opens beside the diagram, which re-renders as you type.
The same file is in [examples/hello.archify](examples/hello.archify).
## The `.archify` format
A `.archify` file is an Archify diagram written in **YAML**. Its fields are those of Archify's diagram schema; the extension converts the YAML for the renderer, so you never handle JSON yourself. `diagram_type` selects the kind of diagram: `architecture`, `workflow`, `sequence`, `dataflow` or `lifecycle`.
- **Opening:** the **Archify Diagram** editor is the default for `.archify`. Use *Reopen Editor With… → Text Editor* to edit the YAML full-screen.
- **Completion:** with the [YAML extension](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=redhat.vscode-yaml) (`redhat.vscode-yaml`) installed, `.archify` files get completion and hover from Archify's schemas. The schema follows `diagram_type`.
`.archify` files from extension version 0.2.0 were written in JSON. They still open, because JSON is valid YAML, but new files should use YAML.
## Archify's JSON files
The Archify CLI and the AI agents that use it write diagrams as JSON, named `name.architecture.json`, `name.workflow.json` and so on. The extension supports these too: they open as text with a preview button in the editor title (Cmd/Ctrl+K V to the side, Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+V in place), get validation in Problems, and get schema completion from VS Code's built-in JSON support. Any other `.json` file that declares an Archify `diagram_type` previews the same way.
## Features
- **New diagram from a template**: *Archify | New Diagram…* creates a starter `.archify` file for any of the five diagram kinds, or an everyday plan, in the chosen folder.
- **New model from an example**: *Archify | New Model…* creates a complete model folder from a C4 example (Standard Web App, E-Shop, Event-Based Integration).
- **Diagram editor**: `.archify` files open as the rendered diagram. **Show Source** opens the YAML beside it, and edits re-render live.
- **Live updates**: the diagram re-renders as you edit, and keeps the focus and route you selected (`#focus=…`, `#route=…`).
- **HTML viewer**: right-click a rendered `.html` file and choose **Archify | Open in HTML Viewer**, or use *Reopen Editor With… → Archify HTML Viewer*. For Archify HTML already open as text, a button appears in the editor title. The viewer reloads when the file changes on disk.
- **Problems**: YAML syntax errors, plus `archify validate`'s schema, layout and evidence problems, appear at the matching line of the `.archify` file.
- **Brand logos**: after `brand:` the editor suggests Archify's built-in brand IDs (PostgreSQL, Redis, Kafka, Docker, …). Typing an alias or product name finds them too, so `kafka` offers `apache-kafka`. An unknown brand is reported on its own line.
- **Schema help**: completion and hover from Archify's own schemas, through the YAML extension for `.archify` files.
- **Source links**: in source-backed diagrams, clicking a source reference opens that file and line range in the editor. If the file is not in the workspace, the web link opens instead.
- **Export**: the diagram's own Export menu (PNG, SVG, share card, …) saves through a VS Code save dialog.
- **Commands**: *Archify | New Diagram…*, *Archify | New Model…*, *Archify | Open Model*, *Archify | Render to HTML File…*, *Archify | Open in Browser*, *Archify | Refresh Preview*, *Archify | Show Source*.
## 3D view
Every diagram can also be seen in 3D. The **2D | 3D** switch next to **Export** in the diagram's toolbar shows which view you are in; click it to flip.
The 3D view is built from the diagram Archify draws, so it looks the same: each node becomes a raised block whose top is the node as Archify draws it, relationships become pipes along Archify's routes with their colours, dashes and arrowheads, and the canvas, frames, lanes and legend form the floor. It works for all five diagram kinds, in every theme and style (Classic, Signal Flow, Blueprint, Editorial).
While 3D is on, three controls join the bottom-right dock next to **PATH** and **LENS**:
- **STACK** lifts nodes into levels by kind: clients and external systems on top, security below them, services in the middle, data on the floor. Click again for the flat layout.
- **TOP** looks straight down, like 2D.
- **RESET** (the middle of the zoom stepper, or 0) flies back to the whole diagram, wherever you have moved to.
Moving around:
- Drag to turn, right-drag to move. On a trackpad, scroll with two fingers to move in any direction and pinch to zoom; a mouse wheel zooms. The dock's **−** and **+** and the - and + keys work too, beyond the 2D limits.
- Click a block to focus it, as in 2D: the Semantic Passport opens and unrelated parts fade. Hover a block to see its one-hop trace. Double-click a block to fly to it, or empty space to show everything.
Animation follows 2D exactly, because the 3D view reads Archify's own animations as they play: the trace (relationships drawing in, nodes pulsing) when the diagram opens or 3D is chosen, the hover trace, and the flows from the Semantic Passport, Path and Lens. *Live* off, or reduced motion, keeps it still.
**Export → 3D view** saves the current 3D view as a PNG. Each open diagram remembers whether it was in 3D, its camera and its levels; set `archify.defaultView` to `3d` to open diagrams in 3D.
The 3D view draws only when something moves, so an idle diagram costs no GPU time.
## Models
A single `.archify` file is one diagram. A folder with a **`main.archify`** at its top is a **model**: a set of diagrams that belong together, of any kind, with shared elements defined once. Diagrams inside a model still open, render and export on their own.
```
online-shop/
main.archify id, name, description; optionally an overview diagram
registry/
people.archify-registry shared elements: one name for one thing
systems.archify-registry
containers.archify-registry
0100-context/online-shop.archify
0200-containers/online-shop.archify
0300-components/api.archify
```
- **The model page.** Click `main.archify` and you get the model's page: its name and description, the overview diagram if the file has one, the diagrams of the model grouped by folder (click one to open it), and the registry with "used in N diagrams".
- **Shared elements.** A registry file defines an element once (`type`, `label`, `sublabel`, `brand`, `description`, …). A diagram draws it with `ref: api` plus `pos` and `size`; it may override `label`, `sublabel` and `tag`, and may still define unshared elements inline. Hover a `ref` for the description, F12 jumps to the registry, completion after `ref:` lists the elements, unknown names appear in Problems.
- **Links.** A registry element (or a component) with `diagram: 0300-components/api.archify` points at the diagram that explains it: double-click the node in the 2D view to open it.
- **Cards.** A model diagram without `cards` of its own shows one card per shared element it draws, from the registry descriptions. The model page shows the registry as the same cards, each with the diagrams it is used in.
- **Starting one.** *Archify | New Model…* (right-click a folder) copies one of the shipped examples into a new folder, named as you choose: **C4 - Standard Web App** (single-page app, API, database, cache, storage, identity provider), **C4 - E-Shop** (web shop, API, worker, queue, payment and email providers) or **C4 - Event-Based Integration** (event bus, router, dead-letter queue, event store, consumers). Each has a registry and context, container and component diagrams. For an empty model, *Archify | New Diagram… → Model* creates just a `main.archify`.
- **Commands.** *Archify | Open Model* opens the model page of the current file, from the editor title, the Command Palette or the Explorer menu of a `.archify` or `.archify-registry` file.
Formats in detail: [docs/model.md](docs/model.md). A full example: [examples/online-shop](examples/online-shop).
## Source evidence
A diagram that declares `meta.repository` and `sources` is verified against a local Git checkout whose `origin` and pinned commit match. The extension uses the Git top-level directory of the diagram file, or `archify.repoRoot` when set.
When verification fails, the default (`archify.sourceEvidence: "fallback"`) still shows the diagram without source links, explains why in a notice, and reports the reason as a warning. Set it to `"strict"` to treat this as an error, as the Archify CLI does. *Archify | Render to HTML File…* always verifies strictly and asks before rendering without source links.
## Settings
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `archify.theme` | `vscode` | `vscode` follows the color theme; `dark` or `light` force one; `diagram` keeps the diagram's own choice. |
| `archify.defaultView` | `2d` | `3d` opens diagrams in the 3D view. Each open diagram remembers its own choice. |
| `archify.preview.liveUpdate` | `true` | Re-render while typing; when off, re-render on save. |
| `archify.preview.debounceMs` | `400` | Delay before re-rendering after an edit. |
| `archify.validation.enabled` | `true` | Report validation results in Problems. |
| `archify.quality` | `""` | Force the `standard` or `showcase` quality profile. |
| `archify.sourceEvidence` | `fallback` | `fallback` or `strict` handling of unverifiable source evidence. |
| `archify.repoRoot` | `""` | Checkout used to verify source evidence. |
| `archify.nodePath` | `""` | Node.js 18+ executable to use instead of VS Code's runtime. |
## Security
Diagrams run in a webview with a strict content security policy. Only the page's own inline scripts and the extension's bundled 3D viewer run (via a per-render nonce), there is no network access for scripts or fetches, and links open through VS Code.
## Development
```bash
npm install
npm run build # bundle to dist/
npm test # unit tests + renderer tests (Node)
npm run test:integration # runs the suite inside VS Code
npm run package # build archify-vscode-ext-.vsix
```
Press F5 to launch an Extension Development Host with the test fixtures.
### Code layout
| Folder | What it holds |
|---|---|
| `src/extension.ts` | Activation: creates the views and registers everything |
| `src/commands/` | Command handlers, grouped by job, and the editor context keys |
| `src/views/` | The diagram view (editor for `.archify`, side preview for JSON) and the HTML viewer |
| `src/webview/` | The page the views show: CSP, the bridge script, messages from the page |
| `src/archify/` | Running the bundled Archify CLI: render, validate, runtime settings |
| `src/sources/` | Reading diagram files: type detection, YAML/JSON, source evidence |
| `src/language/` | Editor help: Problems, brand completion, templates |
| `src/util/` | Logging, settings, file reading |
| `src/viewer3d/` | The 3D view; runs inside the Archify page and is bundled to `dist/viewer3d.js` with three.js |
### Updating the bundled renderer
`vendor/archify/` and `schemas/` are generated from an Archify checkout:
```bash
node scripts/sync-archify.mjs /path/to/archify # default: ../../ws-storm/archify
npm test
```
`vendor/archify.json` records the upstream version and commit.
## Support
Archify Diagram Viewer is built and maintained in my spare time. If it helps you, a coffee keeps the releases coming:
[](https://buymeacoffee.com/root.at.skic)
Bug reports and ideas are welcome in the [repository issues](https://gitea.lego-cloud.eu/vscode-extensions/archify-vscode-ext/issues).
## License
MIT. See [LICENSE](LICENSE). The bundled renderer is MIT-licensed by tt-a1i; see `vendor/archify/LICENSE` and `vendor/archify/THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md`.