Simon Brown

Chapters 1-9 now available at learning.oreilly.com/library/view/t… 🎉

Claude seems happy with this one. 🤖

I've added AWS Lambda to the C4 model/Structurizr DSL pattern catalog -> docs.structurizr.com/dsl/patterns/a…

Introducing the "C4 model and Structurizr DSL pattern catalog"! 📢 This pattern catalog presents a number of minimal examples of how to use the C4 model and the Structurizr DSL to model common patterns found in software architecture. Link: docs.structurizr.com/dsl/patterns/

Automated PNG/SVG exports from Structurizr -> patreon.com/posts/153245771 (early access now available for Patreon members, free to read next week)

@alexmklos Yes ... there are ~6 pages just discussing arrow direction. 😄

Does "The C4 Model" book go deeper on edge cases than the website? Specifically: (a) when should an arrow point from A→B vs B→A, (b) what kinds of groupings are valid beyond deployment (e.g. packages, domains), and (c) how do you model cross-cutting concerns like auth that touch everything?

Chapters 1-9 now available at learning.oreilly.com/library/view/t… 🎉

Shipped in preview last week 🚀: > structurizr generate system-landscape Links: - docs.structurizr.com/generate - docs.structurizr.com/workspaces/ent…

These AI-powered architecture diagramming tools are ... interesting.

@frankwolters AI has you covered ... sketches on a whiteboard or in Visio during ideation; convert to Structurizr DSL when you're ready for long-lived documentation -> #from-diagrams" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">docs.structurizr.com/ai/dsl-generat…

Appreciate the work you have done with C4, the clarity and consistency is much needed, and love the versioning aspect of it. Where I still struggle is early-stage exploration or drafts in meetings. Might be a "me" thing but sometimes I don't want to write code while the architecture is still forming.

Curious what people use these days for architecture / system diagrams. I haven't really found a go-to solution yet that I'm fully satisfied with. Most tools seem to fall into a few categories:

Define your software architecture model using the Structurizr DSL and be alerted when architecture drift is detected -> erode.dev/docs/models/st… (usual caveats apply: I haven't tried it, links/reposts from me are not recommendations, etc)

This morning's Structurizr + AI experiment ... you have a Structurizr server running, each team is pushing a workspace representing their view of the world. Use AI to generate a combined system landscape.

Tried this with Claude over the weekend - it worked first time, out of the box. 🚀 See docs.structurizr.com/ai/dsl-generat… for more details.

The new Structurizr MCP server (patreon.com/posts/152045562) makes it even easier for AI to generate valid Structurizr DSL now! 🚀

A free to read three part series of posts about AI, why most AI generated architecture diagrams are terrible, and how to fix them -> patreon.com/collection/203…

If you're interested, one of the nicest ways of making summary documentation for parts of your system is @simonbrown's C4 syntax structurizr. I build the diagrams in collaboration with the AI reading the code, correcting it when necessary.

I've added tools to validate and inspect Structurizr DSL to the MCP server ... this helps agents fix DSL that doesn't parse and provides some guidance to improve the architecture model.

Following the Structurizr vNext announcement, I've had a few questions asking if the software architecture model can be modified via the UI, and if I have any plans to support a UI-driven approach to creating Structurizr workspaces. See patreon.com/posts/151073821 for the answer.

The all new consolidated version of Structurizr is now available! 🎉 See patreon.com/posts/149668922 for more details.

One of these days I'll learn to never ask an LLM to make a diagram for me. It's faster to do it myself. They break all the rules we've discussed, add icons that are not part of the canon, draw lines where there should be none, and generally screw it up.