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C4 Diagrams

C4 Diagrams is part of experimental builds. This early MVP is feature-rich but actively evolving. APIs, data structures, and UI may change. To access this capability, contact your sales representative. We're committed to rapid bug fixes and welcome feedback.

The Nodinite C4 Diagrams feature brings the world's most adopted software architecture notation—the C4 model—directly into your Repository. Turn your existing Services, Domains, and Systems into precise, shareable architecture blueprints with zero additional data entry.

✅ Industry-standard C4 notation — Context, Container, and Component levels out of the box
✅ Powered by your Repository data — No re-entering what you already documented
✅ Interactive Syncfusion designer — Drag, drop, and arrange a Syncfusion canvas identical to the BPM Designer
✅ Auto-generated Mermaid markup — Every diagram produces sharable, embeddable Mermaid C4 code
✅ Persistent, relational storage — All positions, lanes, and connectors stored as structured data, never as JSON blobs
✅ Competes head-to-head with Starlify, Revision.app, Enterprise Architect, and Visio — at zero marginal cost per diagram
✅ Live export — PNG, SVG, Mermaid markup, and Draw.io formats — always reflect current Repository state

How C4 Diagrams Work in Nodinite

graph LR subgraph "Nodinite Repository Model" Systems[fa:fa-server Systems
C4 Type = Person / ExternalSystem / InternalSystem] Services[fa:fa-gear Services
C4 ContainerType / C4 Technology] Domains[fa:fa-layer-group Domains
Swimlane layers per diagram] end subgraph "C4 Diagrams Feature" Designer[fa:fa-pen-ruler Designer] Generator[fa:fa-code C4 Mermaid Generator
Server-side, deterministic] Viewer[fa:fa-eye Mermaid Viewer] end Systems --> Designer Services --> Designer Domains --> Designer Designer --> Generator Generator --> Viewer style Designer fill:#90EE90 style Generator fill:#90EE90 style Viewer fill:#90EE90

C4 Diagrams reads your existing Nodinite Repository entities to populate the designer canvas. The C4 Mermaid Generator produces deterministic Mermaid C4 markup from the same relational rows.

What is the C4 Model?

The C4 model (Context → Container → Component → Code) is a widely-adopted, tool-neutral standard for communicating software architecture. It defines a hierarchy of zoom levels:

Level Name What it shows Nodinite Equivalent
L1 Context People and systems, high-level relationships Systems with C4Type, boundary connectors
L2 Container Applications, services, databases within system boundaries Services in Domain swimlanes
L3 Component Components inside a container Integrations / Endpoints within Services

Nodinite currently implements L1 (Context) and L2 (Container) diagrams, with L3 (Component) planned. The Repository data model already contains everything needed — no new top-level entities are necessary.

See C4 Model vs Nodinite Concept Mapping for a complete side-by-side comparison of C4 terminology and Nodinite Repository entities.

C4 Diagrams Section

C4 Diagrams is a new top-level section in the Repository, alongside Integrations and BPM:

Repository
├── Integrations
├── Services
├── Systems
├── Domains
├── BPMs
└── C4 Diagrams   ← NEW in experimental builds

Pages in the C4 Diagrams Section

Page URL Purpose
List /repository/c4diagrams Browse, create, clone, and manage all diagrams
Designer /repository/c4diagrams/{id}/design Interactive Syncfusion canvas
Viewer /repository/c4diagrams/{id}/view Read-only Mermaid render, shareable URL
Mermaid Source /repository/c4diagrams/{id}/mermaid Raw Mermaid markup with copy button
Export /api/repository/c4diagrams/{id}/export.{png\|svg\|drawio\|md} Headless export, always current

Why C4 Diagrams Instead of Traditional Tools?

Capability Visio / draw.io Starlify / Revision.app Nodinite C4 Diagrams
Industry-standard C4 notation ✅ Manual ✅ ✅ Auto-generated
Powered by live Repository data ❌ ⚠️ Partial ✅
Persistent relational layout storage ❌ ⚠️ ✅
Auto-generated Mermaid output ❌ ❌ ✅
Integration with live monitoring & logging ❌ ❌ ✅
Zero marginal cost per diagram ❌ per seat ❌ per diagram ✅
BPM designer parity (same canvas engine) ❌ ❌ ✅

Licensing

C4 Diagrams is part of the Mapify feature and available with expermental builds. To access C4 Diagrams, contact your sales representative to enable the Mapify module license for your environment.

  • Requires the Mapify module license
  • All Repository users with Repository access can create, view, and edit C4 Diagrams
  • The IsShared flag on a diagram controls whether it is visible to all Repository users or the creator only

No new roles or additional licensing tiers are required for Phase 1.

Next Steps