archify

Generate beautiful architecture, technical workflow, sequence, data-flow, and lifecycle diagrams in chat. Switch dark / light. Copy to clipboard or export crisp up-to-4× PNG / JPEG / WebP / SVG.

Archify is an agent skill for Claude, Codex CLI, and opencode. It turns a plain-English description of your system or process into a polished, self-contained technical diagram — a single HTML file you can open, toggle themes on, copy to the clipboard, and export at maximum resolution.

• No design skills needed — describe your architecture in English, get a diagram
• Workflow, sequence, data-flow, and lifecycle diagrams too — technical flows, approvals, tool calls, CI/CD, runbooks, request call chains, data pipelines, PII boundaries, and state machines can be drawn
• Built-in theme toggle — one click between dark and light, persists across sessions
• Copy PNG to clipboard — one click, paste straight into Slack / Notion / GitHub
• Ultra-crisp image export — PNG / JPEG / WebP rendered natively at up to 4× source resolution (no upsampling blur), or SVG for true vector
• SVG follows system dark/light — exported SVGs ship with both variable sets + @media (prefers-color-scheme), so dropping one into a GitHub README makes it follow the reader's color preference (no more two PNGs wrapped in <picture>)
• Validation loop built in — renderer-backed diagrams go through JSON schema validation, layout checks, HTML/SVG artifact checks, and targeted iteration
• Semantic tech labels — describe components as aws.lambda, postgres, redis, github-actions, openai, etc.; Archify maps them to the right visual category without needing a full icon library
• Self-contained HTML — the generated file has zero dependencies, share by sending it
• Iterate by chat — "add Redis", "move auth to the left", "use emerald for the API"

Project page: tt-a1i.github.io/archify

Start in 60 seconds:

npx skills add tt-a1i/archify -g

Then ask your agent: Use archify to map this repository's runtime architecture.

Preview

Same diagram, two themes, one click to switch:

The Export menu — Copy PNG to clipboard plus 4 download formats (all raster exports at up to 4× source resolution):

Live example: examples/web-app.html — open in a browser, press T to toggle theme, E to open Export. Append ?theme=light or ?openExport=1 to the URL for deterministic screenshots.

Diagram types

Archify now has five primary outputs:

Architecture diagrams explain system structure — components, boundaries, and how they connect:

Use archify to draw an architecture diagram:
React frontend calls a Node.js API backed by PostgreSQL and Redis, deployed on AWS behind CloudFront.

Sample SaaS diagram: examples/web-app.html.

Real-repo examples (renderer-backed JSON IR):

• examples/archify-repo.html — this project's skill → JSON IR → renderers pipeline
• examples/archify-repo-grid.html — same pipeline with layout.mode: "grid" (row/col placement)
• examples/maka-architecture.html — third-party desktop agent workbench (Maka)

Workflow is not trying to replace every general-purpose flowchart. It is a technical communication diagram: swimlanes, semantic colors, a clear happy path, and secondary async / approval / trace paths.

Use archify to draw a workflow:
User submits a request -> Agent plans -> Approval Gate if needed -> Tool Call -> Trace Log -> Final Reply

Open the example here: examples/workflow-agent-tool-call-rendered.html.

Sequence diagrams explain a narrower interaction over time:

Use archify to draw a sequence diagram:
User opens a page, the frontend calls the API, the API verifies JWT, reads Redis, falls back to Postgres on cache miss, returns JSON, and emits trace.

Open the example here: examples/sequence-cache-miss-request.html.

Data Flow diagrams explain how data assets move and change:

Use archify to draw a data flow:
Web and Mobile emit analytics events, Edge API collects them, Consent Gate filters PII, Kafka carries accepted events,
Warehouse stores analytics tables, Feature Store derives daily features, Dashboards and an ML Model consume downstream data.

Open the example here: examples/dataflow-product-analytics.html.

Lifecycle diagrams explain how an object changes state:

Use archify to draw a lifecycle diagram:
Agent Run starts at Queued, moves through Planning, Executing, and Reviewing. It can pause at Needs Approval,
wait at Blocked, retry after Failed, end at Cancelled or Expired, or finish at Completed.

Open the example here: examples/lifecycle-agent-run.html.

What's new

Archify is based on Cocoon-AI/architecture-diagram-generator v1.0 (dark-only, HTML output). 2.0 rewrote the template around a themeable CSS-variable system and added a client-side export pipeline. 2.1 added copy-to-clipboard + keyboard nav. 2.2 added a print stylesheet + local-font fallback. 2.3 fixed the raster upsampling bug and made exports genuinely sharp at up to 4× source resolution. 2.4 upgraded SVG export to a dual-theme self-contained file. 2.5 added renderer-backed workflow / sequence / data-flow / lifecycle modes, Mermaid input guidance, CJK-aware text measurement, golden tests, and CI. 2.6 brought the architecture renderer to schema + layout validation parity. 2.7 hardens workflow diagrams with phase headers, groups, exception lanes, happy-path linting, same-lane orthogonal routing, and a post-render HTML/SVG checker. 2.8 adds opt-in trace animation and rejects workflow routes that cross unrelated nodes. 2.9 adds a unified CLI (bin/archify.mjs) and real-repo architecture examples. 2.10 adds actionable validator hints, optional architecture grid placement (row/col), and archify inspect for computed layout JSON.

Quick start

1. Install in one command

Install Archify globally, then select your agent when prompted:

npx skills add tt-a1i/archify -g

Want to try it without a permanent install? This starts Codex with a temporary copy of the skill:

npx skills use tt-a1i/archify@archify --agent codex

Replace codex with claude-code or opencode to start either of those agents instead. These commands use the open-source skills CLI.

2. Copy one prompt

Map a real repository:

Analyze this repository, then use archify to create an architecture diagram of its runtime components, data flow, external dependencies, and trust boundaries.

Explain a request path:

Use archify to draw this login flow: Browser -> Web App -> API -> JWT validation -> Redis session lookup -> PostgreSQL fallback. Show the cache-miss path clearly.

Visualize delivery:

Use archify to create a CI/CD workflow diagram: pull request -> tests -> approval gate -> build image -> staging deploy -> smoke test -> production deploy, with rollback on failure.

The distributed skill includes standalone Schema validators, so it is ready to render immediately — no npm install or runtime dependencies required.

3. Iterate in chat

Ask for focused changes such as add Redis, move auth to the left, or highlight the rollback path. Archify returns a self-contained HTML file you can open in any browser and export as PNG, JPEG, WebP, or SVG.

Other installation methods

Archify is packaged as an agent skill directory (archify/SKILL.md), so the same archify.zip works with Claude, Codex CLI, and opencode.

Claude.ai:

1. Download archify.zip
2. Go to Settings -> Capabilities -> Skills
3. Click + Add and upload the zip file
4. Toggle the skill on

Claude Code CLI:

# Global (all projects)
unzip archify.zip -d ~/.claude/skills/

# Or project-local
unzip archify.zip -d ./.claude/skills/

Codex CLI:

# Global (all projects)
unzip archify.zip -d ~/.agents/skills/

# Or project-local
unzip archify.zip -d ./.agents/skills/

opencode:

# Global (opencode-native)
unzip archify.zip -d ~/.config/opencode/skills/

# Or project-local
unzip archify.zip -d ./.opencode/skills/

# Also works: the shared agent directory used above for Codex
unzip archify.zip -d ~/.agents/skills/

Renderer-backed diagrams follow a small quality loop before delivery:

You can run the final artifact check directly:

node scripts/check-render-output.mjs output.html

The bundled CLI wraps the same renderer and checker commands:

node bin/archify.mjs doctor
node bin/archify.mjs demo /tmp/archify-demo
node bin/archify.mjs render workflow examples/agent-tool-call.workflow.json workflow.html
node bin/archify.mjs validate workflow examples/agent-tool-call.workflow.json --json
node bin/archify.mjs check workflow.html
node bin/archify.mjs examples

Renderer-backed diagrams can also opt into lightweight motion for demos:

{ "meta": { "title": "Release Flow", "animation": "trace" } }

Trace animation runs inside the generated HTML/SVG: arrows flow in order, nodes pulse lightly, and prefers-reduced-motion disables movement for users who request it. Omit animation for the default static diagram.

Claude.ai Projects (alternative): Upload archify.zip to your Project Knowledge.

What each install surface can do:

Using the output

Open the generated HTML in any browser. Top-right you'll see two buttons:

• Theme button (Dark / Light) — one click flip, persisted across sessions. Shortcut: T.
• Export menu — opens a dropdown with five actions (Copy PNG + download PNG / JPEG / WebP / SVG). Shortcut: E.

Export menu

Every raster export (Copy PNG, Download PNG/JPEG/WebP) is rendered natively by the browser at up to 4× the diagram's intrinsic resolution (oversized diagrams step down to 3×/2× to stay within browser canvas limits) — the serialized SVG is given a width/height of 4 × viewBox, rasterized by the browser at that resolution, and drawn to the canvas at natural size (no upsampling). This produces genuinely crisp output for retina displays, slides, and print. There is no scale dial — maximum safe sharpness is always chosen automatically.

Keyboard

• T anywhere — toggle theme
• E anywhere — open the Export menu
• ↑ ↓ inside the menu — navigate actions
• Home / End — jump to first / last action
• Enter / Space — activate
• Esc — close menu

URL parameters

• ?theme=light or ?theme=dark — force a starting theme (deterministic screenshots, share links, embeds)
• ?openExport=1 — auto-open the Export menu on load (demo / docs screenshots)

Notes

• WebP support depends on your browser's canvas encoder. If unavailable (older Safari), the menu item is dimmed and disabled. PNG and JPEG are universal.
• Clipboard support for images requires ClipboardItem + navigator.clipboard.write (Chromium, Firefox 127+, Safari 16+). If unavailable, Copy PNG is dimmed.
• Fonts in exports: raster images use the system monospace fallback (ui-monospace / Menlo / Consolas) because the sandboxed image-rendering context can't fetch Google Fonts. Install JetBrains Mono locally for pixel-perfect rendering.

Example prompts

Web app:

Create an architecture diagram for a web application with:
- React frontend
- Node.js/Express API
- PostgreSQL database
- Redis cache
- JWT authentication

AWS serverless:

Create an architecture diagram showing:
- CloudFront CDN
- API Gateway
- Lambda functions (Node.js)
- DynamoDB
- S3 for static assets
- Cognito for auth

Microservices:

Create an architecture diagram for a microservices system with:
- React web app and mobile clients
- Kong API Gateway
- User Service (Go), Order Service (Java), Product Service (Python)
- PostgreSQL, MongoDB, and Elasticsearch databases
- Kafka for event streaming
- Kubernetes orchestration

Data flow / product analytics:

Use archify to draw a data flow:
- Web App and Mobile SDK produce clickstream events
- Edge API collects events
- Consent Gate filters identity and PII
- Kafka/Event Stream carries accepted events
- Warehouse stores normalized facts
- Feature Store derives daily feature vectors
- Dashboards and ML Model consume downstream data

State machine / lifecycle:

Use archify to draw a lifecycle diagram:
- A task starts at Queued
- Planning builds the plan
- Executing calls tools
- Reviewing checks quality
- Needs Approval and Blocked are wait states
- Failed can retry, while Cancelled / Expired / Completed are terminal states

Color palette

Each color has coordinated dark-mode and light-mode variants that switch together via the theme toggle.

Semantic tech labels

Archify is not trying to ship a complete AWS / Azure / GCP icon runtime. Instead, it treats technology names and optional labels as semantic hints that guide color, grouping, and copy:

Use these labels in prompts or JSON IR when the exact technology matters. The generated diagram stays self-contained HTML/SVG; the labels improve semantic styling and layout without forcing a heavyweight icon dependency.

Technical details

• Styling: CSS custom properties on :root + [data-theme="light"]; SVG elements reference semantic classes (c-frontend, t-muted, a-emphasis, etc.). Toggling data-theme on <html> re-themes the entire diagram including gradient, grid, arrows, and mask rects.
• Export pipeline: The SVG is cloned, host <style> is inlined, and current theme variables are resolved and written into a :root rule on the clone. For raster formats the clone's width/height are set to 4 × viewBox so the browser rasterizes the vectors at target resolution natively; the canvas is sized to match and the image is drawn at natural size (no bitmap upsampling). toBlob(mime) then produces the file. JPEG gets an explicit background fill since it has no alpha. If the target resolution would exceed the browser's canvas limits, the pipeline automatically falls back to 3× or 2× so the export still succeeds.
• Self-contained output: Single HTML file, Google Fonts link + inline SVG + ~19 KB of embedded JS. No build step, no JS framework, no server. The generated HTML and the distributed renderer have zero runtime dependencies.
• Output checks: bin/archify.mjs validate, renderer layout checks, and scripts/check-render-output.mjs validate generated diagrams before delivery: schema validity, finite SVG values, no accidental two-point diagonal arrows, and no arrow segments crossing the legend.
• Browser support: Any modern browser (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge). Needs + with support for WebP export.

Attribution

Archify is a fork / rewrite of Cocoon-AI/architecture-diagram-generator (MIT, v1.0) by Cocoon AI. The original's clean visual design — color palette, grid background, summary-card layout, JetBrains Mono typography — is preserved. All credit for the original aesthetic belongs to them.

Archify 2.x contributes:

• Refactor of the template to a CSS-variable theme system (dark + light)
• Theme toggle + localStorage persistence + prefers-color-scheme default
• Built-in PNG / JPEG / WebP / SVG export menu + copy to clipboard
• 4× native rasterization (fixes upsampling blur)
• Dual-theme self-contained SVG export (single file follows the host's prefers-color-scheme)
• Keyboard navigation + accessibility semantics
• Print stylesheet + local-font fallback
• Renderer-backed architecture, workflow, sequence, data-flow, and lifecycle diagrams with schema validation
• Post-render artifact checks for final HTML/SVG quality
• Unified CLI (bin/archify.mjs) for render / validate / check / examples
• Real-repo architecture examples (archify-repo, maka-architecture)
• Updated SKILL.md to guide Claude toward class-based (themeable) diagrams

Both projects are MIT-licensed.

Roadmap

See ROADMAP.md.

Next up is v3.0 — JSON IR stabilization: a minimal diagram.json intermediate format so Claude can make local coordinate edits without drifting unrelated components, with git diff-friendly output and theme/palette swaps that don't require re-rendering.

About Mermaid import: the automatic Mermaid parser route was cut after an experiment showed that auto-layout + archify CSS doesn't look meaningfully better than native Mermaid (experiments/v3-mermaid-validation/RESULT.md). Archify's aesthetic core is Claude's layout judgment, not the CSS. You can still paste Mermaid code and have Claude lay out an archify-style diagram from scratch — it goes through the SKILL.md prompts, not a parser.

The former v2.4 / v2.5 plans (?exportScale=N, color-blind palettes, share links) were also dropped. See the ROADMAP "Not planned" section for the rationale.

License

MIT — free to use, modify, and distribute.

Contributing

Issues, PRs, and shared diagrams welcome.