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Archify
Turn a codebase or system description into a polished, interactive system map — directly in chat.
Archify is an agent skill for Raven, Cursor, Claude Code, Codex CLI, and OpenCode. Give it a system description or repository; get an interactive, shareable technical map.
- Open it and present — five diagram types, four presets, dark/light themes, built-in brand marks, and finite motion - **Review architecture
changes before merge** — compare two validated snapshots as Before / Delta / After, with exact added, removed, changed, moved, and rerouted facts -
Every interaction stays grounded — search nodes, optionally open revision-verified source, trace upstream/downstream authored reach and exact
routes, compare roles, and play guided stories without inventing topology - One file, ready to trust and share — typed JSON IR and deterministic
checks produce self-contained HTML plus PNG, SVG, WebM, and 1200×630 share cards
Skill](https://img.shields.io/badge/Agent-Skill-7C3AED?style=flat-square) 
Current development version: v2.16.0-dev.0. See Changelog.
Project page · Scenario guide · Proof Lab
npx skills add tt-a1i/archify -g
Using Cursor? Open the agent-aware quick start for exact global and project commands.
Then ask your agent: Use archify to map this repository's runtime architecture.
❤️ Sponsors
 APINEBULA | APINEBULA sponsors Archify
with one API for Claude, GPT, Gemini, and more. Register through Archify and use
Archify for 10% off. |
 EverMind · Raven | EverMind sponsors Archify and builds memory infrastructure for agents. Its Raven harness supports Archify as a Skill for verified, interactive system maps. |
Want to sponsor Archify? Contact us by email.
See Archify in action
These are generated Archify artifacts, not product mockups. Click a frame to open its live, shareable state.
Three real generated artifacts.
Signal Flow · Blueprint · Classic · open the interactive Proof Lab ↗
| Guided story | Route probe | Semantic lens | |---|---|---| | [](https://tt-a1i.github.io/archify/gallery/artifacts/agent-tool-call.workflow.html?theme=dark&present=1&play=1#view=happy-path)
| [](https://tt-a1i.github.io/archify/gallery/artifacts/cache-miss.sequence.html?theme=dark&present=1#route=web~db)
| [](https://tt-a1i.github.io/archify/gallery/artifacts/production-deployment.architecture.html?theme=dark&present=1#lens=backend~database)
| | Play one finite named chapter. | Inspect the shortest authored directed path. | Compare real traffic between semantic roles. |
The Proof Lab contains all 11 checked-in scenarios, their JSON sources, named views, and validation receipts.
A real repository, mapped from source
[](https://tt-a1i.github.io/archify/cases/mco-runtime.architecture.html?theme=dark&present=1#view=dispatch-path)
Archify traced mco-org/mco at 9f1a1cf and produced this checked map. **[Open it
↗](https://tt-a1i.github.io/archify/cases/mco-runtime.architecture.html?theme=dark&present=1#view=dispatch-path)** · [trace reach
↗](https://tt-a1i.github.io/archify/cases/mco-runtime.architecture.html?theme=dark#focus=router&reach=downstream) · [typed
source](docs/cases/mco-runtime.architecture.json)
Preview
Same diagram, two themes, one click to switch:
| Dark | Light |
|---|---|
 |
 |
The Export menu copies PNG to the clipboard and downloads static or motion formats:
Use Copy Share Card when you want a canonical 1200×630 image for a README, release, or social post.
After tracing a route, Export → Route Share Card downloads that authored path as a 1200×630 PNG with the full diagram retained for context.
After tracing authored Upstream or Downstream reach, Export → Reach Share Card captures that exact reading without claiming runtime impact.
Open examples/web-app.html locally to try the complete viewer.
Quick start
1. Install
npx skills add tt-a1i/archify -g
For an explicit, non-interactive Cursor install:
npx -y skills add tt-a1i/archify --skill archify --agent cursor --global --copy --yes
To try without installing:
npx skills use tt-a1i/archify@archify --agent codex
DSH community opt-in: dsh plugin --profile web add @tt-a1i/[email protected]
The agent switcher covers cursor, codex, claude-code, and
opencode. For Raven's manual ZIP install, extract archify.zip into ~/.raven/workspace/skills; it yields
~/.raven/workspace/skills/archify. Raven is not a switcher target.
2. Ask for one bounded view
```text Analyze this repository, then use archify to create a high-level runtime architecture diagram. Show 8–12 core components, one primary path,
external dependencies, and trust boundaries. Put supporting detail in cards instead of adding more edges. ```
For a focused flow:
Use archify to draw this login flow: Browser -> Web App -> API -> JWT validation ->
Redis session lookup -> PostgreSQL fallback. Keep the cache-miss path secondary.
3. Refine in chat
Continue with focused requests such as add Redis, move auth to the left, or highlight the rollback path. Archify keeps the typed source available for targeted iteration.
Choose the right diagram
| Type | Best for | Include in your prompt | |---|---|---| | Architecture | Components, services, storage, boundaries | Scope, core components,
primary path | | Workflow | CI/CD, approvals, tool calls, runbooks | Participants, order, branches, exceptions | | Sequence | API calls, cache
fallback, auth, async traces | Callers, callees, returns, timing | | Data Flow | Pipelines, lineage, PII, consumers | Sources, transforms, stores,
boundaries | | Lifecycle | States, retries, waits, terminal outcomes | States, events, retry and cancellation paths |
For a production deployment review, Architecture can optionally enable the deployment-ownership engineering profile. It fails closed when owners,
single-region placement, private database scope, or named boundary crossings are missing. It is never enabled silently and validates authored
facts—not live infrastructure. See the checked deployment proof.
For design or PR review, Architecture Delta compares validated Before / Delta / After snapshots with a machine receipt. Select an exact authored
change or play one finite Review—viewer-only, with no impact, risk, or merge-safety inference.
node archify/bin/archify.mjs compare architecture base.json head.json architecture-delta.html --json
Not sure which one fits? Use the interactive scenario guide, or ask the zero-dependency CLI:
node archify/bin/archify.mjs guide "Show an API request with Redis cache miss"
node archify/bin/archify.mjs guide "Map Kafka topics, consumer groups, replay, and DLQ" --json
Workflow keeps the happy path clear across lanes:
Sequence explains one interaction over time:
Data Flow makes movement and sensitivity boundaries explicit:
Lifecycle separates progress, waits, retries, and terminal outcomes:
Architecture examples: web-app · Archify pipeline · [`grid
placement](examples/archify-repo-grid.html) · [desktop agent`](examples/maka-architecture.html)
Why Archify
- Layout judgment over generic auto-layout — the agent chooses hierarchy, spacing, routes, and emphasis; shared automatic endpoints spread
deterministically instead of piling arrows on one midpoint. - Typed JSON IR — every renderer-backed mode has a schema and reproducible source. -
Atomic validation before delivery — schema, layout, HTML/SVG, route, and label-to-route clearance checks must all pass before a showcase artifact
replaces the last known good output. - Failures come with a repair receipt — validate --json and deliver --json return stable rule codes, the
exact subject, measured evidence, and only supported repair controls instead of a Node stack or an unstructured retry guess. - **Last-good live
preview** — an optional desktop loop watches one JSON file, refreshes only after the latest candidate passes every gate, and keeps the previous
verified diagram visible when a save is incomplete or invalid. - Truthful interaction — focus, upstream/downstream reach, exact routes, role
comparison, and stories reuse authored nodes and relationships instead of inventing topology or claiming runtime impact. - **Source evidence, only
when requested** — Evidence-backed Architecture nodes mark themselves SRC n and open Git-verified files and line ranges pinned to one public commit;
ordinary artifacts stay source-free. - Portable by default — the result is one HTML file; exports remain full-diagram and free of temporary viewer
state.
Archify is not a general-purpose drawing editor or a Mermaid theme. It turns technical intent into a communication artifact.
How it works
| Step | What happens | |---|---| | Generate | The agent creates typed JSON IR from your description. | | Validate | Bundled validators and
layout rules check the source; failures identify the exact local repair in machine-readable JSON. | | Preview (optional) | A loopback-only desktop
session watches one source and reloads only verified revisions; failures keep the last-good artifact. | | Deliver | A same-directory candidate is
rendered and checked; only a passing artifact atomically replaces the target, then optional --open launches that exact file. | | Iterate | The
agent updates the source while unrelated structure stays stable. |
Useful repository commands:
```bash cd archify node bin/archify.mjs doctor node bin/archify.mjs demo /tmp/archify-demo node bin/archify.mjs guide "Show CI/CD checks, approval,
deploy, and rollback" node bin/archify.mjs validate workflow examples/agent-tool-call.workflow.json --quality showcase --json node bin/archify.mjs
preview workflow examples/agent-tool-call.workflow.json /tmp/workflow.html --quality showcase node bin/archify.mjs deliver workflow
examples/agent-tool-call.workflow.json /tmp/workflow.html --quality showcase --open --json ```
preview is an explicit desktop authoring mode, not a default background service: it binds only to 127.0.0.1 on a random port, watches the one
named JSON file, preserves the last verified output through failures, and stops with Ctrl-C. Add --no-open for tests or when you will open the
printed local URL yourself. It adds no runtime to the generated HTML.
Use deliver --open for a one-shot interactive local handoff. It is off by default, runs only after the verified artifact is committed, and never
turns a successful delivery into a failure when the OS opener is unavailable; JSON stays on stdout and the absolute manual-open path goes to stderr.
On failure, validate --json and deliver --json still emit exactly one JSON object. Read diagnostics[] and change only the named subject using
its supportedFixes; do not rewrite the whole diagram or exceed the Skill's two focused correction rounds. Deterministic diagnostics remain separate
from visual review.
Settings:
{
"meta": {
"locale": "en",
"animation": "trace",
"visual_preset": "signal-flow"
}
}
meta.locale=en|zh-CN localizes page title, Legend, states/errors, a11y, HTML/SVG lang—never authored content. Otherwise omit; preserve
requested-language copy; disclose English fallback. Static omits animation; classic defaults.
Explore and share the output
| Action | Control | |---|---| | Open the factual Diagram Guide | ? | | Find and focus a semantic node | / | | Trace
upstream/downstream authored reach | Focus a node → Upstream / Downstream | | Probe a directed route and inspect its journey | R or
PATH | | Compare one or two semantic roles | L or LENS | | Open the live overview radar | M or MAP | | Play a guided story
/ change chapter | P / [ ] | | Enter Presentation Stage | F | | Choose visual style (S cycles) / toggle
theme / open Export | S / T / E | | Zoom or reset | + / - / 0 |
Stable links can restore #focus=<id>, #focus=<id>&reach=upstream|downstream, #relation=<id>, #route=<source>~<target>, #lens=<kind>~<kind>,
and #view=<view-id>. Reader-driven motion is finite, respects prefers-reduced-motion, and never enters canonical exports.
The complete generation and viewer contract lives in archify/SKILL.md.
Installation options
| Surface | Install location or method | Capability | |---|---|---| | Raven | Manual ZIP into ~/.raven/workspace/skills →
~/.raven/workspace/skills/archify | Full renderer + validation workflow | | Claude Code | ~/.claude/skills/ or .claude/skills/ | Full
renderer + validation workflow | | Codex CLI | ~/.agents/skills/ or .agents/skills/ | Full renderer + validation workflow | | opencode |
~/.config/opencode/skills/, .opencode/skills/, or .agents/skills/ | Full renderer + validation workflow | | Claude.ai | Upload archify.zip
under Settings → Capabilities → Skills | Depends on Node.js access in the sandbox | | Project Knowledge | Upload archify.zip to the project |
Prompt-driven architecture fallback | DeepSeek Harness: Community integration, not an official DeepSeek product; developer-preview
@deepseek-ai/[email protected], Node ^22.19.0 || >=24.0.0. Install: dsh plugin --profile web add @tt-a1i/[email protected]; invoke: `Use the
archify skill to map this repository's runtime architecture.; remove:dsh plugin --profile web remove @tt-a1i/archify-dsh`. No telemetry. Shell
files need exact workspace paths, not Web Produced Files. Details.
Reference and scope
- Schema reference · Skill · Examples · [Agent
cookbook](docs/authoring-cookbook.md) - Changelog - Roadmap - [Generated Proof
Lab](https://tt-a1i.github.io/archify/gallery.html)
Automatic Mermaid parsing, general-purpose auto-layout, hosted sharing, and WYSIWYG editing are intentionally outside the current scope.
License
MIT — free to use, modify, and distribute.
Contributing
Issues, pull requests, and real-world diagrams are welcome. Start with the contribution guide, use the reproducible bug form for
failures, or submit a validated diagram through the community showcase form.