Architecture Documentation

Document system architecture and design with diagrams and flows

Introduction

Create comprehensive architecture documentation with system designs, component diagrams, data flows, and technical specifications. Use Markdown, Mermaid diagrams, and AI assistance to document your architecture in a way that your team actually wants to read.

Good architecture documentation helps teams understand system design, make informed decisions, and onboard new engineers quickly. It should be visual, up-to-date, and easy to maintain.

Why AutEng for Architecture Docs?

Diagrams as Code

Create Mermaid diagrams with simple text. Version control friendly and easy to update. No more fighting with drawing tools or losing diagram source files.

AI-Generated Diagrams

Describe your architecture and let AI create the diagrams. Iterate quickly with natural language instead of manually positioning boxes and arrows.

Beautiful Sharing

Generate public links that look professional. Perfect for design reviews, stakeholder presentations, and team documentation.

System Architecture

Document high-level system designs showing components, services, and their interactions. Perfect for microservices architectures, cloud infrastructure, and deployment diagrams.

Microservices Architecture Example

E-Commerce Platform Architecture

Overview

Our platform uses a microservices architecture with the following key components:


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Key Components

API Gateway: Routes requests, handles authentication, rate limiting
Auth Service: User authentication and authorization
Product Service: Product catalog and search
Order Service: Order management and processing
Payment Service: Payment processing and refunds
Inventory Service: Stock management
Notification Service: Email and push notifications

Data Flow Diagrams

Visualize how data moves through your system from input to output. Show ETL pipelines, event-driven architectures, and message queue flows.

Order Processing Flow

Order Processing Data Flow


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This flow shows how an order moves through the system:

User creates order via API
Payment is processed synchronously
Order events are published to message queue
Inventory and notifications are processed asynchronously

Component Diagrams

Detail the internal structure of services and their dependencies. Show service dependencies, module relationships, and package structures.

Service Component Structure

Order Service Architecture


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Layers

API Layer

HTTP request handling
Input validation
Response formatting
Error handling

Business Logic

Order validation
State management
Business rules
Event publishing

Data Access

Database queries
Transaction management
Data mapping

Database Schemas

Document your data models with entity relationship diagrams. Show table relationships, foreign keys, and schema structure.

Database Schema Example

Database Schema


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Key Relationships

Users can place multiple orders
Each order contains multiple items
Products can appear in multiple orders
Each order has one payment

Best Practices

Start high-level: Begin with system overview before diving into component details
Use consistent notation: Stick to standard diagram types (flowchart, sequence, ER) for clarity
Include context: Explain why architectural decisions were made, not just what they are
Show data flows: Use sequence diagrams to illustrate how components interact
Document dependencies: Make service and module dependencies explicit
Keep it current: Update diagrams as architecture evolves to maintain accuracy

Ready to Start?

Start creating beautiful technical documentation with AutEng.

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