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Properties Panel

The Properties panel appears on the right side when you select a node, edge, or group. It’s where you configure details that don’t belong directly on the canvas.

When you select a node, the panel shows:

  • Name — click to edit inline
  • Kind — the node type (person, system, container, etc.)
  • Technology — framework or platform, with autocomplete suggestions
  • Shape — pick from 7 shapes (rectangle, person, cylinder, pipe, trapezoid, bucket, hexagon)
  • External — toggle for system nodes (marks as third-party)

A segmented control to set the node’s status: Proposed, Implemented, Verified, Vagrant, or none. See Status Tracking.

When a status is set, you can add a reason — “Needs auth middleware”, “All tests passing”, etc. This appears as context in the task system.

What this node is — its role and purpose. Keep it concise and architectural. This is visible on the canvas and in the model export.

Max 200 characters. A subtle counter appears when you’re close to the limit.

Implementation details, deployment context, conventions — anything useful during development but not part of the architectural identity. Notes are inherited by descendant nodes when AI agents request tasks.

File patterns that link this node to code in your project. See Source Mapping.

Expect/ask/never rules for AI implementation. See Contracts.

When you select an edge:

  • Label — description of the relationship
  • Method — protocol or mechanism (REST, gRPC, SQL, etc.)

When you select a group:

  • Name — the group’s display name
  • Description — what this group represents
  • Members — list of nodes in the group
  • Contracts — rules that apply to the group

Select multiple nodes (Shift + drag) to see bulk actions:

  • Create group — wrap the selected nodes in a new group
  • Add to group — add them to an existing group

When viewing a component, the panel shows sub-sections for the component’s code-level children:

  • Models — data structures with their properties
  • Operations — functions and handlers
  • Processes — multi-step workflows

Each section has a + button to add new items. Click any item to see and edit its details.