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scryer

Your First Model

Let’s build a simple architecture diagram — a web app with an API and database.

1. Create a new model

Section titled “1. Create a new model”

Press Ctrl+K to open the command palette, then click New model. Give it a name like “my-app”.

2. Add a person

Section titled “2. Add a person”

Right-click the canvas and choose Add node → Person. This is a user of your system. Name it something like “User” and give it a brief description — “A customer using the web application.”

User

3. Add your system

Section titled “3. Add your system”

Right-click again and add a System. Name it “My App” with a description like “The main application.” This is the top-level boundary for everything you’re building.

User
My App

4. Draw a relationship

Section titled “4. Draw a relationship”

Hover over the User node — you’ll see connection handles appear on each side. Click and drag from a handle to the System node to create an edge. Give the edge a label like “Uses”.

5. Drill into the system

Section titled “5. Drill into the system”

Select the “My App” system and click the expand button (↗) to zoom in and see its containers. The canvas is now scoped to this system — the breadcrumb at the top shows your navigation path.

6. Add containers

Section titled “6. Add containers”

Right-click and add containers for the parts of your system:

Website
React
API
Node.js
Database
PostgreSQL

Draw edges between them: Website → API → Database.

7. Keep going

Section titled “7. Keep going”

Expand a container to add components inside it. Components are the logical modules — your auth service, user repository, API routes, etc.

Inside components, you can add operations (individual functions), processes (multi-step workflows), and models (data structures). These appear in a compact list view instead of on the canvas.

What’s next

Section titled “What’s next”