C4 Architecture Documentation

Generate software architecture documentation using C4 model diagrams in Mermaid syntax.

Workflow

1. Understand scope - Determine which C4 level(s) are needed based on audience
2. Analyze codebase - Explore the system to identify components, containers, and relationships
3. Generate diagrams - Create Mermaid C4 diagrams at appropriate abstraction levels
4. Document - Write diagrams to markdown files with explanatory context

Decision Framework: C4 vs a Simpler Diagram

C4 solves one specific problem: communicating a system's structure across audience-tiered zoom levels (exec summary -> architect -> developer) with consistent notation between levels. That's narrower than "I need to draw a diagram" — most diagram requests aren't that, and reaching for C4 anyway means paying its notation overhead (Person/System/Container/Component vocabulary, boundary syntax, legend) for a problem it wasn't built to solve.