Diagrams as Code

Sometimes describing your architecture as code is a better fit than using a visual editor - especially for complex systems, version control, or CI/CD integration. Revision supports both approaches and they work together seamlessly. You can create diagrams as code and then refine them in the visual editor, or vice versa.

API Reference

For complete documentation on the model endpoint, including all available properties and options, see the Model API reference.

Component Types

Types help identify what kind of component you're working with (database, application, service, etc.) and provide visual icons. You can use hundreds of built-in types or create custom ones. Find the right typeId slug for your components in our Type IDs reference.

Example: Database Schema Architecture

Here's a complete example showing how to define a complex database schema architecture using YAML:

curl -X POST https://your-organization.revision.app/api/model \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/yaml" \
  -d 'YOUR_YAML_MODEL'

Example YAML model:

components:
  - ref: users-table  # Stored reference for upsert behavior
    name: Users
    desc: Login credentials, email, status
    typeId: dmy2wCqStyC  # Built-in table type slug
    
  - ref: profiles-table
    name: User Profiles
    desc: Personal info, preferences, settings
    typeId: dmy2wCqStyC
    
  - ref: orders-table
    name: Orders
    desc: Purchase records, totals, timestamps
    typeId: dmy2wCqStyC
    
  - ref: order-items-table
    name: Order Items
    desc: Quantity, price, product reference
    typeId: dmy2wCqStyC
    
  - ref: products-table
    name: Products
    desc: SKU, name, price, inventory count
    typeId: dmy2wCqStyC
    
  - ref: categories-table
    name: Categories
    desc: Product groupings and hierarchy
    typeId: dmy2wCqStyC
    
  - ref: reviews-table
    name: Reviews
    desc: Ratings, comments, timestamps
    typeId: dmy2wCqStyC
    
  - ref: addresses-table
    name: Addresses
    desc: Shipping and billing addresses
    typeId: dmy2wCqStyC
    
  - ref: payments-table
    name: Payments
    desc: Transaction records, payment methods
    typeId: dmy2wCqStyC

diagrams:
  - ref: ecommerce-schema  # Stored reference for upsert behavior
    name: E-commerce Database Schema
    desc: Complete database schema showing relationships between core entities
    state: ACTIVE
    level: C1
    componentInstances:
      - ref: users-instance  # Instance reference
        component: users-table  # References component by ref
        
      - ref: profiles-instance
        component: profiles-table
        
      - ref: orders-instance
        component: orders-table
        
      - ref: order-items-instance
        component: order-items-table
        
      - ref: products-instance
        component: products-table
        
      - ref: categories-instance
        component: categories-table
        
      - ref: reviews-instance
        component: reviews-table
        
      - ref: addresses-instance
        component: addresses-table
        
      - ref: payments-instance
        component: payments-table
        
    relations:
      - fromComponentInstance: profiles-instance
        toComponentInstance: users-instance
        label: "Extends user data"
        desc: "One profile per user account"
        
      - fromComponentInstance: orders-instance
        toComponentInstance: users-instance
        label: "Placed by user"
        desc: "User can have multiple orders"
        
      - fromComponentInstance: order-items-instance
        toComponentInstance: orders-instance
        label: "Line item of"
        desc: "Items are part of an order"
        
      - fromComponentInstance: order-items-instance
        toComponentInstance: products-instance
        label: "References product"
        desc: "Each item references a product"
        
      - fromComponentInstance: products-instance
        toComponentInstance: categories-instance
        label: "Categorized as"
        desc: "Products are organized in categories"
        
      - fromComponentInstance: reviews-instance
        toComponentInstance: products-instance
        label: "Reviews product"
        desc: "Reviews are for specific products"
        
      - fromComponentInstance: reviews-instance
        toComponentInstance: users-instance
        label: "Written by user"
        desc: "Users write product reviews"
        
      - fromComponentInstance: addresses-instance
        toComponentInstance: users-instance
        label: "Belongs to user"
        desc: "User can have multiple addresses"
        
      - fromComponentInstance: payments-instance
        toComponentInstance: orders-instance
        label: "Payment for order"
        desc: "Each order has payment record"