Quickstart

The fastest path: a sketch

A sketch is a file with no workspace block — just arrows. Unknown names become placeholder software systems automatically; ? marks a relationship you’re not sure about yet:

customer -> shop "buys things"
shop -> billing "somehow charges" ?
billing -> erp

This is already a complete, valid model — it parses, validates, and renders a single landscape view with everything in it:

Save it as sketch.dsl and view it live in the browser:

structurizrx serve sketch.dsl --open

Edit the file and save; the browser reloads automatically.

A full workspace

A full workspace uses the Structurizr DSL (StructurizrX reads standard upstream DSL) plus StructurizrX’s own extensions for ports, relationship kinds, status, milestones, and generated views:

workspace "Shop" {
    model {
        customer = person "Customer"
        shop = softwareSystem "Shop" {
            web = container "Web App" "Storefront" "TypeScript"
            api = container "API" "Handles requests" "Rust" {
                status implemented
                port rest "Customer REST API" { protocol "HTTPS/JSON" }
            }
            db = container "Database" "Stores data" "PostgreSQL" { tags "Database" }
            web -> api.rest "calls"
            api -> db "reads and writes" { kind sync }
        }
        customer -> web "shops on"
    }
    views {
        auto                     // generated default view set
        auto focus api           // neighborhood view around one element
        auto lint                // placeholders, orphans, unbound ports
    }
}

structurizrx validate ws.dsl --strict    # errors + lint findings (add --json for tooling)
structurizrx render ws.dsl --format svg --output ./out
structurizrx serve ws.dsl --port 3000 --open

render --format svg produces one file per view. The zero-config auto default alone gives a landscape view plus a context view per system and a container view per non-empty system:

auto focus api adds a neighborhood view centered on a single element — here, everything one hop from api in both directions:

validate is strict by default: unknown identifiers and misplaced or misspelled keywords fail with the offending file and line (include-aware), the accepted keywords for that context, and a “did you mean” suggestion. Forward references are legal; !sketch opts a full workspace into the same leniency sketch files get.

Where to go next

• The full CLI reference for every subcommand and flag.
• The Language reference for the complete DSL — ports, relationship kinds, milestones, generated views, and everything else used above.