Get in touch

Fill out this form and our team will respond as soon as we can, alternatively email us at mail@icepanel.io

Get in touch

Fill out this form and our team will respond as soon as we can, alternatively email us at mail@icepanel.io

Back to all blogs

Top 7 diagrams as code tools for software architecture

The best free and paid tools for diagramming your software architecture with code

toolsdiagrammingmodellingsoftware architecture
7 Feb 2023
Blog hero image

⚡ Tl;dr

🚀 Let’s kick-off

Diagramming software architecture provides several benefits to how we communicate complexity. Clear system designs give engineering teams an enhanced understanding of the architecture and plan for future development whilst identifying potential issues.

Diagrams as code involve writing your model objects, relationships and diagrams using a markup language which can be checked into source control. These tools often include auto-layout capabilities for automatically drawing diagrams.

1️⃣ Structurizr

Structurizr builds upon “diagrams as code”, allowing you to create multiple diagrams from a single model using a number of tools and programming languages.

Free and open source with a paid web platform.

Best for technical people who want to use the C4 model with a DSL and check it into source control.

It includes features such as:

Structurizr screenshot!

2️⃣ PlantUML

PlantUML is a tool that allows you to write diagrams such as sequence, object, component, usecase, class diagrams and more.

Free and open source.

Best for technical people who want the flexibility of creating many different diagram types and checking them into source control.

It includes features such as:

3️⃣ Terrastruct

D2 from Terrastruct is a diagram scripting language that turns text into diagrams.

Free and open source with a paid web platform.

Best for developers who want to create flexible diagrams in code with auto-layout functionality.

It includes features such as:

Terrastruct screenshot!

4️⃣ Mermaid

Mermaid.js is an easy-to-use JavaScript-based diagramming and charting tool.

Free and open source.

Best for developers who want quickly create a range of diagram types and use GitHub to consume them.

It includes features such as:

Mermaid screenshot!

5️⃣ Ilograph

Ilograph allows interactive diagrams to be drawn using YAML with auto layout, changing the view when you want to see different perspectives.

Free and paid.

Best for semi-technical people who want a web-based solution for visualizing diagrams written as code.

It includes features such as:

Ilograph screenshot!

6️⃣ Diagrams

Diagrams allow you to draw cloud system architectures using Python code.

Free and open source.

Best for developers who want to draw diagrams using popular cloud provider icons and styles quickly.

It includes features such as:

Diagrams screenshot!

7️⃣ Graphviz

Graphviz is a graph visualization software for representing structural information as diagrams.

Free and open source.

Best for developers trying to visualize large and complex graph-based information from code.

It includes features such as:

🏁 To wrap up

There are many diagrams as code tools to choose from, and it’s important to consider which is best suited for your use case.

Some key things to consider.

Stay chill 🧊

Victor

Get in touch

Fill out this form and our team will respond as soon as we can, alternatively email us at mail@icepanel.io

We use cookies to improve your experience
Accepting lets us personalize content and understand how our site is used. By clicking “Accept all”, you agree to our use of cookies as described in our Privacy Policy.