Features
Everything you need to model, generate, and communicate software architecture with C4 Model
C4InterFlow gives your team a single source of truth for software architecture — structured, always up to date, and understandable at every level of detail.
Core feature
Dynamic diagram generation
Most teams draw diagrams manually — and then spend time they don’t have keeping them accurate. C4InterFlow takes a fundamentally different approach: you define your architecture as a structured model, and diagrams are generated automatically from it, on demand.
- No drawing tools, no drag-and-drop — just accurate, generated diagrams
- Every diagram reflects the current state of your model at all times
- Add or change a component once; it propagates to every relevant diagram automatically
- Generate as many views as you need without any extra effort
Architecture documentation your team can trust, without the maintenance burden.
Diagram types
Many views. One model.
Different stakeholders need different levels of detail. C4InterFlow generates many distinct diagram types from your single architecture model — so you never have to compromise between depth and clarity.
Context diagram
The 30,000-foot view. Shows your system in relation to its users and the external systems it interacts with. Perfect for stakeholder conversations, onboarding new engineers, or scoping a project.
Container diagram
Zooms in to the high-level technical building blocks — web apps, APIs, databases, message queues. Ideal for architectural decision-making and understanding the shape of a system.
Static diagram
Shows the structural dependencies between components without any behavioural overlay. Useful for understanding coupling, identifying layers, and reviewing architectural boundaries.
Flow diagram
Traces a specific interface or business process from end to end — who does what, in what order, and through which components. Invaluable for debugging, auditing, and documenting business logic.
Every stakeholder gets the right level of detail — from executive overview to component deep-dive — all from a single model.
Standard notation
Built on C4 Model notation
C4 Model is the industry-standard model for software architecture documentation, created by Simon Brown. It provides a simple, hierarchical set of abstractions — Person, Software System, Container, Component — that make it possible to describe any software architecture in a way that’s consistent, unambiguous, and understandable by both technical and non-technical audiences.
- A shared vocabulary that every engineer already understands
- Four levels of abstraction — zoom in exactly as far as you need
- No proprietary notation to learn or explain to stakeholders
- Widely adopted across the industry — your diagrams travel well
A common language for your entire organisation — from engineers to executives — with zero training overhead.
Organisation
Repository management
Repositories are the top-level organisational unit for your architecture models. Use them to mirror the natural boundaries of your organisation — one per product, domain, team, or bounded context. Each workspace can hold multiple repositories, so your architecture scales as your systems do.
- Organise architecture by product, domain, or team boundary
- Keep each system's architecture self-contained and independently navigable
- Switch between repositories instantly from the workspace
- Import existing architecture from YAML to get started immediately
Your architecture scales with your organisation — cleanly structured, easy to navigate, and never tangled together.
| Permission | Admin | Member Admin | Contributor | Reader |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| View architecture | ||||
| Edit architecture | ||||
| Manage repositories | ||||
| Invite & manage members | ||||
| Manage billing | ||||
| Delete workspace |
Access control
Team planRole-based access control
Not everyone on your team needs the same level of access. C4InterFlow’s role system lets you give every member exactly the right permissions — no more, no less.Architects and leads can model and edit; stakeholders and reviewers get read-only access; admins manage the workspace without touching the architecture.
- Assign multiple roles to a single member for fine-grained control
- Restrict editing to authorised contributors while allowing broad read access
- Separate member management from architecture management
- Available on Team and Enterprise plans
The right people can make changes; everyone else can view. Architecture stays consistent and governed.
Behaviour
Business process modelling
Architecture isn’t just about structure — it’s about behaviour. C4InterFlow lets you model business processes and trace how they flow through your technical architecture. The result is a Flow diagram that shows exactly who does what, in what sequence, and through which systems and components.
- Define business processes and the activities that make them up
- Map each activity to the interfaces it triggers in your architecture
- Generate sequence/flow diagrams automatically from your process definitions
- Invaluable for documenting integrations, audits, and incident investigations
A single place to understand not just what your architecture looks like, but how it behaves — end to end.
No lock-in
YAML export — your data, always
Your architecture model belongs to you. C4InterFlow is built on the open-source C4InterFlow framework, and you can export your full model as YAML at any time — from any page, with a single click. Take it with you, version-control it in Git, or use it directly with the open-source CLI. Bridge the gap between visual modelling and Architecture as Code — your YAML is fully compatible with the C4InterFlow open-source framework's DSL.
- Export your full architecture model as human-readable YAML at any time
- Compatible with the open-source C4InterFlow CLI — no migration required
- Store your architecture in Git alongside your code
- Never lose your work, regardless of your subscription status
You're never locked in. Your architecture data is always yours — portable, readable, and version-controllable.
Collaboration
Team planTeam workspaces
A workspace is the shared environment where your whole team collaborates on architecture. Every member works from the same model — no more emailing diagram files, no more “which version is current?”, no more conflicting copies of the same diagram. The workspace is the single source of truth.
- Invite team members by email — they’re in the workspace immediately
- Everyone works from the same live architecture model
- No file sharing, no version conflicts, no stale copies
- One workspace can hold multiple repositories for different products or domains
Your entire team works from one living, accurate model — no more hunting for the latest version.
Governance
Team planAudit log
For teams that need a record of who changed what and when, C4InterFlow’saudit log tracks every architecture change made in the workspace. Whether you’re preparing for a compliance review, investigating an incident, or simply reviewing a colleague’s recent changes, the audit log gives you a complete, timestamped history.
- Full history of architecture changes — additions, edits, and deletions
- Attributed to the team member who made each change
- 30-day rolling retention on the Team plan
- Useful for compliance, incident review, and change governance
Full visibility into who changed what, and when — without any extra tooling or process.
Accessibility
Cloud-based — no setup required
C4InterFlow runs entirely in the browser. There’s nothing to install, no licence to configure, and no IT department to involve. Sign up, create your workspace, and start modelling in minutes. Your architecture is available from any device, anywhere.
- Works in any modern browser — no plugins or extensions needed
- Access your architecture from your desk, a client site, or on the road
- Your model is always backed up — no risk of losing local files
- Automatic updates — you always have the latest features without reinstalling
Up and running in minutes — no procurement, no installation, no maintenance. Just architecture.
Why C4InterFlow
C4InterFlow vs diagramming tools
Tools like Miro, Lucidchart, draw.io, and Visio are great for drawing. Diagrams as code tools like PlantUML and Mermaid go further — but writing diagram code is still not the same as modelling an architecture. Here’s how they all differ.
| Capability | C4InterFlow App | Miro / Lucidchart / Visio | PlantUML / Mermaid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diagrams generated from a model — not drawn by hand | |||
| Diagrams stay in sync when architecture changes | |||
| Multiple diagram types from a single model | |||
| Native C4 Model notation support | |||
| Architecture model importable and exportable as structured, portable data (YAML) | |||
| Version-controllable in Git * | |||
| Business process to flow diagram tracing | |||
| Free-form drawing | |||
| Custom shapes |
Static diagramming tools have their place — but if your goal is accurate, maintainable architecture documentation, modelling beats drawing every time.
* C4InterFlow App lets you export your full architecture model as YAML — fully compatible with the C4InterFlow open-source Architecture as Code framework — so your architecture can be version-controlled in Git.
Start modelling today — for free
One repository. 100 interfaces. No credit card required. Upgrade when you’re ready.