How It Works
Elan8 turns your architecture into a single source of truth. You write the model; we validate it, generate views, and help you enforce it. No manual diagram or document maintenance.
1. Write architecture in Elan8 DSL
Define your software architecture in DAC: components, modules, services, interfaces, connections, and deployment. The language is text-based, human-readable, and designed for version control. Use the Application profile for a single executable or the Platform profile for distributed systems.
Architecture lives in your repo alongside code. Changes go through the same review process as the rest of your codebase.
2. Validate with built-in rules
Elan8 parses your model and runs built-in validation. Interface compatibility, connection correctness, capability requirements, and profile-specific rules are checked automatically. You get clear errors and warnings when something is wrong — locally or in CI.
Architecture can fail. That makes it something you can trust.
3. Generate diagrams and documents
From the same model, Elan8 generates C4-style Component and Container diagrams and a Software Architecture Document (arc42-style). These are generated views, not manually drawn artifacts. When the model changes, the views stay in sync.
No more outdated Confluence pages or "final architecture v3" PDFs.
4. Use as guardrails for implementation and AI agents
Your architecture model defines boundaries, interfaces, and constraints. Use it to guide implementation, code reviews, and refactoring. In AI-assisted development, the model can serve as a guardrail so generated code respects architectural intent.
Elan8 doesn't replace your IDE, IaC, or CI/CD — it sits above them as the definition of what the system is and how it should evolve.