Views

Views define what part of the model is shown and how it is laid out. Each view is a window into your architecture from a specific perspective.

View types

Type	DSL keyword	Scope	Purpose
System Landscape	`systemLandscape`	Entire workspace	All systems and people
System Context	`systemContext`	One software system	System and its interactions
Container	`container`	One software system	Internal containers
Component	`component`	One container	Internal components
Dynamic	`dynamic`	System or container	Ordered interactions
Deployment	`deployment`	Environment + system	Infrastructure topology
Filtered	`filtered`	Another view	Tag-based subset
Custom	`custom`	None (free-form)	Arbitrary elements
Image	`image`	N/A	Static image view

Defining views

All views are defined inside the views { } block:

views {
  systemLandscape "Landscape" {
    include *
    autoLayout
  }

  systemContext mySystem "Context" {
    include *
    autoLayout
  }

  container mySystem "Containers" {
    include *
    autoLayout
  }
}

View keys

Every view has a unique key (the string after the scope element). Keys are stable identifiers used for:

Linking to views in documentation
Stable export filenames
Governance and review workflows

systemContext mySystem "MyViewKey" {
  ...
}

Include and exclude

Control which elements appear in a view:

Include all

include *

Include specific elements

include user
include mySystem
include user -> mySystem

Exclude elements

exclude internalService
exclude user -> legacySystem

Include by expression

include element.tag==External

Auto layout

Enable automatic layout positioning:

autoLayout

With direction:

autoLayout lr    // left to right
autoLayout tb    // top to bottom (default)
autoLayout bt    // bottom to top
autoLayout rl    // right to left

Elements can be dragged to reposition them on the canvas.

View properties

Views support titles, descriptions, and properties:

systemContext mySystem "Context" {
  include *
  autoLayout
  title "System Context Diagram"
  description "Shows the system and its external interactions"
  properties {
    "structurizr.sort" "type"
  }
}

Default view

Mark a view as the default (opens first when the workspace is loaded):

systemContext mySystem "Context" {
  include *
  autoLayout
  default
}