Generate codebase architecture diagrams with Mermaid

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Who Should Use This Tutorial?

This tutorial is perfect for developers and technical professionals who need to understand, document, or communicate codebase architecture:

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Why Zencoder Excels at This Task

When you ask Zencoder to create a diagram of your codebase, it’s not working from generic templates or making educated guesses. Thanks to Repo Grokking™, Zencoder has already analyzed your entire repository and understands how everything fits together. It knows your file structure, recognizes your naming conventions, maps out dependencies between components, and understands how different parts of your code interact with each other.

This means when you request a Mermaid diagram, Zencoder can generate something that actually reflects your specific project rather than a generic example. The diagrams it creates capture the real relationships in your codebase because it genuinely understands your repository’s architecture and patterns.

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What You Can Generate

While this tutorial focuses on repository architecture diagrams, you can use similar techniques to create various types of visual documentation:

• Repository architecture with complete project structure and file relationships
• Component diagrams with detailed interactions between application parts
• Data flow diagrams illustrating information movement within the system
• API interaction maps showing service-to-service communication patterns
• Dependency graphs mapping library and module dependencies
• Database schema visualizations depicting table relationships and data structure

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Prerequisites

Before starting, make sure you have:

• Zencoder installed in your IDE (VS Code, JetBrains, or Android Studio) with the coding agent enabled
• Basic familiarity with Mermaid syntax (we’ll cover the essentials, but Mermaid’s official documentation is great for deeper learning)
• A visualization tool - many options available including IDE plugins, online editors, or standalone applications

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Step-by-Step Process

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Step 1: Prepare Your Request

The key to getting excellent diagrams is crafting a comprehensive prompt that gives Zencoder clear direction on what you want to visualize.

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Step 2: Craft Your Prompt

Here’s a sample prompt that generated a comprehensive repository architecture diagram:

I need you to make an extremely deep dive into this current existing code. 
Check the docs.json, check the entire file structure, all the elements 
of this repository that we have created. The hierarchical structure, 
mutual dependencies, interlinking - pretty much everything that makes 
this repo a repo. 

After that I want you to go one step further and generate a new markdown 
file that will contain a Mermaid chart - basically a Mermaid markdown 
for the entire repository. This should show flows, everything that you 
can encompass into it. Feel free to be as verbose as possible, and make 
sure that the syntaxfor this Mermaid chart is perfectly valid so that 
I can visualize it in an external tool.

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Step 3: Refine Your Request

Based on the initial output, you can refine your request:

For more detail:

Can you expand the [specific section] to show individual file 
relationships?

Add more detail about the configuration dependencies and how 
they connect

For less complexity:

Simplify this diagram by grouping related components together

Focus only on the main architectural components, remove 
implementation details

For different perspectives:

Show this same information as a data flow diagram instead

Create a user journey version showing how someone navigates 
through the documentation

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Step 4: Validate and Visualize

Once you have your Mermaid code:

1. Copy the Mermaid syntax from Zencoder’s response
2. Test it in a Mermaid validator to ensure syntax correctness
3. Visualize using your preferred tool:
   • IDE plugins (VS Code Mermaid Preview, JetBrains Mermaid plugin)
   • Online editors (Mermaid Live Editor, GitHub markdown preview)
   • Documentation platforms (GitLab, Notion, Confluence with Mermaid support)
   • Standalone applications or CLI tools

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Best Practices for Quality Diagrams

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Effective Prompting Strategies

Analyze the entire repository including configuration files, 
dependencies, and cross-references between components

Make sure that the syntax for this Mermaid chart is perfectly 
valid so that I can visualize it in an external tool

Organize components by functionality and group by 
architectural layers

Include a summary explaining the architecture and 
key relationships

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Managing Complexity

Large codebases can produce overwhelming diagrams. Here’s how to manage complexity:

Break it down:

• Start with high-level architecture, then drill into specific areas
• Focus on one subsystem or module at a time
• Create multiple diagrams for different perspectives

Use hierarchical approaches:

• Request main components first, then detailed breakdowns
• Ask for “layered” diagrams showing different levels of abstraction
• Create overview + detail diagram pairs

Filter strategically:

• Exclude test files, build artifacts, or configuration if not relevant
• Focus on business logic or core functionality
• Filter by file types or directory patterns

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Common Issues and Solutions

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Visualization Options

Since Mermaid is a widely-supported standard format, you have many options for viewing your generated diagrams:

• IDE plugins - Most popular editors have Mermaid extensions
• Online editors - Check the official Mermaid website for web-based tools
• Documentation platforms - GitHub, GitLab, Notion, and others support Mermaid natively
• Standalone applications - Various third-party desktop and CLI tools are available

You likely already have access to Mermaid visualization through tools you’re currently using. If not, the official Mermaid documentation provides a comprehensive list of supported platforms and integrations.

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Advanced Tips

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Iterative Refinement

Don’t expect perfect results on the first try. Use an iterative approach:

1. Start with a broad request
2. Analyze the output for missing or excessive detail
3. Refine your prompt based on what you learned
4. Generate updated versions until you get the right level of detail

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Multiple Perspectives

Consider generating several diagrams of the same codebase:

• Structural: How files and directories are organized
• Functional: How components work together
• Data-focused: How information flows through the system
• User-centered: How users interact with different parts

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Documentation Integration

Use these diagrams as living documentation:

• Include generation prompts in your documentation
• Set up processes to regenerate diagrams when architecture changes
• Create templates for common diagram types in your organization

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Next Steps

Once you’ve mastered basic repository diagrams, try experimenting with:

• Component interaction diagrams for specific features
• API flow diagrams for service architectures
• Database relationship diagrams for data-heavy applications
• User journey diagrams for frontend applications

The same prompting principles apply - be specific, request validation, and iterate based on results.

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Take It Further: Automate with Custom Zen Agents

Now that you’ve mastered the art of prompting for architecture diagrams, why not automate the process? Instead of crafting the same types of prompts repeatedly, you can create a custom Zen Agent that specializes in generating architecture diagrams tailored to your specific needs and coding standards.

Imagine having a dedicated agent that automatically knows your preferred diagram complexity, your project’s architectural patterns, and your team’s documentation requirements. With custom AI Agents, you can build an intelligent assistant that handles this entire workflow - from analyzing your codebase to generating perfectly formatted Mermaid diagrams - without you having to remember the optimal prompting strategies each time.

Happy diagramming! 🎨