场景
产品架构师需要一张银行渠道的 C4 上下文图，接着是同一系统的容器视图，而不必导出到第二款只做 C4 的工具。
C4 紧挨 Kubernetes 与云包，上下文图与实现它的集群共用一个工作区。模型变化时导出快照或 JSON。C4 包在 Free。
你画什么
C4 架构图
- Person 与 External Person
- Software System 与 External System
- Container 与 Component
- Database
- 系统边界与容器边界
- 视图落到基础设施时的 Deployment node
为什么选 Archboard
Archboard 是 C4 架构工具，而且不止于此：Person、Software System、Container 与 Component 和 Kubernetes、网络包同在一块托管画布上。IcePanel 聚焦 C4；当 C4 只是地图的一层时，该订阅的工作区是 Archboard。
此画布上的节点包
C4 · UML · 流程图 · 时序
所有内置节点包都在 Free 中（3 张图，每张 15 个图表节点 + 150 个便签、文本、贴纸和思维导图主题，带品牌的公开分享，与您的 AI 智能体实时编辑）。Pro 增加无限图表与节点、让队友实时编辑的席位、嵌入和无水印导出（$10/席/月）。
一次会话怎么走
免费开始，然后打开画布（C4 包已包含）
放置 Person 与 Software System，再用系统边界包起来
不必换产品即可下钻到 Container 与 Component
为模型导出 JSON，或为设计评审导出 SVG/PNG
C4 diagrams without a second tool
C4 architecture diagrams usually force a tool switch: context views in one product, container views in another, and the Kubernetes reality nowhere near either. That split is where models rot, because the context diagram says one thing while the cluster does another. Drawing C4 on the same canvas as Kubernetes, cloud, and network packs removes the seam. Person and Software System sit at the top, Container and Component below, and the Namespace frames that implement them further down. One workspace, one visual language, one map to keep current.
Keep each C4 level on its own area of the board instead of cramming context and component into one frame. The context view answers who uses the system and which external systems it touches; the container view answers what runs where; the component view answers how a container is built. Link the levels with consistent names, such as the same API container label in the container view and beside the cluster, so reviewers can trace a request from Person to Pod without switching products.
From C4 model to engineering artifact
A C4 diagram becomes an engineering artifact when it exports like one. Snapshot a revision before architecture review, export structured JSON for the model, and hand designers an SVG or PNG for the review deck. Share a branded public link with stakeholders who will never open the editor; they can pan, zoom, and read the same board. Pro adds embed for architecture decision records plus watermark-free PDF and JPEG for the moments a snapshot must look final. Reviews go faster when the model and the picture never disagree.
The C4 pack ships on Free: Person, Software System, Container, Component, Database, and boundaries, next to UML and sequence packs when a flow needs them. Start with the context of the system you are actually changing, drill into containers in the same file, and let the canvas, not a slide deck, carry the model forward. That is what a C4 architecture tool should do: keep the model where the system lives.
Open a published example
- C4 Container ViewPerson, systems, containers, and database with boundaries.
- Auth SequenceSequence view of an OAuth-style flow between actors and services.
Questions
Is Archboard a C4 architecture tool?
Yes. The C4 pack covers Person, Software System, Container, Component, Database, and boundaries on the same infinite canvas as Kubernetes, cloud, and network packs, so you get C4 plus the rest of the map, not C4 alone.
Should context and container views share one file?
Yes. Keep them in labeled areas of one canvas with consistent names, so a request can be traced from Person to container to cluster without switching products or hunting across files. One file also means one revision history and one share link for the whole model.
Can I export the C4 model, not just the picture?
Yes. Every diagram is a structured JSON document: export it for the model, snapshot revisions before reviews, and use SVG, PNG, JPEG, or PDF when the audience needs a snapshot.