datadef.io

Datadef's standard for what makes a diagram readable, size, edge discipline, nested zones, annotations, and the tool order for building or editing.

Get an overview of the current canvas: every node with its id, type, label and group, plus all connections and groups.

Get full detail for specific nodes: all columns with types and keys, metadata, schedule, formula, owners.

Get exact geometry: every node's position and size in canvas units, the overall canvas bounds, and any nodes that overlap each other.

Report where this canvas could be collapsed — groups of similar nodes that could become one summary node — without changing anything.

Search Datadef's icon library (2000+ cloud and data-tool logos) for a valid icon id.

Add one or more nodes to the canvas.

Add a single data node at an exact position, without connecting it to anything.

Change properties of existing nodes.

Swap a node for a different one while keeping every connection, its position, and its group.

Delete nodes and every edge touching them.

Draw edges between nodes to show how data flows.

Change existing connections without deleting them: fix a label, change the type, or restyle.

Remove the edge between two nodes.

Set the full column list of a table node, replacing whatever it had.

Create a labelled zone (e.

Move existing nodes into an existing group, or out of any group.

Record column-level lineage: which source column produces which target column, and how.

Place a free-floating text box on the canvas — a caption, a callout, a section heading, a note explaining a decision.

Place a rectangle, circle, arrow, or line as a visual annotation — a backdrop highlighting a region, an arrow pointing something out, a divider.

Draw one large labelled arrow representing a whole flow — "ingest", "serve", "publish" — instead of many thin edges saying the same thing.

Draw a labelled translucent area behind existing nodes to show they belong together, without reparenting them.

Set node positions precisely.

Set the width and height of nodes.

Align nodes to a shared edge or centre line, or space them evenly.

Merge several nodes into one summary node, keeping every connection.

Arrange the canvas.

Check the canvas for structural problems (disconnected nodes, circular data flow, broken references) and quality problems (unlabelled edges, tables without columns).

Generate a professional data architecture diagram from a description and save it to the user's Datadef account.

Create an empty diagram and return its diagram_id, so you can build it yourself with the canvas_* tools.

List diagrams in the user's Datadef account, most recently updated first.

Read the full structure of a diagram: every node with its type and columns, every connection, and the groups.

Change an existing diagram with a natural-language instruction, add nodes, rewire connections, add columns, reorganise into layers, fill in owners and schedules.

Render a diagram to a PNG or JPEG image.

For a diagram that was created from a connected git repository: which repo and branch or tag it tracks, when it last synced, the commit it reflects, and whether daily sync is on.

Re-sync a repo-linked diagram from the current state of its repository.