Archie Architecture Assistant

Archie is the project-aware architecture assistant. Its context follows the current project, selected version, page, focused resource, attached Decision, and approved knowledge.

Conversations And Context

Use Archie to inspect dependencies, compare evidence, explain analysis, draft documentation, or explore a future state. Navigating to a different page changes the context available to new messages, so name the target resource when ambiguity matters.

Examples:

• “Explain the external blast radius for Checkout in the context lens.”
• “Compare this workflow with the declared Relationships.”
• “Draft a security posture document using the current View and Data Model.”
• “Start an architecture simulation for separating payment orchestration.”

Attach A Document To A Conversation

Use the composer’s Attach documents control for PDF, Word, Markdown, or text files, up to 10 MB per file. Wait for processing before asking Archie to use the document. Open the attachment to inspect the extracted text when a conclusion looks incomplete.

An attachment is private to that conversation unless you choose Save to project knowledge. That explicit action makes it available as a project source for collaborators and future conversations. Attaching a file alone does not add it to the architecture model.

Consult Another Project

When Archie needs a reference project, review the read-only access request. Allow for this conversation permits it to consult that project's readable architecture evidence in this conversation. It does not authorize changes to the source project.

Approved references appear as Reference projects chips. Remove a reference when it should no longer be consulted. Your existing access and AI usage settings still apply.

Workbench Artifacts

Archie can return structured artifacts rather than only prose. Depending on the task, the workbench can show diagrams, lists, spotlights, document drafts, Data Model proposals, or simulation state.

Inspect the artifact and its evidence before acting. Story mode can walk through a sequence of focused views, while the reader still controls the active lens where supported.

Inspect Diagram Evidence

Workbench boards can contain rendered Mermaid diagrams and references to model resources. Inspect the selected item or its reference preview to see the supporting workflow, behavior, data, or architecture evidence. An illustrative diagram is an explanation; it becomes model state only through a supported, reviewed model change.

Workbench Guide

Open Guide in the Workbench for examples suited to the current project, system, or document. Selecting an example fills the composer; review it and press Send to begin. The guide also explains the evidence and follow-up actions available for supported artifacts.

Reuse Saved Results In Documents

Supported workbench results include project analysis, risk review, architecture insight, blast radius, architecture drift, and what-if analysis. These results can be selected from an Architecture Document's Artifact block picker, together with saved simulations and checkpoint diffs.

The picker uses results associated with the document's project and version, from accessible Architecture Documents and your own Archie conversations. Inserting a result preserves the evidence without rerunning the analysis. See Document Artifacts.

Discuss A Simulation Or Change Review

Use Discuss with Archie on a simulation to establish its baseline version and attach a simulation reference card. For checkpoint reviews, discuss the complete briefing or choose Discuss this change for one finding. The review card carries the baseline, observation time, and captured change evidence.

These attachments make the subject of the discussion explicit. A fresh model inspection can return newer evidence than an attached change-review observation; use the card's context when reviewing the answer.

Approval Cards

Review is the default: supported mutations are presented for approval. Check names, stable resources, selected version, and downstream effects before applying.

In the Workbench, you can explicitly enable Auto-apply for eligible changes in the current session. Those changes can be saved immediately instead of waiting for an approval card. Actions that always require review retain approval, including deletion, publication, version activation or merge, checkpoint capture, and Architecture Document creation or update. Turn Auto-apply off to return to reviewing eligible changes before they are applied.

An interrupted application can require reconciliation. Resume the existing operation safely rather than asking Archie to create a duplicate change.

Focused Modes

• A focused Architecture Document gives Archie the canonical document and its version context.
• A Decision discussion attaches the finding and affected resources.
• Architecture Simulation mode maintains a durable objective, expected outcome, change set, and revision history.
• Page-specific capability packs expose only the tools relevant to the current work.

Memory And Knowledge

Uploaded sources are evidence, not automatically accepted truth. Approved memories and insights are the durable project knowledge Archie can reuse.

External Research

With an eligible Ollama Cloud configuration, Archie can search the web for outside context. Availability and managed-credit rules follow the active AI settings. Review external sources separately from the project evidence behind an architectural conclusion.

Safe Use

• Confirm the active architecture version.
• Ask Archie to cite the project evidence behind a conclusion.
• Keep product-facing names readable and implementation references in descriptions.
• Treat analysis and generated content as review material.
• Use Architecture Simulations for durable what-if changes instead of editing the baseline through conversation.