The C4 model for visualising software architecture
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Submission timeline
2007–2026One slot for every year since HN launched. Height is that year's peak points; orange marks a 100+ point or 50+ comment breakout. Select a bar to open its strongest thread.
First comments on top threads
HN comment order> Ideally this diagram would be automatically generated using tooling... The biggest problem I've seen with architecture diagrams is they fall out of sync with the code base. In my opinion, automatic generation of these diagrams is necessary. Otherwise, teams have no way to know whether the picture in front of them accurately represents the latest state of the system.
If you like this, you’ll probably also like https://seilevel.com/business-analyst-resources/rml-book/ and various videos and webinars from Seilevel on YouTube which I added to a playlist (not in any particular order so please scroll through it): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2miG2CzrxakbZswQH-O4... Also relevant, the Design Structure Matrix (DSM): https://dsmweb.org/ and https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/design-structure-matrix-metho... (mostly learning by example, not all software-relevant, available as an…
I prefer Semtex!
The first top-level comment from each of the four biggest threads, in HN’s own order. Excerpts are shortened; open a comment for full context.
- Breakout years
- 2
- Total points
- 507
- Total comments
- 163
100+ points or 50+ comments
reference only — not used in Hall rules or ranking
reference only — not used in Hall rules or ranking
Every submission
| Date | Title as submitted | By | Points | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-08-21 | The C4 model for software architecture | mrleinad | 3 | 0 |
| 2018-06-11 | The C4 model for software architecture | flying_sheep | 2 | 0 |
| 2018-10-17 | The C4 model for software architecture | rawland | 1 | 0 |
| 2019-01-31 | The C4 model for software architecture | wanghq | 5 | 0 |
| 2019-02-04 | C4 model for software architecture | arsalanb | 2 | 0 |
| 2019-06-16 | The C4 model for visualising software architecture | ingve | 2 | 0 |
| 2019-09-21 | The C4 model for visualising software architectureFirst breakout | redact207 | 187 | 59 |
| 2021-05-06 | The C4 model for visualising software architecture | kqr2 | 1 | 0 |
| 2022-02-05 | The C4 model for visualising software architecture | Tomte | 6 | 0 |
| 2022-08-08 | The C4 model for visualising software architecture | cebert | 2 | 1 |
| 2022-09-19 | The C4 model for visualising software architecture | legrande | 1 | 0 |
| 2023-01-31 | The C4 model for visualising software architecture | christophclarke | 2 | 0 |
| 2023-10-22 | The C4 model for visualising software architectureHall induction · Best thread · Latest 20+ point return | thunderbong | 290 | 103 |
| 2025-03-19 | C4 Model | Tomte | 3 | 0 |