OPEN SOURCE Architecture is more than a diagram.Meet SwiftBuild
Open source. Built for engineers.

Design systems.
Understand their behavior.

The architecture workbench to model, validate, and explore
how your systems behave. From the first connection to the next decision.

Apache-2.0 Self-hostable Your architecture. Your control.
Living architectureINTERACTIVE DEMO
A request becomes an order. Follow the path from the edge to the worker.
Steady state
Commerce API

Coordinates reads, writes, and asynchronous order events.

Illustrative architecture demo · scripted behavior, not measured resultsSelect a component to explore
Explore components & dependencies
  • Gateway → Commerce API: HTTP
  • Commerce API → PostgreSQL: SQL
  • Commerce API → Redis cache: LOOKUP
  • Commerce API → Order events: PUBLISH
FROM DESIGN TO UNDERSTANDING
Model
Configure
Validate
Simulate
Compare
[ 01 ]A WORKBENCH, NOT JUST A CANVAS

Give your architecture
engineering meaning.

A box on a canvas can tell you what exists.
SwiftBuild helps you explore how it connects,
what it depends on, and why you chose it.

SwiftBuild architecture editor showing a commerce system, searchable catalog, and PostgreSQL configuration inspector
Actual SwiftBuild product screenshot · example inputs are illustrativeExplore the workbench

Semantic by design

Components, connections, and configuration share one architecture model.

Evidence stays connected

Keep requirements, decisions, and engineering findings close to the system.

Explore before you commit

Compare scenarios and saved runs using explicit assumptions.

[ 02 ]BUILT FOR THE DETAILS

Real components.
Meaningful connections.

Start with the technologies you know.
Design with the behavior that matters.

TECHNOLOGY-AWARE MODELING

Less drawing.
More designing.

Search a technology catalog, configure components, and connect them with explicit relationships. A database is more than a cylinder.

  • Technology and generic components
  • Contextual configuration inspectors
  • Validated local component packs
  • Keyboard access and an object list
Meet the architecture workbench
[ 03 ]MAKE YOUR NEXT DECISION INFORMED

Understand the system.
Then improve it.

REQUIREMENTS & DECISIONS

Keep the “why”
with the “what.”

Link requirements and decisions to architecture objects. Capture alternatives, rationale, and consequences.

ADR / 004ILLUSTRATIVE RECORD

Move order processing off the request path

Use a queue to decouple checkout from background fulfillment.

ARCHITECTURE VALIDATION

Find the questions
worth asking.

Structural checks and deterministic engineering findings expose evidence, recommendations, and unknowns.

Architecture reviewEXAMPLE
Connection directions checkedStructural model
?Measurements need evidenceUnknown is an explicit result
Explore the validation model
SCENARIOS & SIMULATION

What happens
when demand changes?

Define workloads, growth, and bursts. Explore analytical demand and seeded simulation, then compare saved runs.

Understand the model

Results describe the supplied model.
Missing measurements remain unknown.

SCENARIO EXPLORERILLUSTRATIVE
Requests
Service
Queue
Worker
BaselineSteady demand
Traffic burstTransient contention
RecoveryOutstanding work drains
[ 04 ]FROM IDEA TO ENGINEERING

A clearer path to
a better system.

One connected workflow.
Every decision builds on the last.

01

Define

Capture requirements and measurable goals.

02

Design

Model components and semantic connections.

03

Configure

Declare behavior and operating assumptions.

04

Validate

Review structural and engineering findings.

05

Simulate

Explore workload scenarios and contention.

06

Improve

Compare evidence and save a checkpoint.

[ 05 ]OPEN BY DESIGN
APACHE-2.0 LICENSE

Your systems.
Your workbench.
Your control.

Inspect the code. Run it locally. Make it yours.
SwiftBuild is open source and self-hostable,
with no managed service required.

Start building locally~/swiftbuild
# clone the architecture workbench
git clone https://github.com/SwiftBuild-ai/SwiftBuild.git
cd SwiftBuild
pnpm install
pnpm dev
Open localhost:3000 in your browser
ON THE HORIZON

The same foundation.
A managed future.

SwiftBuild Cloud is the planned managed experience.
Today, start with the open-source workbench.

Follow the roadmap
01Managed hostingPlanned
02Shared architecture reviewPlanned
03Safe concurrent editingPlanned
04AI assistancePlanned
[ 06 ]A FEW MORE THINGS

Good questions.
Clear answers.

What is SwiftBuild?+

SwiftBuild is an open-source Architecture IDE and System Design Workbench. Model systems with components and connections that carry engineering meaning, then explore requirements, validation, and workload scenarios.

Is this an architecture diagramming tool?+

The canvas is a starting point. Components have configuration and behavior; relationships, requirements, decisions, evidence, and saved scenarios connect to the same semantic model.

Are the demo results real measurements?+

The website demo is illustrative. In the workbench, simulation results describe your supplied model and assumptions. They do not replace production load testing, and missing measurements remain unknown.

Can I self-host SwiftBuild?+

Yes. Run the browser-local workbench using Docker Compose or the documented Node.js setup. Optional invite-only server mode exists; full server deployment and operational backup/restore remain planned.

Is SwiftBuild Cloud available?+

SwiftBuild Cloud is planned. You can use and self-host the open-source workbench today. Collaboration, AI assistance, and managed hosting are roadmap work.

BETTER SYSTEMS START WITH UNDERSTANDING

Build your next architecture.
Make every connection count.

Open source. Self-hostable. Built for the way engineers think.