architecture-export

Architecture Diagrams & Export

Generate architecture diagrams and export architecture summaries using the real NavGator MCP and CLI surfaces.

Prerequisites

Before generating output, check whether architecture data exists. If the MCP tool or CLI reports missing data, run or recommend navgator scan first. Do not fabricate architecture from raw source when scan data is unavailable.

Diagrams

For in-chat diagrams, use the navgator diagram MCP tool.

MCP modes:

• summary: top connected components only (default)
• focus: center on a specific component; pass focus: "<component-name>"
• layer: show one layer; pass focus: "<layer-name>" such as frontend, backend, database, queue, infra, or external

The MCP tool returns Mermaid markdown that can be rendered in any Mermaid-compatible viewer.

For file output, use the CLI diagram command. NavGator does not have an export command.

# Raw Mermaid
npx @tyroneross/navgator diagram --summary --output architecture.mmd

# Markdown-wrapped Mermaid
npx @tyroneross/navgator diagram --summary --markdown --output ARCHITECTURE.md

# Focused component diagram
npx @tyroneross/navgator diagram --focus "component-name" --markdown --output component-architecture.md

# Layer diagram
npx @tyroneross/navgator diagram --layer backend --markdown --output backend-architecture.md

Summary Export

For an in-chat executive summary, use the navgator summary MCP tool.

For a JSON file, use the CLI summary command and shell redirection:

npx @tyroneross/navgator summary > architecture-summary.json

If the user asks for machine-readable graph data, point them to the generated scan artifacts rather than inventing an export command:

• .navgator/architecture/index.json
• .navgator/architecture/graph.json
• .navgator/architecture/file_map.json

Decision Tree

User Intent	Tool	Notes
"Show architecture diagram"	MCP navgator diagram	Summary mode
"Diagram of X component"	MCP navgator diagram with mode: "focus"	Component-focused
"Show backend layer"	MCP navgator diagram with mode: "layer"	Pass layer name as focus
"Save a Mermaid diagram"	CLI npx @tyroneross/navgator diagram --output <file>	Add --markdown for Markdown docs
"Export architecture summary"	CLI npx @tyroneross/navgator summary > <file>.json	JSON file output
"Architecture summary in chat"	MCP navgator summary	Executive summary
"Export full graph JSON"	Existing .navgator/architecture/*.json files	No CLI export command exists

Guardrails

• Do not use navgator export; that command is not registered.
• Do not run npm or write files unless the user asked for file output.
• Use focus for complex diagrams so the output stays readable.
• Prefer Markdown-wrapped Mermaid for documentation files and raw Mermaid for diagram-only artifacts.

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