Drill-down architecture diagrams you can explore, present, and record — a protoAgent plugin built on LikeC4.
Atlas renders a project's LikeC4 model as a console view: one model, many views. Click into an element to see what's inside it, follow its code links into the console's code pane, and run guided tours in presenter mode — or autoplay a tour as a captioned walkthrough you can record. The agent writes the model with its normal file tools (guided by the bundled skill), then checks it, describes it, and narrates it live: it moves the view, highlights elements and relationship paths, pins callouts, and steps through flows while you watch.
| Live narration | Code links |
|---|---|
 |
 |
protoagent plugin install https://github.com/protoLabsAI/atlas-pluginAtlas ships disabled. Enable it in Settings ▸ Plugins ▸ Atlas; an Atlas button then appears in the console's right sidebar, so chat stays open on the left while the agent drives the diagram. Drag the icon to the left rail if you prefer it there; the console remembers.
| Need | Why |
|---|---|
| protoAgent 0.182.0 or newer | The protoagent:code:open bridge message (code links → code pane). |
| Node.js 20 or newer | The layout engine (vendor/atlas-engine.mjs) is a Node program. Atlas uses node_path if set, then node on PATH, then protoAgent's managed Node runtime. |
If no usable Node is found, Atlas raises a setup banner with an Install Node runtime button
(protoAgent's managed runtime, one click) and a Set Node.js path shortcut. The banner clears
itself once a Node is found. A macOS app launched from the Dock and the Docker image usually have
no node on PATH — the managed runtime covers both.
Two features need a newer host than the floor and stay hidden or degrade on older ones — see Host versions.
- Enable Atlas and open it from the rail. With no model yet it says No architecture map yet.
- In chat, ask: "Map this project's architecture." The agent writes LikeC4 files into
<project>/architecture/, runsatlas_validateuntil the model is clean, and the view picks the model up within two seconds. - Click into the diagram. Press P to present the tour, or ask the agent to walk me through how a request flows and watch it drive the view.
Want to see it first? examples/protoagent/ is a complete model of
protoAgent itself — 34 elements, 8 views, a 10-step flow, and an 85-second tour. Copy it into a
project's architecture/ folder to try it.
| Explore | |
|---|---|
| Click a node | Select it — the inspector shows its details, links, and where else it appears |
| A node's drill-down icon, Open drill-down ›, or Drill in (right-click) | Zoom into the element's own view |
| Breadcrumb / view picker | Jump to any level |
| / | Search elements and views |
| P or ▶ Present | Present the first tour, starting at the current view |
| ▾ (Tour options) | Present, Autoplay, or Record any tour |
| Present | |
|---|---|
| → Space PgDn / ← PgUp | Next / previous slide (and each step of a whole-flow slide) |
| Home / End · 1–9, 0 | First / last slide · jump to slide 1–9, 10 |
| Enter | Drill into the focused node |
| Esc Backspace | Up a level; at the top, exit |
| . / , | Focus the next / previous node |
| N · F | Toggle notes · fullscreen |
| [ / ] | Slower / faster transitions for this session |
The full guide is docs/user-guide.md.
Settings ▸ Plugins ▸ Atlas (config section atlas). Read live — a change applies on the next
request; transition_speed on the next view load.
| Key | Label | Type | Default | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
model_dir |
Model directory | string | architecture |
Where the LikeC4 model (.c4 files + likec4.config.json) lives. Relative to the project root, or an absolute path. |
project |
Project | string | (blank) | The filesystem project the model describes (a name from Settings ▸ Filesystem). Code links open files in it. Blank picks the console's project, else the first one. |
node_path |
Node.js path | string | (blank) | A Node.js 20+ executable to run the layout engine with. Blank uses node on PATH, then protoAgent's managed Node runtime. |
transition_speed |
Transition speed | slow | normal | fast |
normal |
How fast the viewer zooms into a drill-down and crossfades between views (explore and presenter). Reduced motion still wins. In the presenter, [ and ] adjust it for the session. |
| Guide | For |
|---|---|
| User guide | Operators: exploring, presenting, recording, live narration, theming, troubleshooting |
| Authoring | Writing the model and atlas.tours.json; every lint rule |
| Agent tools & API | The five tools, bus topics, HTTP routes, bridge messages |
| Architecture | How the engine, backend, and viewer work, and the security model |
| Development | Building, testing, releasing, and extending Atlas |
| LikeC4 skill | The agent's authoring reference (LikeC4 syntax, verified errors) |
| Changelog | Release history |
MIT © 2026 protoLabs.
The prebuilt engine (vendor/) and viewer (static/) bundles include third-party code under its
own licenses: MIT, Apache-2.0, BSD-3-Clause, 0BSD, ISC, BlueOak-1.0.0, and EPL-2.0 for the
Graphviz inside the layout engine. The full texts, and where to get Graphviz's exact source, are
in THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md.