Last updated April 21, 2026
Workboards
Workboards are where everything comes together. They're the visual canvases where your architecture lives — interactive, queryable, and always connected to real data.
A workboard isn't a static diagram. It's a living workspace backed by nodes, edges, sources, and AI analysis. Every workspace gets one automatically — the Master Board — and you create more as needed.
Board types
ContextDX supports ten board types, each designed for a different architectural concern:
| Type | Best for |
|---|---|
| Master Board | Primary dashboard — aggregates all workspace elements |
| Diagram | System dependencies, data flows, network topology, sequence diagrams |
| Context Map | Domain boundaries, service contexts, team ownership |
| Domain Model | Entity relationships, bounded contexts |
| System | Services, databases, APIs, queues, third-party integrations |
| Generated | Auto-generated diagrams from code or infrastructure analysis |
Not sure which type to pick? Start with Diagram — it's the most flexible. You can always create specialized boards later.
The Master Board
Every workspace gets a Master Board automatically. It's the top-level overview that aggregates all elements across the workspace — your system's "home screen." You can't delete it, but you can customize it like any other board.
Layout modes
Every board has a layout that controls how content is arranged:
Grid-based layout for overview boards. Supports preset dimensions:
| Preset | Width | Height |
|---|---|---|
| 16 | 1920px | 1080px |
| 4 | 1600px | 1200px |
| 1 | 1200px | 1200px |
| Custom | You define | You define |
Best for: Master Boards, system overviews, monitoring dashboards.
Layers (nested boards)
Boards can be nested. A node on a parent board can link to a child layer board for drill-down navigation — click a service node to see its internal components.
Rendering diagram...
This creates a natural zoom-in/zoom-out navigation — you move between L0 overview boards and L1/L2 detail boards with a single click.
Creating layers
You can create a layer board in two ways:
- From the UI — right-click a node and select "Create Layer Board." The node gets a drill-down indicator; clicking it navigates to the child board.
- From a plugin — external tools like the Claude Code plugin can push entire layer hierarchies at once, with parent-child relationships pre-wired. See Board Builder API for the payload shape.
Organizing with folders
Boards live inside folders within a workspace. Folders come in four flavors:
| Flavor | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Boards | Standard boards — diagrams, context maps, models |
| Artifacts | Reports, ADRs, Knowledge Base articles |
| System | Auto-generated folders for system catalogue |
| Automation | Boards created by automated processes |
Create folders from the sidebar, then drag boards to organize them.
Permissions
Every board has access controls:
| Level | Capabilities |
|---|---|
| Owner | Full control — edit, delete, manage permissions, publish |
| Editor | Edit content — add/remove nodes, edges, sources |
| Viewer | Read-only — view the board but can't modify |
Boards also have a general access setting — organization-wide (everyone in the org can see it) or private (only explicitly granted users).
Publishing permissions
Publishing a board is separate from editing. Published boards have their own visibility model: public, unlisted, or protected (with password). See Publishing Boards and Permissions & Access Control for full details.
Verify your board setup
After creating a board, confirm everything is working:
- Board appears in the sidebar under the correct folder
- Layout mode matches your intent (dashboard vs page)
- At least one source is bound (for source-backed boards)
- You can add a node and position it on the canvas
- Permissions are set appropriately for your team
You just created your first board — now bind a source to it and watch your architecture map itself.