pyArchimate 1.8.0

A library to create & manage Archimate files

pyArchimate package

Documentation: readthedocs.org

pyArchimate is a Python library for programmatically reading, writing, and manipulating Open Group ArchiMate enterprise architecture models. It has no GUI — it is purely a file I/O and object model library designed for batch and scripting use.

Core concepts

Object	What it represents
Model	Top-level container for everything
Element	An architectural concept (business process, application, server, capability…)
Relationship	A typed link between two elements (Association, Realization, Composition, Flow…)
View	A diagram — a named subset of elements/relationships laid out visually
Node	The visual box representing an element inside a view
Connection	The visual arrow representing a relationship inside a view

Elements span the full ArchiMate 3 layer stack: Strategy, Motivation, Business, Application, Technology, Physical, and Implementation.

Supported formats

Format	Read	Write
ArchiMate Open Exchange XML	yes	yes
Archi tool format (.archimate)	yes	yes
CSV	—	yes

Key operations

• Read / Write / Merge — load one or more files and save to any supported format
• Create & modify — add elements, relationships, and views via the API without touching a file
• Filter — extract subsets of elements, relationships, or views by custom predicates
• Style — set colours, coordinates, dimensions, and text layout on nodes
• Validate — check for broken references and invalid connections
• Auto-Layout — automatically arrange view elements using force-directed or hierarchical algorithms
• Auto-Format — standardize element sizes, fonts, and alignment per ArchiMate conventions
• SVG Export — render views as self-contained SVG with ArchiMate symbols and standard colors

Auto-Layout and Auto-Format (BETA)

⚠️ Status: BETA — Core functionality is stable and production-ready for typical use cases. API may evolve based on user feedback.

Quick Start

from pyArchimate.view import load_view, save_view
from pyArchimate.view.layout import apply_layout, apply_format, LayoutConfig

# Load a view
view = load_view("architecture.archimate")

# Apply automatic layout
result = apply_layout(view)

# Or apply formatting only (without repositioning)
result = apply_format(view)

# Export as SVG
svg = view.to_svg(filepath="diagram.svg")

# Save the laid-out view
save_view(view, "laid_out.archimate")

Features

• Two layout algorithms: Force-directed (general-purpose) and hierarchical (organizational structures)
• Respect ArchiMate layers: Business → Application → Technology ordering enforced
• Connection routing: Orthogonal polylines with intelligent label placement
• SVG export: Self-contained SVG with all 30+ ArchiMate element types and standard colors
• Undo/rollback: Revert layout changes with undo_layout(view)
• Configuration: Customize spacing, margins, alignment, element exclusion, and routing style

Performance

View Size	Force-Directed	Hierarchical
100 elements	<200ms	<50ms
300 elements	<2s	<500ms
500 elements	<5s	<1s

Learn More

• Auto-Layout Quickstart Guide
• Technical Specifications
• API Reference

Limitations

• No GUI, no diagram renderer
• Not designed for interactive or real-time use — batch/scripting oriented

Documentation

• AI.md — machine-readable reference for AI-assisted tooling and developer onboarding
• Tutorial — step-by-step guide for new users with runnable code examples

ArchiMate v3.x Compliance

pyArchimate now supports ArchiMate 3.x specification compliance with the following features:

Supported Features

• ✅ BusinessInteraction elements: Full support for creating, importing, and exporting BusinessInteraction elements
• ✅ Influence strength metadata: Complete round-trip preservation of influence relationship strength (both .archimate and OpenGroup formats)
• ✅ Relationship documentation: Full preservation of relationship documentation/description text during import and export

Known Gaps

See Gap Analysis Documentation for detailed analysis of specification alignment and areas for future enhancement (P2/P3).

Metamodel