# Archify Standard vs Showcase Quality Profiles: What's the Difference?

> Understand Archify standard vs showcase quality profiles. Standard treats composition issues as warnings, showcase promotes them to errors for polished artifacts.

- Repository: [tt-a1i/archify](https://github.com/tt-a1i/archify)
- Tags: comparison
- Published: 2026-08-17

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**Archify's *standard* profile treats composition issues as warnings for engineering workflows, while the *showcase* profile promotes them to hard errors for polished public artifacts.**

Archify ships two distinct **quality profiles** that control how strictly the tool validates diagram composition. The `standard` profile balances feedback with productivity, whereas `showcase` enforces a stricter visual standard suitable for gallery pieces and README screenshots. Understanding when to use each profile helps teams iterate faster without sacrificing quality for public-facing work.

## How Quality Profiles Work in Archify

Quality profiles in Archify govern the **severity classification** of composition checks. Both profiles enforce identical *safety* validations—such as edges passing through nodes or non-finite paths—but diverge sharply on *composition* issues like crossings, overlaps, and border runs.

The profile is declared in your configuration via the `quality_profile` field, which the JSON schema restricts to `["standard", "showcase"]` per [`archify/schemas/architecture.schema.json`](https://github.com/tt-a1i/archify/blob/main/archify/schemas/architecture.schema.json) at line 21.

### Standard Profile: Permissive by Design

The `standard` profile is the **default mode** for all Archify renders. It targets engineering workflows where diagram density and rapid iteration matter more than pixel-perfect composition.

- **Safety errors** fail the build and abort rendering
- **Composition issues** emit warnings without blocking output
- **Exit code**: always `0` unless safety violations exist
- **Receipt**: contains warning details for optional inspection

This profile lets developers work with complex, real-world diagrams without being interrupted by every visual imperfection.

### Showcase Profile: Strict Visual Standards

The `showcase` profile is an **opt-in strict mode** activated via `--quality showcase`. It elevates three specific composition problems from warnings to fatal errors:

| Severity Change | Issue Type |
|---------------|-----------|
| Warning → Error | Proper interior X crossings |
| Warning → Error | Unrelated collinear overlaps |
| Warning → Error | Routes running collinearly along container borders |

- **Exit code**: non-zero if any composition error exists
- **Artifact rejection**: no output file generated on failure

Use this profile when generating screenshots for documentation, README files, or public galleries where visual polish is non-negotiable.

## Profile Behavior Comparison

| Aspect | Standard | Showcase |
|--------|----------|----------|
| Default activation | Yes | Manual opt-in |
| Safety errors | Hard fail | Hard fail |
| Composition issues | Warning | Error |
| CLI exit code on composition problems | `0` | Non-zero |
| Suitable for | CI/CD, dense engineering diagrams | Gallery, README, public artifacts |

The design intent behind this split is documented in [`docs/research-visual-evolution-round-44.md`](https://github.com/tt-a1i/archify/blob/main/docs/research-visual-evolution-round-44.md) at lines 48-53, where the composition receipt research note summarizes the intended use cases for each profile.

## Command-Line Usage Examples

Select your quality profile directly in Archify CLI commands:

```bash

# Default standard profile (explicit or implicit)

archify render architecture diagram.json out.html
archify render architecture diagram.json out.html --quality standard

# Showcase profile for polished output

archify render architecture diagram.json out.html --quality showcase

# Inspect which profile is active during validation

archify validate architecture diagram.json --json

# Output includes: "composition.profile": "standard"

```

When `showcase` fails, the receipt enumerates specific composition errors that must be resolved:

```bash
$ archify render architecture complex.json out.html --quality showcase
Error: composition validation failed
  - proper_crossing: Edge e12 crosses edge e34 at (145, 200)
  - border_run: Route r7 runs collinear with container border for 40px
Exit code: 3

```

## Implementation and Testing

The behavioral difference between profiles is **explicitly tested** in `archify/test/render-output-checks.test.mjs` at lines 246-250. These unit tests verify that a proper crossing is recorded as a warning under `standard` but as an error under `showcase`, ensuring the severity mapping remains stable across releases.

The schema definition in [`archify/schemas/architecture.schema.json`](https://github.com/tt-a1i/archify/blob/main/archify/schemas/architecture.schema.json) constrains the configuration surface, preventing invalid profile values from reaching the validation engine.

## Summary

- **Standard profile**: Default, warning-centric mode for engineering workflows where productivity outweighs visual perfection
- **Showcase profile**: Strict, error-driven mode for public artifacts requiring polished composition
- **Both profiles**: Share identical safety validations; differ only in composition check severity
- **Key files**: [`architecture.schema.json`](https://github.com/tt-a1i/archify/blob/main/architecture.schema.json) (schema), `render-output-checks.test.mjs` (tests), [`research-visual-evolution-round-44.md`](https://github.com/tt-a1i/archify/blob/main/research-visual-evolution-round-44.md) (design rationale)

## Frequently Asked Questions

### How do I enable the showcase profile in Archify?

Pass `--quality showcase` to any `archify render` command. The CLI validates the value against `["standard", "showcase"]` defined in [`archify/schemas/architecture.schema.json`](https://github.com/tt-a1i/archify/blob/main/archify/schemas/architecture.schema.json). Without this flag, all renders default to `standard`.

### Will showcase profile reject diagrams that standard accepts?

Yes. Any diagram with proper crossings, unrelated collinear overlaps, or border runs will fail under `showcase` while passing under `standard`. The same underlying issues are detected in both cases; only the severity classification changes.

### Can I override profile behavior for specific composition rules?

No. Archify treats the quality profile as a **bundled severity preset**. You cannot individually configure which composition checks fail versus warn. For granularity, run with `standard` and post-process the receipt, or fix issues until `showcase` passes.