# Standard vs Showcase Quality Profiles in Archify: Complete Validation Guide

> Understand Archify's standard vs showcase quality profiles. Learn how strictness levels impact validation for engineering workflows and public artifacts in this complete guide.

- Repository: [tt-a1i/archify](https://github.com/tt-a1i/archify)
- Tags: best-practices
- Published: 2026-08-05

---

**Archify's standard and showcase quality profiles differ in strictness: standard treats composition issues as warnings for engineering workflows, while showcase treats them as hard errors for public-facing artifacts.**

This guide explains how Archify's two **quality profiles** control validation behavior during diagram rendering. The **standard** profile prioritizes developer velocity by allowing visual imperfections, while the **showcase** profile enforces strict composition standards for polished outputs.

## What Are Archify Quality Profiles?

Archify validates architectural diagrams against two profile levels defined in [`archify/schemas/architecture.schema.json`](https://github.com/tt-a1i/archify/blob/main/archify/schemas/architecture.schema.json) (line 21):

```json
["standard", "showcase"]

```

These profiles determine whether composition checks produce **warnings** or **errors**, directly affecting CLI exit codes and artifact generation.

## Standard Profile: Engineering-First Validation

The **standard** profile is the default setting for everyday diagram development.

### Validation Behavior

- **Safety errors** (edges through nodes, non-finite paths) → **Fail and abort**
- **Composition issues** (proper crossings, unrelated overlaps, container-border runs) → **Warnings only**

### Exit Behavior

The CLI returns exit code 0 even when warnings exist. The receipt contains warnings for inspection without blocking the build process.

```bash

# Default standard profile

archify render architecture diagram.json out.html
#same as --quality standard
#exits 0 with warnings in receipt, artifact produced

```

Use **standard** for iterating on dense, real-world diagrams where visual perfection is secondary to functional correctness.

## Showcase Profile: Publication-Ready Strictness

The **showcase** profile is an opt-in setting for Gallery and README artifacts shown to end-users.

### Validation Behavior

- **Safety errors** → Same hard failures as standard
- **Composition issues** → **Upgraded to hard errors**:
  - Proper interior X crossings
  - Unrelated collinear overlaps
  - Routes running collinearly along container borders

### Exit Behavior

The CLI returns a non-zero exit code on any composition error. The receipt reports errors and rejects the artifact for showcase generation.

```bash

# Strict showcase validation

archify render architecture diagram.json out.html --quality showcase
#exits non-zero if composition errors found, artifact rejected

```

Use **showcase** when visual polish directly impacts user perception of your documentation.

## Profile Comparison: Standard vs Showcase

| Aspect | Standard | Showcase |
|--------|----------|----------|
| Default status | Yes | Opt-in |
| Target use case | Engineering diagrams | Public-facing artifacts |
| Proper X crossings | Warning | Error |
| Unrelated overlaps | Warning | Error |
| Container-border runs | Warning | Error |
| CLI exit code | 0 (with warnings) | Non-zero (with errors) |
| Artifact output | Produced | Rejected on error |

## Implementation and Source References

### Schema Definition

The allowed values are declared in [`archify/schemas/architecture.schema.json`](https://github.com/tt-a1i/archify/blob/main/archify/schemas/architecture.schema.json) at line 21:

```json
"quality_profile": {
  "enum": ["standard", "showcase"]
}

```

### Test Suite Verification

Behavioral differences are confirmed in `archify/test/render-output-checks.test.mjs` (lines 246-250), where a proper crossing is recorded as a **warning** under standard but an **error** under showcase.

### Design Documentation

The original design intent 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) (lines 48-53) within the "Composition Receipt" research note, summarizing profile purposes and exit semantics.

## Practical Profile Management

### Inspect Active Profile

Validate a diagram and see which profile applies:

```bash
archify validate architecture diagram.json --json

```

Output includes: `"composition.profile": "standard"` or `"showcase"`

### CI/CD Integration

```bash

# Development builds: allow warnings

archify render architecture diagram.json out.html

# Release builds: enforce showcase standards

archify render architecture diagram.json out.html --quality showcase || exit 1

```

## Summary

- **Standard profile** optimizes for developer velocity with warning-only composition checks
- **Showcase profile** enforces visual perfection through hard composition errors
- Profile selection affects CLI exit codes and artifact acceptance
- Implementation spans schema definition ([`architecture.schema.json`](https://github.com/tt-a1i/archify/blob/main/architecture.schema.json)), test suites (`render-output-checks.test.mjs`), and design docs ([`research-visual-evolution-round-44.md`](https://github.com/tt-a1i/archify/blob/main/research-visual-evolution-round-44.md))
- Choose **standard** for engineering iteration, **showcase** for public documentation

## Frequently Asked Questions

### What is the default quality profile in Archify?

**Standard is the default.** Running `archify render` without a `--quality` flag automatically applies the standard profile, which allows composition warnings without failing the build.

### Can I override the quality profile per diagram?

**Yes, via CLI flag.** Use `--quality showcase` or `--quality standard` on any render or validate command. The active profile appears in JSON validation output under `composition.profile`.

### Why does showcase reject artifacts that standard accepts?

**Different failure modes.** Standard returns exit code 0 with warnings in the receipt, producing the artifact. Showcase returns non-zero exit codes for the same composition issues, rejecting the artifact to prevent publication of visually imperfect diagrams.

### Where are the quality profile rules defined?

**Three source locations:** The `quality_profile` enum lives in [`archify/schemas/architecture.schema.json`](https://github.com/tt-a1i/archify/blob/main/archify/schemas/architecture.schema.json). Behavioral tests are in `archify/test/render-output-checks.test.mjs`. Design rationale appears in [`docs/research-visual-evolution-round-44.md`](https://github.com/tt-a1i/archify/blob/main/docs/research-visual-evolution-round-44.md).