How to Use the Engineering Profile for Deployment-Ownership Validation in Archify

Enable the deployment-ownership engineering profile in your architecture JSON's meta field to enforce strict ownership, region, and boundary constraints that validate production-deployment readiness.

Archify transforms architecture diagrams into truth-verified artifacts through engineering profiles. The deployment-ownership profile specifically validates that every component in your diagram has required ownership metadata and boundary definitions, producing a machine-readable receipt that proves your topology meets production-deployment standards.

Enabling the Deployment-Ownership Profile

To activate deployment-ownership validation, you must explicitly declare the profile in your architecture source file and run the validator with JSON output enabled.

Setting the Engineering Profile Field

Add a top-level meta.engineering_profile field set to "deployment-ownership" in your architecture JSON:

{
  "meta": {
    "title": "Production Deployment",
    "engineering_profile": "deployment-ownership"
  },
  "components": [
    { "id": "frontend", "type": "service", "owner": "team-web", "region": "us-east-1" },
    { "id": "api", "type": "service", "owner": "team-api", "region": "us-east-1" },
    { "id": "db", "type": "database", "owner": "team-db", "region": "us-east-1", "private": true }
  ],
  "relationships": [
    { "source": "frontend", "target": "api", "crossing": "http" },
    { "source": "api", "target": "db", "crossing": "tcp" }
  ]
}

According to the Archify source code, this profile is optional and must be set explicitly in the metadata to trigger validation logic.

Running Validation

Execute the validate command with the --json flag to receive a machine-readable receipt:

node archify/bin/archify.mjs validate architecture my-app.architecture.json --quality showcase --json

When validation succeeds, the receipt contains the engineeringProfile property confirming compliance:

{
  "engineeringProfile": "deployment-ownership",
  "status": "pass"
}

The validation engine is implemented in archify/renderers/shared/engineering-profiles.mjs, which processes each component against the strict deployment-ownership rules.

Delivering the Artifact

Once validation passes, deliver the final artifact with the compliance badge attached:

node archify/bin/archify.mjs deliver architecture my-app.architecture.json out.html --quality showcase --json

The delivered HTML includes validation metadata that allows the gallery UI to display a green "PASS" badge next to the engineering profile label.

Validation Rules and Diagnostics

When deployment-ownership is active, Archify enforces seven hard rules as errors rather than warnings. If any component violates these constraints, the validator aborts and returns a diagnostic receipt.

The archify/renderers/shared/engineering-profiles.mjs implementation checks for the following diagnostic codes:

• engineering/deployment-owner-missing — Every component must declare an explicit owner
• engineering/deployment-region-scope — All components must be placed in a single, named region
• engineering/deployment-private-state — Private state must be scoped to a region
• engineering/deployment-crossing-mechanism — Any boundary crossing must use a concrete mechanism (e.g., http, tcp)
• engineering/deployment-boundary-kind — Boundary kinds must be explicitly typed
• engineering/deployment-region-ambiguous — No component may be assigned to multiple regions
• engineering/deployment-private-region-consistency — Private resources cannot span regions

The validation receipt includes a diagnostics array listing specific failures, enabling precise fixes to the architecture source.

Visual Verification in Rendered Artifacts

Successful validation embeds proof directly into the rendered output. Archify adds a data attribute to the SVG element:

<svg data-engineering-profile="deployment-ownership" viewBox="...">

The gallery UI detects this attribute to display a green "DEPLOYMENT OWNERSHIP · PASS" badge. This visual indicator appears in the engineering profile section of the artifact viewer, as demonstrated in the example gallery file.

Complete Working Example

Here is a complete end-to-end workflow using the example files from the repository:

{
  "meta": {
    "title": "Production Deployment",
    "engineering_profile": "deployment-ownership"
  },
  "components": [
    { "id": "frontend", "type": "service", "owner": "team-web", "region": "us-east-1" },
    { "id": "api", "type": "service", "owner": "team-api", "region": "us-east-1" },
    { "id": "db", "type": "database", "owner": "team-db", "region": "us-east-1", "private": true }
  ],
  "relationships": [
    { "source": "frontend", "target": "api", "crossing": "http" },
    { "source": "api", "target": "db", "crossing": "tcp" }
  ]
}

Save this as examples/production-deployment.architecture.json, then run:

# Validate the architecture

node archify/bin/archify.mjs validate architecture examples/production-deployment.architecture.json --quality showcase --json

# Deliver the HTML with compliance metadata

node archify/bin/archify.mjs deliver architecture examples/production-deployment.architecture.json out.html --quality showcase --json

Inspect out.html to verify the SVG contains data-engineering-profile="deployment-ownership", confirming the artifact meets deployment-ownership validation standards.

Summary

• Enable validation by setting meta.engineering_profile to "deployment-ownership" in your architecture JSON
• Validate using the CLI with --json to receive machine-readable receipts from archify/renderers/shared/engineering-profiles.mjs
• Fix failures using the specific diagnostic codes (engineering/deployment-owner-missing, etc.) provided in the validation receipt
• Deliver proof that embeds compliance data into the SVG for gallery display
• Verify visually through the green "PASS" badge shown in the gallery UI when data-engineering-profile is present

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the deployment-ownership engineering profile?

The deployment-ownership engineering profile is a strict validation mode in Archify that ensures architecture diagrams meet production-deployment readiness standards. According to the source code in archify/renderers/shared/engineering-profiles.mjs, it enforces seven hard rules requiring explicit owners, single-region placement, scoped private state, and documented boundary crossings for every component.

How do I fix validation errors for missing component owners?

Add an owner field to every component object in your architecture JSON. The validator in archify/renderers/shared/engineering-profiles.mjs generates the engineering/deployment-owner-missing diagnostic for any component lacking this field. Re-run archify validate after adding owner strings to confirm resolution.

Can I use multiple engineering profiles simultaneously?

Currently, Archify supports only the deployment-ownership profile for production-deployment review. The meta.engineering_profile field accepts a single string value, and the validation engine processes only one profile per architecture diagram. Check README.md for supported profile values as the ecosystem expands.

Where does Archify store the validation receipt?

Archify emits the validation receipt to stdout when you pass the --json flag to the validate or deliver commands. The receipt includes the engineeringProfile field and any diagnostics. As shown in archify/test/engineering-profile.test.mjs, the JSON output contains structured data suitable for CI/CD pipelines and automated compliance checks.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "instagit": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "instagit@latest"]
    }
  }
}