Creating diagrams

Create your first diagram

1. 1Sign in and open your workspace. Every account starts with a personal workspace that holds all of your diagrams.
2. 2Press Create diagram. Give it a short, recognizable title — for example “Checkout request path”. The description is optional.
3. 3Press Create diagram in the dialog. Your new diagram appears at the top of the list.
4. 4Press Open editor on the diagram card to start drawing.

Design mode and Simulate mode

The editor has two modes, shown as tabs at the top: Design is where you build and edit — add components, connect them, change their settings. Simulate is read-only: it plays back a run without letting you change anything by mistake. Everything on this page happens in Design mode.

Add components

The Components panel on the left lists every building block you can use — services, databases, queues, and more. Click a component to add it to the canvas, then drag it wherever you like. You can also press / to search the list by name, and press Enter to insert the highlighted component.

Name, arrange, and edit

Select a component and the Inspector panel opens on the right. On its Overview tab you can change the Label (the name shown on the canvas, like “Auth Service”) and add a description. The same tab has Duplicate and Delete buttons.

Select Auto-arrange when you want Mockflow to suggest a tidy layout. Review the preview, then apply it or cancel it. Your labels, connections, and behavior do not change.

To keep bigger diagrams tidy, use the two visual-only helpers from the palette: Group / boundary draws a labeled box around related components (a team, a region, a trust zone), and Note / legend adds free-text notes. Neither affects how the system behaves.

Drafts and checkpoints

Your draft is the working version of the diagram. Mockflow saves it as you edit, and you can keep changing it.

A checkpoint is a named save point for review. It keeps the diagram exactly as it was at that moment, even after you continue changing the draft. Use a checkpoint before a design review, before a large change, or before allowing an approved agent to edit the draft.

1. 1Select Checkpoint in the editor command bar.
2. 2Add a short message that explains why you are saving this point.
3. 3Choose which ready scenario drafts to include. You can also save only the diagram when there are no scenarios.
4. 4Create the checkpoint. Your working draft stays open and editable.

Zoom, pan, and find your way

The canvas toolbar has Zoom in, Zoom out, Fit all (bring the whole diagram into view), Fit selection, and a toggle for the minimap. Drag on empty canvas to pan, and click empty canvas to clear your selection.

Keyboard shortcuts

Mockflow saves draft changes as you work. Press ⌘/Ctrl + S when you want to save immediately. The command palette (⌘/Ctrl + K) can insert components, open panels, switch modes, and create checkpoints.