Skip to Content
DocsUser GuideOverview

User Guide

Strata is a design-first canvas for modeling multi-cloud (AWS, GCP, Azure) infrastructure as a typed, visual diagram. Drag services from a palette onto a canvas, configure them with auto-generated forms, connect them with typed relationships, validate the design, and import existing CloudFormation, ARM, or Terraform to see it rendered.

This guide is for everyone using the app — no engineering background required. If you want to know how Strata works internally, see the Architecture & Engineering docs.

What you can do

  • Build a diagram — start from the hub (blank, a template, or an import), drag services from the palette, and connect them with typed relationships, configuring each resource in the inspector.
  • Navigate the canvas — zoom, pan, the minimap, multi-select, nesting and container focus, and the ⌘K command palette.
  • Filter, theme & analyze — layer filters and view presets, environment tint, presentation mode, and IAM / network / heat overlays.
  • Import infrastructure — load a CloudFormation template (JSON/YAML), an Azure ARM template, or Terraform / OpenTofu show -json output (aws / google / azurerm) and see it rendered automatically.
  • Connect to a cloud — discover a live AWS, GCP or Azure account (or paste an export) and map it onto the canvas.
  • Validate — run architecture checks and get best-practice rule suggestions for security groups, route tables, and more.
  • Detect drift — compare the canvas against a baseline (a live export, an IaC file, or a saved diagram) and see what’s added, removed, or changed.
  • Estimate cost — put a rough monthly price tag on the design to compare options and spot the expensive pieces.
  • Save & load — persist diagrams in your browser, reopen them later, or export/import the diagram as portable JSON.
  • Keyboard & commands — every shortcut and command in one reference.
  • Troubleshooting — what the status messages mean and how to fix the common ones.

Launch the app

npm install
npm run dev

The product opens at http://localhost:3000/ and these docs at http://localhost:3000/docs. Saved diagrams persist in your browser’s local storage — no external infrastructure or account required. To move a diagram between browsers or share it, use Export JSON / Import JSON (see Saving & Loading).

Last updated on
IntroductionGetting Started