JArchi Scripting

Create JavaScript scripts (.ajs files) for Archi, the open-source ArchiMate modeling tool. JArchi enables programmatic access to ArchiMate models for automation, reporting, and batch operations.

Core Concepts

Script Basics

JArchi scripts use JavaScript with a jQuery-like API. Scripts have .ajs extension and access the model through global variables:

// Global variables available in all scripts
model        // The current model (must be selected or loaded)
selection    // Currently selected objects in UI
$(selector)  // jQuery-like selector function (alias for jArchi())

Selectors

Query model objects using CSS-like selectors:

// By type (kebab-case ArchiMate types)
$("business-actor")           // All business actors
$("application-component")    // All application components
$("serving-relationship")     // All serving relationships

// By name
$(".Customer Portal")         // Objects named "Customer Portal"

// By ID
$("#abc-123")                 // Object with specific ID

// Special selectors
$("element")                  // All ArchiMate elements
$("relationship")             // All relationships
$("view")                     // All views (ArchiMate, Canvas, Sketch)
$("folder")                   // All folders
$("concept")                  // All elements and relationships
$("*")                        // Everything

Collection Methods

Collections support chaining and iteration:

// Traversal
collection.children()         // Direct children
collection.parent()           // Parent folder/container
collection.find(selector)     // Descendants matching selector

// Navigation (relationships)
collection.rels()             // All connected relationships
collection.inRels()           // Incoming relationships
collection.outRels()          // Outgoing relationships
collection.sourceEnds()       // Source concepts of relationships
collection.targetEnds()       // Target concepts of relationships

// Filtering
collection.filter(selector)   // Keep matching objects
collection.not(selector)      // Exclude matching objects
collection.first()            // First object only

// Iteration
collection.each(function(obj) { /* process obj */ });
collection.size()             // Count of objects

// Attributes
collection.attr("name")                  // Get attribute
collection.attr("name", "New Name")      // Set attribute
collection.prop("key")                   // Get property
collection.prop("key", "value")          // Set property

Creating Model Content

// Elements
var actor = model.createElement("business-actor", "Customer");
var component = model.createElement("application-component", "API Gateway");

// Relationships
var rel = model.createRelationship("serving-relationship", "", component, actor);

// Views
var view = model.createArchimateView("Overview");

// Add elements to view
var obj1 = view.add(actor, 100, 100, 120, 60);
var obj2 = view.add(component, 300, 100, 120, 60);

// Add relationship to view
view.add(rel, obj1, obj2);

// Folders
var folder = $("folder.Business").first();
var subfolder = folder.createFolder("Processes");

Visual Styling

Set appearance of diagram objects:

// Colors (hex format)
diagramObject.fillColor = "#dae8fc";
diagramObject.lineColor = "#6c8ebf";
diagramObject.fontColor = "#333333";

// Font
diagramObject.fontSize = 12;
diagramObject.fontStyle = "bold";  // normal, bold, italic, bolditalic

// Position and size
diagramObject.bounds = {x: 100, y: 100, width: 120, height: 60};

// Other
diagramObject.opacity = 200;       // 0-255
diagramObject.labelExpression = "${name}\n${type}";

Console and Dialogs

// Console output
console.log("Message");
console.error("Error message");
console.clear();
console.show();

// User dialogs
window.alert("Information");
var confirmed = window.confirm("Proceed?");
var input = window.prompt("Enter name:", "Default");
var selection = window.promptSelection("Choose:", ["Option 1", "Option 2"]);

// File dialogs
var filePath = window.promptOpenFile({title: "Open", filterExtensions: ["*.csv"]});
var savePath = window.promptSaveFile({title: "Save", filterExtensions: ["*.csv"]});
var dirPath = window.promptOpenDirectory({title: "Select Folder"});

File Operations

// Write file
$.fs.writeFile("path/to/file.csv", content, "UTF8");
$.fs.writeFile("path/to/file.bin", base64Data, "BASE64");

// Include other scripts
load(__DIR__ + "lib/helpers.js");

// Special variables
__DIR__          // Directory containing current script
__FILE__         // Path to current script
__SCRIPTS_DIR__  // User's scripts directory

Exporting Views

// Render to file
$.model.renderViewToFile(view, "diagram.png", "PNG");
$.model.renderViewToFile(view, "diagram.png", "PNG", {scale: 2, margin: 20});
$.model.renderViewToPDF(view, "diagram.pdf");
$.model.renderViewToSVG(view, "diagram.svg", true);

// Render to string/bytes
var svgString = $.model.renderViewAsSVGString(view, true);
var base64 = $.model.renderViewAsBase64(view, "PNG");

CLI Execution

Run scripts headlessly using Archi Command Line Interface.

Basic Syntax

Windows (PowerShell):

& "C:\Program Files\Archi\Archi.exe" -application com.archimatetool.commandline.app `
    -consoleLog -nosplash `
    --loadModel "model.archimate" `
    --script.runScript "script.ajs"

Windows (CMD):

"C:\Program Files\Archi\Archi.exe" -application com.archimatetool.commandline.app ^
    -consoleLog -nosplash ^
    --loadModel "model.archimate" ^
    --script.runScript "script.ajs"

Linux/macOS:

Archi -application com.archimatetool.commandline.app \
    -consoleLog -nosplash \
    --loadModel "model.archimate" \
    --script.runScript "script.ajs"

Common CLI Options

--loadModel "path/model.archimate"     Load existing model
--createEmptyModel                      Create blank model
--script.runScript "script.ajs"         Run jArchi script
--saveModel "path/output.archimate"     Save model after script
--csv.export "path/output"              Export to CSV
--html.createReport "path/output"       Generate HTML report
--xmlexchange.export "path/output.xml"  Export to Open Exchange XML

Script Arguments

Pass custom arguments to scripts:

& Archi.exe -application com.archimatetool.commandline.app -consoleLog -nosplash `
    --loadModel "model.archimate" `
    --script.runScript "script.ajs" `
    --myArg "value" --anotherArg "value2"

Access in script:

var args = $.process.argv;
args.forEach(function(arg) {
    console.log(arg);
});

Linux Headless Mode

For servers without display:

xvfb-run Archi -application com.archimatetool.commandline.app \
    -consoleLog -nosplash --loadModel "model.archimate" \
    --script.runScript "script.ajs"

ArchiMate Types Reference

Element Types

Relationship Types

composition-relationship, aggregation-relationship, assignment-relationship, realization-relationship, serving-relationship, access-relationship, influence-relationship, triggering-relationship, flow-relationship, specialization-relationship, association-relationship

Best Practices

1. Check model is set before operations:

   if (!model.isSet()) {
       console.error("No model selected");
       exit();
   }
   

2. Use meaningful names when creating elements

3. Batch operations – collect changes, apply at end

4. Handle errors gracefully with try/catch

5. Log progress for long-running scripts

6. Use folders to organize created elements

Additional Resources

Reference Files

For detailed API documentation, consult:

• references/api-elements.md – Element types, creation, properties
• references/api-collections.md – Selectors, traversal, filtering
• references/api-views.md – Views, visual objects, styling
• references/api-model.md – Model operations, loading, saving
• references/api-utilities.md – Console, dialogs, file I/O
• references/cli-reference.md – Complete CLI options and automation

Example Scripts

Working examples in examples/:

• query-elements.ajs – Query and report on model elements
• create-view.ajs – Create view with elements and relationships
• export-report.ajs – Export model data to CSV
• batch-update.ajs – Batch update element properties
• cli-automation.ps1 – PowerShell automation script
• cli-automation.sh – Bash automation script