Board basics
The canvas is the SCAN board shared with the open-source modeler. Sphere adds product chrome around it.
Tool rail
| Tool | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Select | Select, drag, multi-select (Ctrl/Cmd+click), resize boundaries |
| Pan | Drag the canvas |
| Connect | Wire nodes / ports |
| Fast design | Sketch mode — click / thin box / large box / click-to-connect |
| Add component | Service, External System, Datastore, Event/Stream, Search, Agent, Repository |
| Add boundary | Trust or Agent Runtime |
| Grid | Toggle dot grid |
Components you can place
| Menu | Role |
|---|---|
| Service | Runnable API / app |
| External System | Outside your boundary |
| Datastore | Persistent store |
| Event / Stream | Topic / channel |
| Search | Search / index |
| Agent | Agent node |
| Repository | Source / artifact node |
Ports and connections
Elements expose consumes (inbound) and exposes (outbound) ports. Legal pairs are enforced by SCAN rules — typically expose → consume when ports are set.
Connection types include synchronous request, gRPC, database access, event publish/subscribe, stream consume, agent delegation, and git integration. See SCAN reference.
Inspector
Select a node or edge. Edit name, technology, ports, status/warnings, contracts, and operations. Sphere surfaces Ask Sphere chips here when AI is available.
Zoom and chrome
Zoom cluster: − / % / +, Fit, Locate. Legend explains node visuals. Minimap for navigation on large boards.
Top bar (Sphere)
Organization context, diagram name, version chip, dirty state (Latest / Unsaved), visibility, Library, undo/redo, Board & export menu, search/palette, Share/save.