C4 Model – Level 1: System Context
Document ID: ARCH-002
Version: 1.0.1
Status: Draft — Day-1 target-state context diagram, unrevised since
project inception. Corrected 2026-07-07: the “Databases”/“Messaging
Systems” lists below are illustrative categories of external system this
architecture could integrate with, not a description of what’s wired today.
The shipping single-node binary (wovyr-server, ADR-0010
Path A) uses file-based storage by default; PostgreSQL/Redis/Qdrant are real
but optional, feature-gated backends; there is no messaging system of any
kind (NATS/Kafka/RabbitMQ) — see
prd.md §25
for where the NATS gap is now tracked.
Owner: Architecture Team
Last Updated: 2026-07-07
1. Purpose
Section titled “1. Purpose”This document describes the highest level of the Wovyr AI Platform architecture using the C4 Model.
The System Context view answers the following questions:
- What is the Wovyr AI Platform?
- Who uses it?
- Which external systems interact with it?
- What are the platform boundaries?
- What responsibilities belong inside and outside the platform?
This document provides a common understanding for business stakeholders, architects, developers, operations teams, and security teams.
2. Scope
Section titled “2. Scope”This document covers:
- Platform boundary
- Primary users
- External systems
- High-level integrations
- Trust boundaries
- Primary data flows
- Architectural assumptions
It intentionally omits internal implementation details, which are covered in the Container and Component architecture documents.
3. System Context
Section titled “3. System Context”The Wovyr AI Platform is an enterprise-grade platform for building, deploying, orchestrating, and operating intelligent AI systems.
It provides reusable infrastructure for:
- AI agent execution
- Workflow orchestration
- Memory management
- Tool execution
- Plugin management
- Multi-provider LLM integration
- Operational monitoring
- API access
- Enterprise governance
The platform exposes these capabilities through APIs, SDKs, a web dashboard, and a CLI.
4. System Boundary
Section titled “4. System Boundary”The following capabilities are considered part of the Wovyr AI Platform:
- API Gateway
- Agent Runtime
- Workflow Engine
- Memory Engine
- Tool Runtime
- LLM Gateway
- Plugin Framework
- Dashboard Backend
- CLI Backend
- Authentication
- Authorization
- Scheduler
- Event Bus
- Configuration
- Observability
- Audit Services
The following capabilities are external to the platform:
- Foundation model providers
- External databases
- Identity providers
- Source control systems
- Cloud infrastructure
- Enterprise messaging systems
- Third-party APIs
5. Primary Actors
Section titled “5. Primary Actors”Developer
Section titled “Developer”Responsibilities:
- Create AI applications
- Build workflows
- Develop plugins
- Configure deployments
- Debug executions
Primary Interfaces:
- CLI
- Dashboard
- REST API
- SDK
Platform Administrator
Section titled “Platform Administrator”Responsibilities:
- Manage users
- Configure providers
- Manage deployments
- Monitor runtime health
- Configure policies
Enterprise User
Section titled “Enterprise User”Responsibilities:
- Execute approved workflows
- Review results
- Manage projects
- Collaborate with teams
Plugin Developer
Section titled “Plugin Developer”Responsibilities:
- Build reusable extensions
- Publish plugins
- Maintain compatibility
- Test integrations
DevOps Engineer
Section titled “DevOps Engineer”Responsibilities:
- Deploy infrastructure
- Configure Kubernetes
- Scale workloads
- Monitor services
- Manage upgrades
6. External Systems
Section titled “6. External Systems”Identity Provider
Section titled “Identity Provider”Examples:
- Microsoft Entra ID
- Keycloak
- Okta
- Auth0
Responsibilities:
- Authentication
- Single Sign-On (SSO)
- Identity federation
LLM Providers
Section titled “LLM Providers”Examples:
- OpenAI
- Anthropic
- Google Gemini
- Ollama
- Azure OpenAI
- Local inference servers
Responsibilities:
- Model inference
- Embeddings
- Streaming responses
Databases
Section titled “Databases”Examples:
- PostgreSQL
- Redis
- Qdrant
- S3-compatible object storage
Responsibilities:
- Persistence
- Caching
- Vector search
- Artifact storage
Messaging Systems
Section titled “Messaging Systems”Examples:
- NATS
- Apache Kafka
- RabbitMQ
Responsibilities:
- Event distribution
- Asynchronous communication
Monitoring Systems
Section titled “Monitoring Systems”Examples:
- Prometheus
- Grafana
- Jaeger
- OpenTelemetry collectors
Responsibilities:
- Metrics
- Dashboards
- Tracing
- Alerting
Source Control
Section titled “Source Control”Examples:
- GitHub
- GitLab
- Azure DevOps
Responsibilities:
- Repository management
- CI/CD integration
- Workflow storage
7. System Context Diagram
Section titled “7. System Context Diagram” +------------------------------+ | Developers | +--------------+---------------+ | | CLI / SDK / Dashboard / REST API | v+--------------------------------------------------------------------------+| Wovyr AI Platform ||--------------------------------------------------------------------------|| API Gateway || Agent Runtime || Workflow Engine || Memory Engine || LLM Gateway || Tool Runtime || Plugin Framework || Dashboard Backend || Scheduler || Event Bus || Identity & Access || Observability |+--------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | | | | | | | | | | | | v v v v v v Identity LLM Providers Databases Messaging Monitoring Source Control Provider Storage Systems Systems Systems8. Trust Boundaries
Section titled “8. Trust Boundaries”The architecture defines the following trust zones:
External Zone
Section titled “External Zone”Untrusted clients and internet-facing systems.
Examples:
- Browsers
- CLI users
- SDK clients
Platform Zone
Section titled “Platform Zone”Trusted application services.
Examples:
- Runtime
- Workflow
- Memory
- Scheduler
- APIs
Infrastructure Zone
Section titled “Infrastructure Zone”Managed infrastructure.
Examples:
- Databases
- Object storage
- Message brokers
Third-Party Zone
Section titled “Third-Party Zone”External services outside platform control.
Examples:
- LLM providers
- Identity providers
- External APIs
Communication across trust boundaries should use authenticated and encrypted channels.
9. High-Level Interaction Flow
Section titled “9. High-Level Interaction Flow”- A developer or application submits a request.
- The API Gateway authenticates and authorizes the request.
- The Agent Runtime receives the task.
- The Workflow Engine creates or resumes execution.
- The Memory Engine retrieves contextual information.
- The LLM Gateway invokes one or more model providers.
- The Tool Runtime executes permitted tools when required.
- Workflow state is persisted.
- Observability services record metrics, logs, and traces.
- The response is returned to the caller.
10. External Interfaces
Section titled “10. External Interfaces”The platform provides the following public interfaces:
- REST API
- gRPC API
- WebSocket API
- Command Line Interface
- Software Development Kits
- Dashboard UI
Future interfaces may include GraphQL and Model Context Protocol (MCP) adapters.
11. Security Considerations
Section titled “11. Security Considerations”All external requests should pass through:
- Authentication
- Authorization
- Rate limiting
- Audit logging
- Input validation
- TLS encryption
Plugins and tool execution should operate within defined permission boundaries.
12. Assumptions
Section titled “12. Assumptions”This architecture assumes:
- Multi-cloud deployment support
- Provider-neutral integrations
- Stateless service design where appropriate
- Durable workflow execution
- Horizontal scalability
- Extensible plugin ecosystem
13. Constraints
Section titled “13. Constraints”The platform must:
- Remain cloud-agnostic
- Avoid mandatory vendor lock-in
- Support modular deployment
- Maintain stable public APIs
- Preserve backward compatibility for supported releases
14. Related Documents
Section titled “14. Related Documents”- System Overview
- C4 Container Diagram
- C4 Component Diagram
- Domain-Driven Design
- Clean Architecture
- Deployment Architecture
- Security Architecture
- Architecture Decision Records (ADRs)
15. Revision History
Section titled “15. Revision History”| Version | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0.1 | 2026-07-07 | Added a header note clarifying the “Databases”/“Messaging Systems” lists are illustrative categories, not current integrations; ADR-0010’s Path A reality has no messaging system at all. Found during a project-wide doc review; no content changed |
| 1.0.0 | 2026-06-26 | Initial C4 Level 1 – System Context document |