aws-diagram-generator

name	AWS Diagram Generator
description	Generate professional AWS architecture diagrams using Python diagrams package. Use when user wants to create, draw, or visualize AWS infrastructure diagrams.
dependencies	python>=3.9, diagrams>=0.23

AWS Architecture Diagram Generator

Generate professional AWS architecture diagrams using the Python diagrams package with best-practice layout techniques.

When to Use This Skill

Activate this skill when the user:

• Wants to create an AWS architecture diagram
• Asks to visualize AWS infrastructure
• Needs to draw cloud architecture
• Mentions "diagram", "architecture diagram", or "infrastructure diagram" with AWS components

Environment Setup

Before generating diagrams, ensure the environment is ready:

# Create virtual environment (if not exists)
python3 -m venv venv

# Install diagrams package
./venv/bin/pip install diagrams

# Install Graphviz (macOS)
brew install graphviz

# Run scripts with correct PATH (avoids alias conflicts)
PATH="/opt/homebrew/bin:$PATH" ./venv/bin/python <script>.py

Best Practice Configuration

Graph Attributes (Always Use)

graph_attr = {
    "fontsize": "14",
    "bgcolor": "white",
    "pad": "1.0",
    "splines": "ortho",      # Clean orthogonal edges
    "nodesep": "1.0",        # Horizontal spacing
    "ranksep": "1.2",        # Vertical spacing
    "compound": "true",      # Enable cluster-to-cluster edges
}

Subnet Color Styling

public_attr = {"bgcolor": "#e6f3e6", "style": "dashed", "pencolor": "#52b788"}   # Green
private_attr = {"bgcolor": "#fff3e6", "style": "dashed", "pencolor": "#f4a261"}  # Orange
db_attr = {"bgcolor": "#e6e6f3", "style": "dashed", "pencolor": "#7678ed"}       # Blue

Layout Techniques

1. Invisible Edges (Force Alignment)

# Align non-connected nodes horizontally
alb >> Edge(style="invis") >> rds

2. Constraint False (Auxiliary Connections)

# Prevent edge from affecting main layout
ecs >> Edge(label="logs", constraint="false") >> cloudwatch

3. Weight (Prioritize Main Flow)

# Higher weight = straighter line
users >> Edge(label="HTTPS", weight="10") >> igw

4. Minlen (Control Spacing)

# Minimum rank distance between nodes
ecs >> Edge(label="SSL", minlen="2") >> rds

Standard Template

from diagrams import Diagram, Cluster, Edge
from diagrams.aws.compute import ECS, EC2, Lambda, Fargate
from diagrams.aws.database import RDS, Aurora, Dynamodb, ElasticacheForRedis
from diagrams.aws.network import ALB, NLB, APIGateway, CloudFront, Route53, InternetGateway, NATGateway
from diagrams.aws.storage import S3, EFS
from diagrams.aws.security import IAM, SecretsManager, CertificateManager, WAF
from diagrams.aws.management import Cloudwatch, Cloudtrail
from diagrams.aws.integration import SQS, SNS, Eventbridge, StepFunctions
from diagrams.onprem.client import Users

graph_attr = {
    "fontsize": "14",
    "bgcolor": "white",
    "pad": "1.0",
    "splines": "ortho",
    "nodesep": "1.0",
    "ranksep": "1.2",
    "compound": "true",
}

public_attr = {"bgcolor": "#e6f3e6", "style": "dashed", "pencolor": "#52b788"}
private_attr = {"bgcolor": "#fff3e6", "style": "dashed", "pencolor": "#f4a261"}
db_attr = {"bgcolor": "#e6e6f3", "style": "dashed", "pencolor": "#7678ed"}

with Diagram(
    "AWS Architecture",
    show=False,
    direction="LR",
    graph_attr=graph_attr,
    filename="aws_architecture"
):
    # External
    users = Users("Users")

    with Cluster("Region"):
        igw = InternetGateway("Internet GW")

        with Cluster("VPC"):
            with Cluster("Public Subnet", graph_attr=public_attr):
                alb = ALB("ALB")

            with Cluster("Private Subnet", graph_attr=private_attr):
                ecs = ECS("ECS Service")

            with Cluster("DB Subnet", graph_attr=db_attr):
                rds = RDS("RDS")

            # Invisible edge for alignment
            alb >> Edge(style="invis") >> rds

    # Connections
    users >> Edge(label="HTTPS") >> igw >> Edge(label="HTTPS") >> alb
    alb >> Edge(label="HTTP") >> ecs
    ecs >> Edge(label="SSL") >> rds

Common AWS Components

Category	Components
Compute	EC2, ECS, EKS, Lambda, Fargate
Database	RDS, Aurora, Dynamodb, ElasticacheForRedis
Network	ALB, NLB, APIGateway, CloudFront, Route53, InternetGateway, NATGateway
Storage	S3, EFS, FSx
Security	IAM, SecretsManager, CertificateManager, WAF, Shield
Management	Cloudwatch, Cloudtrail, Config
Integration	SQS, SNS, Eventbridge, StepFunctions

Common Architecture Patterns

3-Tier Web Application

Users -> IGW -> ALB (Public) -> ECS (Private) -> RDS (DB)
                                     |
                                     +-> ElastiCache (Private)

Serverless API

Users -> API Gateway -> Lambda -> DynamoDB
              |
              +-> S3

Microservices with Queue

Users -> ALB -> [Service1, Service2] -> SQS -> Lambda -> RDS

Output Options

# Single format (default: png)
with Diagram("Name", outformat="png"):

# Multiple formats
with Diagram("Name", outformat=["png", "svg", "pdf"]):

# Directions
direction="LR"  # Left to right (recommended)
direction="TB"  # Top to bottom
direction="RL"  # Right to left
direction="BT"  # Bottom to top

Tips

1. Always use direction="LR" for horizontal AWS diagrams
2. Use constraint="false" for auxiliary services (logs, secrets, monitoring)
3. Use invisible edges to align subnet clusters horizontally
4. Group related nodes: [node1, node2] >> target
5. Use - for bidirectional connections: node1 - node2
6. Set show=False to prevent auto-opening; use show=True to preview immediately