From 6dbd3ea2c7ba87640523a92034fef45377139a5c Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Patrick Chugh Date: Sun, 4 Oct 2026 22:18:06 +0100 Subject: [PATCH 1/2] Add drawing without account access to the comparison tables Both comparison tables now carry a row for drawing an environment you cannot log in to, or one not built yet, from the code plus a variables file, with dev and prod from the same code. The docs table's cloud account row now says what TerraVision actually needs: credentials the provider accepts, not access to the account it draws. Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5.1 --- README.md | 1 + docs/alternatives.md | 3 ++- 2 files changed, 3 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/README.md b/README.md index 2b78f54..0c1b0aa 100644 --- a/README.md +++ b/README.md @@ -206,6 +206,7 @@ A `terravision.yml` next to the Terraform adds the title, numbered flows and con |---|---|---|---|---|---| | Draw from a plain-English description | ✅ inside the assistant you already use (Claude, ChatGPT, Copilot) | Partly only if your organisation approves third-party models | ✅ | No| No | | Draw from Terraform | ✅ built from `terraform plan`, client side | No | Partly AI interprets the files you paste (potentially exposes code & secrets) | No | No | +| Draw an environment you have no access to, or one not built yet | ✅ from the code and a variables file: `--varfile prod.tfvars` draws prod, `--varfile dev.tfvars` draws dev, with no access to the target account or its state | Partly drawn by hand from documents | Partly from code you paste | Partly written by hand | No draws only an account it can connect to | | Write the Terraform for a design | ✅ by your assistant, checked by redrawing the code AI writes | Partly Lucidchart beta, AWS only, paid add-on | No | No | No | | Official icons and VPC, subnet, zone grouping conventions | ✅ built in | Partly icon libraries; correct grouping is up to you | Partly icons, generic groups | No | No | | Stays current automatically | ✅ redrawn from the code in CI | No | Partly repository sync | No | ✅ follows the live account | diff --git a/docs/alternatives.md b/docs/alternatives.md index 323a022..b06e921 100644 --- a/docs/alternatives.md +++ b/docs/alternatives.md @@ -12,12 +12,13 @@ Tools for cloud architecture diagrams fall into five groups: manual drawing tool | How you make a diagram | Describe it to Claude or ChatGPT, or point at Terraform | Drag, drop and connect by hand | Prompt, pasted code or image | Write a text DSL | Write Python code | Connect a cloud account | | Diagram from a text prompt | Yes, through your AI assistant | Only if your organisation approves third-party models | Yes, built-in AI | Assistant writes Mermaid or D2 | No | No | | Diagram from Terraform | Built from `terraform plan`, so modules, `count`, `for_each` and conditionals are resolved | No | AI interprets the files you paste | No | No | Deployed state, not code | +| Draw an environment you cannot log in to, or one not built yet | Yes, from the code and a variables file: `--varfile prod.tfvars` draws prod, `--varfile dev.tfvars` draws dev | Drawn by hand | From pasted code | Drawn by hand | Written by hand | No, draws the account it is connected to | | Terraform from the design | Yes, written by your AI assistant and checked by redrawing the code | Lucidchart beta, AWS only, paid add-on | No | No | No | Varies | | Official AWS, Azure, GCP icons | Yes | Yes, shape libraries | Yes | Not built in | Yes | Yes | | VPC, subnet, zone grouping | Built in, per provider | Drawn by hand | Generic groups | Generic groups | Manual clusters | Built in | | Stays current with the code | Redrawn in CI on every change | Manual updates | Repository sync | Manual updates | Manual updates | Follows the live account | | Runs locally | Yes | draw.io and Visio: yes | No (SaaS) | Yes | Yes | No (SaaS) | -| Needs access to your cloud account | No | No | No | No | No | Yes, read-only | +| Needs access to your cloud account | Not to the account it draws; Terraform needs credentials the provider accepts | No | No | No | No | Yes, read-only | | Price | Free, open source | Free (draw.io) to paid | Free tier, paid plans | Free, open source | Free, open source | Paid plans | | Other diagram types (sequence, ERD, flowchart) | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | From 50e5d40e0b3401121694e4ee61fc4456c17e4c33 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Patrick Chugh Date: Sun, 4 Oct 2026 22:22:20 +0100 Subject: [PATCH 2/2] Keep the cloud account row as it was TerraVision itself never accesses a cloud account; Terraform does. The original No was correct. Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5.1 --- docs/alternatives.md | 2 +- 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/docs/alternatives.md b/docs/alternatives.md index b06e921..07a460a 100644 --- a/docs/alternatives.md +++ b/docs/alternatives.md @@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ Tools for cloud architecture diagrams fall into five groups: manual drawing tool | VPC, subnet, zone grouping | Built in, per provider | Drawn by hand | Generic groups | Generic groups | Manual clusters | Built in | | Stays current with the code | Redrawn in CI on every change | Manual updates | Repository sync | Manual updates | Manual updates | Follows the live account | | Runs locally | Yes | draw.io and Visio: yes | No (SaaS) | Yes | Yes | No (SaaS) | -| Needs access to your cloud account | Not to the account it draws; Terraform needs credentials the provider accepts | No | No | No | No | Yes, read-only | +| Needs access to your cloud account | No | No | No | No | No | Yes, read-only | | Price | Free, open source | Free (draw.io) to paid | Free tier, paid plans | Free, open source | Free, open source | Paid plans | | Other diagram types (sequence, ERD, flowchart) | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |