# Architecture reference

Copy as Markdown[View as Markdown](/docs/development/export/architecture-reference.md)

***

**Added in** `eventcatalog@5.1.0`

The architecture reference is your whole catalog in one HTML file. Every domain, system, service, message, channel, data store, flow, entity and team gets its own section, linked to everything it relates to.

Use it for people who should see all of your architecture: your own teams in a design review, an architecture audit, or an AI agent that needs the full picture. For anyone who should see only part of it, [create a custom export](/docs/development/export/custom-exports.md) instead.

[See the demo architecture reference](https://demo.eventcatalog.dev/architecture.html)

## Get it on every build[​](#get-it-on-every-build "Direct link to Get it on every build")

The reference is generated every time you build your catalog. You don't need to set anything up.

```
npm run build
```

It is written to `dist/architecture.html`, or to `dist/client/architecture.html` when your catalog [runs in server mode](/docs/development/deployment/build-ssr-mode.md). Wherever you host your catalog, the reference is available at `/architecture.html`.

### Turn it off[​](#turn-it-off "Direct link to Turn it off")

Set `exports.html.enabled` to `false` in your `eventcatalog.config.js` file:

eventcatalog.config.js

```
module.exports = {
  exports: {
    html: {
      enabled: false,
    },
  },
};
```

### Catalogs with authentication[​](#catalogs-with-authentication "Direct link to Catalogs with authentication")

If your catalog uses [authentication](/docs/development/authentication/introduction.md), the reference is **not** generated unless you turn it on. Files in the build output are served without the authentication checks, so anyone who knows the URL could read it.

To generate it anyway, set `exports.html.enabled` to `true`.

## Export it with the CLI[​](#export-it-with-the-cli "Direct link to Export it with the CLI")

Use the [`export` command](/docs/cli/cli-export.md) of the [EventCatalog CLI](/docs/cli.md) to export the reference on demand, without building the catalog. From the root of your catalog, run:

```
npx @eventcatalog/cli export --format html
```

This writes `architecture.html` and opens it in your browser.

| Option            | Description                                                     |
| ----------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `--output <path>` | Where to write the file. Defaults to `architecture.html`        |
| `--no-open`       | Don't open the reference in your browser (useful in CI)         |
| `--dir <path>`    | Path to your catalog, if you aren't running the command from it |

For example, to export the reference in a CI pipeline and publish it as a build artifact:

```
npx @eventcatalog/cli export --format html --output reports/architecture.html --no-open
```

The file shows when it was generated, and the command to generate it again.