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Running esdm view

This page walks through the view workflow: how to render an ESDM model as a hierarchical tree, how to read the connections it draws, how to focus on one region of the model, and how to surface the per-artifact details when you need them.

This page assumes you have a small model on disk. Either Your First Model with AI or Your First Model by Hand produces one of the right size; the concrete examples in this page show the output for the by-hand model, since it lets us pin every artifact name and field down for reference. The CLI reference documents every flag in detail; this page focuses on the workflow.

Rendering the Model

From inside the directory that holds your .esdm.yaml files:

./esdm view

The output for the Your First Model by Hand example looks like this:

domain library  1 bc
└─ bounded-context cataloging  1 agg · 1 rm · 1 qry
   ├─ aggregate book  1 cmd · 1 evt
   │  ├─ command acquire  → acquired
   │  └─ event acquired  ← acquire
   ├─ read-model books  ← 1 evt
   └─ query list-books  → books

The tree mirrors the model hierarchy: Domain at the top, then Bounded Contexts, then per-Bounded-Context the consistency units (Aggregates, Dynamic Consistency Boundaries) and the read-side artifacts (Read Models, Queries). Each row carries the kind, the name, and a short summary of what's attached to it.

Reading the Connections

Two arrow glyphs encode the direction of a relationship. The → points outward, from the artifact on the left to the one on the right – command acquire → acquired means "this Command publishes the acquired Event". The ← points inward, toward the artifact on the left – event acquired ← acquire means "this Event is published by the acquire Command", and read-model books ← 1 evt means "this Read Model consumes one Event".

The same direction reading applies to Queries: query list-books → books means "this Query reads from the books Read Model".

Counts like 1 cmd · 1 evt summarize what would otherwise be repetitive sub-rows. They give a fast read of the size and shape of an Aggregate without having to scroll through every Command and Event.

Filtering by Path

When the model grows, rendering everything at once becomes noise. Pass a path to focus on one region. The path follows the hierarchy: Domain, Bounded Context, consistency unit, separated by slashes.

./esdm view library/cataloging/book

The output trims the tree to the requested subtree:

aggregate book  1 cmd · 1 evt
├─ command acquire  → acquired
└─ event acquired  ← acquire

Use shorter paths to scope at a coarser level – library shows just the Domain summary plus its Bounded Contexts; library/cataloging shows one Bounded Context and everything inside it.

Showing Details

The default view stays at the structural level – names and connections. To inspect what each artifact actually holds, add --with-details:

./esdm view --with-details

The output gains an indented detail line per artifact:

domain library  1 bc
└─ bounded-context cataloging  1 agg · 1 rm · 1 qry
   ├─ aggregate book  1 cmd · 1 evt
   │     identifiedBy: state.isbn
   │  ├─ command acquire  → acquired
   │  │     data: {author, isbn, title}
   │  └─ event acquired  ← acquire
   │        data: {author, isbn, title}
   ├─ read-model books  ← 1 evt
   │     projects cataloging/book/acquired — Append a row with `title`, `author`, and `isbn`.
   │     paradigm: tabular
   └─ query list-books  → books

The details are deliberately compact: the identifier strategy on the Aggregate, the field set on Command and Event payloads, the projection rule on the Read Model. The view is meant to be skimmed, not read line by line.

--with-details and a path filter combine. ./esdm view library/cataloging/book --with-details zooms into the Aggregate and shows its details in one step.

Where to Go Next