AWS architecture diagrams, animated
Type your AWS architecture as text, API Gateway -> Lambda -> DynamoDB, and the diagram draws itself, AWS icons included. Then a message animates along the arrows, hop by hop, the part a static picture cannot show. There is no canvas to drag boxes around on.
AWS services
+ WebM export
config needed
How it works
Three steps. No learning curve.
Write your architecture
Describe your AWS services and connections
in simple text syntax
API Gateway -> Lambda -> DynamoDB
Watch the data flow
See animated messages flowing between
your AWS services in real time
API ~~→ λ ~~→ DB
Export and share
Export as animated WebP or GIF for docs,
WebM video for presentations, or a still PNG or PDF. MP4 video too, after a free sign-up
→ diagram.webm (1.2 MB)
Seventeen AWS services, auto-detected
Just type the service name. Chartado recognizes it and renders the correct icon. That covers the serverless set and the networking one, so a VPC network diagram of gateways, load balancers, EC2 instances and RDS draws from the same plain text.
Common AWS architecture patterns
Type these patterns and watch the animated data flow
REST API Backend
The most common serverless pattern. Request flows through API Gateway to Lambda and persists in DynamoDB.
API Gateway -> Lambda -> DynamoDB
Pub/Sub Fan-Out
SNS topic distributes events to multiple Lambda handlers simultaneously. Classic decoupled architecture.
SNS -> {Lambda A, Lambda B, SQS}
Event Processing Pipeline
EventBridge routes events to parallel processing chains with different downstream targets.
EventBridge -> {(SQS -> Lambda -> DynamoDB), S3}
Request-Response
Full round-trip flow. See the request go in and the response come back, animated sequentially.
API Gateway -> Lambda -> DynamoDB
API Gateway <- Lambda <- DynamoDB
Network Topology
A VPC network diagram: traffic enters through an internet gateway, spreads across instances behind a load balancer, and lands in the database.
Internet Gateway -> ALB -> {EC2 Web, EC2 Worker} -> RDS
Running AI workloads on AWS? The same editor draws the agent side too. See how to diagram a RAG pipeline or an MCP architecture.
Built for how you actually work
Not another drag-and-drop canvas
Technical documentation
Text-based diagrams live in Git next to your CDK stacks. They evolve with the code and diff in pull requests.
Conference talks
Export animated diagrams as WebM video. Embed in your slides to show how data actually flows through your system.
Architecture reviews
Animation makes reviews engaging. Walk through the request path, spot bottlenecks, identify missing error handling.
Stakeholder demos
Non-technical stakeholders understand animated flow better than static boxes and arrows. Show them the system in motion.
Chartado vs. other AWS diagram tools
Text goes in, an animated data flow comes out, and the source is plain text you can keep in Git next to the code. The table is more useful than that sentence: draw.io has basic animation and Diagrams (Python) also takes code, so the rows that matter are the first two.
| Feature | Chartado | Lucidchart | draw.io | Cloudcraft | Diagrams (Python) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Animated data flow | Yes | No | Basic | No | No |
| Text/code input | Yes | No | No | No | Yes |
| Video export (WebM and MP4, both free) | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| AWS icons | Auto | Manual | Manual | Auto | Auto |
| Version control friendly | Yes | No | XML | No | Yes |
| No code required | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Python |
Every example here works
Each diagram on this page and in the documentation is run against the real parser before the page ships, and checked for the services and layout it claims. Diagram tools whose examples do not work are common; this one does not ship a snippet that has not been executed.
Read the language referenceFrequently asked questions
About AWS architecture diagrams with Chartado
What AWS services does Chartado support?
Seventeen: Lambda, SQS, SNS, DynamoDB, S3, RDS, EC2, API Gateway, Kinesis, EventBridge, Step Functions, SES, VPC, Load Balancer, CloudFront, Security Group and Network Gateway. The icon comes from a keyword search on the box name, so a box called Orders Queue gets the SQS icon and one called Users Table gets DynamoDB, and you never pick an icon by hand.
How is Chartado different from Lucidchart or draw.io?
You type it, as a line such as API Gateway -> Lambda -> DynamoDB, and nothing gets dragged around. The arrows then carry a moving message, so whoever is looking sees the order in which the services get called, and that animation records to a WebM for slides. Because the source is text, it sits in Git next to the CDK stack and diffs in a pull request.
Can I export AWS architecture diagrams as video?
Yes, and the WebM recording is the same animation you see in the editor, including the moving message, so it can go straight into slides. The other exports are MP4, animated WebP, animated GIF (for anywhere that will not play a video) and a still PNG or PDF of the current frame, and every one of the six is free. WebM and PNG work here without an account; the other four are in the app after a free sign-up.
What is a diagram-as-code tool for AWS?
One where the diagram is a text file and the picture is generated from it. In Chartado that file is lines like API Gateway -> Lambda -> DynamoDB, the same idea as a CDK stack: the text is the source and the drawing is an output. The practical gain is that a diagram goes through a pull request like any other file, and nobody nudges boxes back into alignment by hand.
Can I use Chartado for architecture presentations?
Yes, in two ways: record a WebM and put it in the slide, or share the editor itself and let the animation run while you talk. The moving message does the explaining, since the audience watches the request hop from API Gateway to Lambda to DynamoDB in the order it happens, without a laser pointer.
Is Chartado free to use?
Yes, and the free plan is the whole editor. The editor on this page needs no account, and the WebM recording and the PNG export work there without one. After a free sign-up the app adds animated WebP, animated GIF, MP4 video and a still PDF, all of them free. Pro changes two numbers, diagrams saved to the cloud (from 3 to 100) and projects (from 1 to unlimited), and it cannot be bought yet.
Start creating AWS architecture diagrams
The editor at the top of this page needs no account. Type the architecture, watch the message travel it, and the same editor records a WebM or saves a PNG. The other four exports (WebP and GIF animations, MP4 video and the PDF still) are in the app after a free sign-up.
Try it free ↑