Dashboard Integration

Dashboard Integration

AspireC4 integrates with the Aspire dashboard so the diagram is easy to reach and links back to resource telemetry.

The sidecar resource

AddAspireC4() creates an aspirec4 resource (name configurable via the name parameter) of container type. Its state, URLs, and properties are forwarded from the inner LikeC4 server resource, which is always kept hidden. The dashboard shows:

• A View LikeC4 Diagram URL on the resource, opening /view/index (or the DefaultViewId).
• The LikeC4 Version property, resolved from the pinned tag or the startup version check.
• The server’s console logs, relayed onto the outer resource’s Console tab.

Hiding the sidecar

When HideFromDashboard is set (via WithHideFromDashboard(displayName)), the aspirec4 resource is also hidden and the diagram is instead surfaced on every project resource as:

• A link (architecture-diagram) injected into the project resource’s URLs once the server is running.
• A command (likec4-architecture-diagram) that opens the diagram. The command is disabled until the LikeC4 server is Running.

DashboardLinkDisplayName controls the label shown (default Architecture Diagram).

Dashboard links on diagram elements

IncludeAspireDashboardLinks (default true) adds links from each LikeC4 element back to the Aspire dashboard’s console logs and structured logs pages for that resource. This requires AutoIncludeAspireMetadata to include Links (the default All includes it). The links are constructed at runtime once the dashboard URL is discovered.

Security: browser tokens in links

IncludeAspireTokenInDashboardLinks (default false) embeds the Aspire browser token in those dashboard links so the browser is authenticated when the link is clicked (/login?t=…&returnUrl=…).

Caution

The token grants the same access as a browser session and is written into the generated diagram file, which may be shared or stored in an insecure location/source control. Only enable it if you understand the implications. Consider excluding the generated .c4 file from source control and sharing it only over secure channels. For normal development, keep it disabled and navigate to the dashboard manually.

View selection

The dashboard link opens /view/{DefaultViewId} (index by default — the ID of the auto-generated view). Set DefaultViewId to null/empty to link to the server root instead, which is useful when you prefer the LikeC4 server’s own landing page. If you change GeneratedViewId in the generated file, set DefaultViewId to the same value so the dashboard link still opens the correct diagram.

Hot Module Replacement

HMR keeps the diagram up to date in the browser as the file regenerates. The HMR endpoint is exposed in the dashboard (details view) and, on Windows/Docker Desktop, CHOKIDAR_USEPOLLING/CHOKIDAR_INTERVAL environment variables are set on the container so file changes are detected via polling. Disable HMR with WithHMRDisabled(). See Configuration for HMRPort behavior across LikeC4 versions.

Next pages

• Generated Output
• Configuration