Open source since 2005
Built by people who care about useful architecture.
arc42 began as a practical answer to a recurring problem: teams needed a reliable structure for explaining software architecture without turning documentation into bureaucracy.
Where it started
A small initiative with a long life
Peter Hruschka and Gernot Starke created arc42 after seeing the same problem in very different projects. Teams either had no architecture documentation or produced far too much of the wrong kind. A shared structure could remove arguments about form and let architects concentrate on useful content.
The template has remained deliberately pragmatic: technology-independent, process-agnostic and adaptable to anything from embedded systems to large information platforms. It is free to use, including for commercial work.
- 2005Peter and Gernot publish the first version of arc42.
- Open sourceThe template becomes freely reusable and adaptable.
- 12 languagesTranslators make arc42 available to teams around the world.
- TodayTemplate, method, canvas, examples, tools and training form a living ecosystem.
The core team
Different backgrounds, shared pragmatism
Peter Hruschka
Co-creator of arc42
Peter is a partner of the Atlantic Systems Guild and a founding member of both iSAQB and IREB. His work focuses on making system and software development more transparent, effective and pragmatic. His background in embedded, real-time and requirements-intensive systems shaped arc42 from its earliest versions.
Gernot Starke
Co-creator of arc42
Gernot is an INNOQ Fellow, software architecture coach and consultant, founder of aim42 and a founding member of iSAQB. He has designed and reviewed medium and large systems across finance, insurance, automotive, logistics and telecommunications, and has written numerous books on architecture and patterns.
Ralf D. Müller
Generator and docs-as-code lead
Ralf is a solutions architect with a particular interest in simplifying documentation work. He maintains the arc42 generator, which produces multiple template formats from one AsciiDoc master. That work also became the foundation for docToolchain and helped make arc42 practical in docs-as-code environments.
Beyond the core team
A community made arc42 multilingual
arc42 is available in a dozen languages thanks to people who contributed translations, reviews, template formats, examples and tooling.
View all contributors on GitHub ↗Special thanks to our translators
- ČeštinaJakub Tomíšek
- EspañolIsidoro Treviño and Jakub J Jablonski
- FrançaisDamien Lucas and njikejr
- ItalianoMario Giustiniani
- MagyarLászló Séra
- Nederlandsmverburg
- PortuguêsGuilherme I F L Weizenmann and Pedro Mattiollo
- Русский (Russian)Nikita Erilin, Alexey Valikov and Max Arshinov
- Українська (Ukrainian)Ivan Bulyk and Larysa Visengeriyeva
- 简体中文 (Simplified Chinese)Chris (Gentle) Y杨 and Danny Ge
Additional template formats were contributed by Stephan Lessing (Doxygen), Raphael Dumhart (Enterprise Architect) and Niranjan SK (IBM Rhapsody).
Meet some of our translators
Jakub Tomíšek
Čeština
A software architect focused on automating and integrating software delivery pipelines, DevOps workflows and complex development processes. He contributes to arc42 because its clear, universal structure enables seamless communication across teams, cultures and languages, making software architecture accessible and actionable throughout the entire delivery lifecycle.
Damien Lucas
Français
Mario Giustiniani
Italiano
A software developer currently focused on Java and microservice architectures, who explores open-source ideas around software design, testing and architecture documentation, including JavaSpec, a Java testing tool inspired by PhpSpec. His interest in arc42 grew from its potential to bring Documentation as Code into DevOps: the arc42 guidelines keep essential architecture documentation structured, lightweight and continuously up to date.
Ivan Bulyk
Українська (Ukrainian)
The motivation that has always defined his relationship with people is the desire to make their lives better, and it shapes the decisions he makes in life. A university education in mathematics and computer science, followed by physical rehabilitation and medicine, together with many years of experience in sports and later yoga, allowed him to keep doing what he loves: treating and teaching. In that light, he says, the reason he took part in the arc42 project speaks for itself.
With thanks to our contributors
Beyond translations, many more people have improved the arc42 template, its formats and tooling over the years: Gerd Aschemann, Benno Bielmeier, Christian Gesell, Ralf Hergert, Oliver Lietz, Pedro Lafuente, Per Starke, Martin Weck, Benjamin Wolf, Stefan Zörner.
Talk to us
Choose the shortest route
Using arc42
Ask the community
For practical questions about sections, tools and methods, use the public arc42 tag so others can benefit from the answer.
Bugs and contributions
Open a GitHub issue
Report a problem, propose a translation or discuss a change to the template and its generated formats.
Private enquiries
Write to the arc42 team
Use email for enquiries that should not be public, including partnerships, private training and consulting.
When you contact us, we use your details only to answer your request. See our Imprint and Privacy Statement for details.
The project
Open source, reusable and built in public
The arc42 template is maintained publicly on GitHub. You may use and adapt it for private and commercial work under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license. Your own architecture content remains yours.
Using the arc42 logo
You are welcome to use the logo when referring to arc42, for example in documentation, training material or demo applications.
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