A design you can keep.
A format you can read.

What a blueprint contains

The downloadable example is a complete importable file. A diagram image or process Markdown export describes a design but cannot replace its editable blueprint.

JSON Schema checks the document structure. The importer additionally validates unique IDs, typed references, which entity kinds each connection kind may join, execution cycles, unsafe content, a nesting limit and a 5 MiB size limit. Passing JSON Schema alone does not establish that a blueprint can be imported. The AI guide lists these rules.

To run the exact importer checks outside the editor, download the blueprint library: one MIT-licensed JavaScript module built from the same code the app uses, rebuilt with every release. In Node 22 or later, node blueprint.mjs validate design.automationmodeler.json reports the errors the editor would show, and node blueprint.mjs encode-link design.automationmodeler.json produces a link with the design embedded. An assistant that can run code checks a complete file with it, then hands the design over as a link that opens directly in the editor. The AI guide also has a Python standard library recipe for the same link, for sandboxes without Node. For a design too long to send as a link, node blueprint.mjs share design.automationmodeler.json creates the same encrypted short link as Share design: only ciphertext is uploaded to Disroot Bin, and the link expires after 30 days.

How compatibility works

• Older files: version 1 files remain supported, including exports without the newer optional metadata. The importer migrates supported version 0 files to version 1.
• Additive changes: unknown additional properties are preserved when opening and saving a supported-version file. The editor may not display or interpret those properties.
• Breaking changes: changes that alter existing meanings or require incompatible data need a new schema version and a migration from the previous version. Migration steps and older-file fixtures must remain part of release checks.
• Newer incompatible files: an older app rejects an unsupported future schema version and asks you to update. It does not silently downgrade the file. Keep the original file when updating.

Backward compatibility means a newer app continues to load supported older files. It does not mean every older app can understand features that have not been designed yet.

From blueprint to implementation

Open your blueprint and choose Export → Work with AI… in the editor. Use the implementation prompt with an AI assistant you choose. The handoff pairs the structured design with instructions to identify the target scenario, respect dependencies, list uncertainties and propose tasks and tests.

Ask for traceability: each implementation task should reference the scenario and entity IDs it implements. An assumption in a blueprint is still an assumption; review it before depending on it.

From notes or feedback to a blueprint

1. Give your assistant the AI guide. For a new design, that is all it needs. When revising a design, include the existing blueprint; an assistant that writes complete files can also use the JSON Schema and the starter example or the larger Northstar release example with a Current and a Target scenario, every connection kind, decisions and improvement items.
2. Describe the workflow, environments, known constraints and desired changes. Ask it to label assumptions and keep unknowns visible.
3. Ask for a model link. The assistant writes the link itself as readable text, lists what it assumed and gives you the link on its own line; it needs no file and no code. When it revises an existing blueprint and can run code, it returns the complete .automationmodeler.json file, checked with the blueprint library, as a design link. It must preserve existing IDs and unrelated data when revising an existing design.
4. Open the link in Automation Modeler. The editor expands a model link into a complete design, lists anything it adjusted, tells you when the link may have been cut off on the way and saves an editable copy in your browser. A design link and a file opened through Open pass the same importer checks for schema, references and execution cycles. Review the resulting design with the people involved.