.farki File Format

The .farki format is Farkitect’s native interchange format — human-readable JSON for importing and exporting models.

Top-Level Structure

{
  "$format": "farki/1.2",
  "scope": "package",
  "metadata": { ... },
  "package": { ... }
}

Field	Required	Description
$format	Yes	Format version identifier. Exports emit "farki/1.2"; imports also accept the older "farki/1.1"
scope	Yes	"package" (single package tree) or "project" (complete project)
metadata	Yes	File metadata including creation timestamp and content summary
package	Package scope	The root package (when scope = “package”)
packages	Project scope	Array of root packages (when scope = “project”)

Metadata

"metadata": {
  "createdAt": "2026-03-15T00:00:00.000Z",
  "summary": [
    {
      "name": "M2 ArchiMate 3.2",
      "layer": "M2",
      "elementCount": 61
    }
  ]
}

Project-scope files may also include name, description, and sourceProject.

Package

{
  "name": "M1 Farquind Applications",
  "layer": "M1",
  "imports": ["M2 ArchiMate 3.2"],
  "elements": [ ... ],
  "diagrams": [ ... ],
  "catalogs": [ ... ],
  "boards": [ ... ]
}

Field	Required	Description
name	Yes	Package name
notes	No	Markdown description
layer	Yes	"M3", "M2", or "M1"
packageKind	M2 only	"standard" or "common"
isReadOnly	No	true to prevent modification
imports	No	Array of M2 package names this package uses
elements	No	Array of child elements
diagrams	No	Array of diagrams
catalogs	No	Array of catalogs
boards	No	Array of board (Kanban) views

Elements

Class (Element Type or Instance)

{
  "name": "FQ Vessels",
  "type": "Class",
  "$id": "fq-vessels",
  "classifier": "M2 ArchiMate 3.2:Application Component",
  "notes": "Fleet telemetry and diagnostics platform.",
  "propertyValues": {
    "Lifecycle Status": "active"
  }
}

Package (Nested)

{
  "name": "Customer Systems",
  "type": "Package",
  "$id": "customer-systems",
  "elements": [ ... ]
}

Relationship

{
  "name": "FQ Orders serves Fleet Dashboard",
  "type": "Relationship",
  "source": "fq-orders",
  "target": "fleet-dashboard",
  "$id": "fq-orders-serves-fleet-dashboard",
  "classifier": "M2 ArchiMate 3.2:Serving"
}

Owned (Nested) Elements

{
  "name": "Entity",
  "type": "Class",
  "$id": "entity",
  "nestedElements": [
    {
      "name": "customerId",
      "type": "Class",
      "$id": "customer-id",
      "classifier": "M2 Logical Data Model:Attribute",
      "propertyValues": {
        "Data Type": "integer",
        "Is Primary Key": "true"
      }
    }
  ]
}

The $id Convention

Every element has a $id — a unique, human-readable identifier within the file.

Rule	Example
Unique within the file	No two elements share a $id
Kebab-case	fq-vessels, customer-segment
Used for cross-references	Relationships reference source/target by $id
Stable	Renaming in the UI doesn’t change $id

Classifier References

M1 elements reference their M2 type using Package Name:Type Name:

"classifier": "M2 Business Model Canvas:Customer Segment"

Property Values

Flat object mapping property names to values:

"propertyValues": {
  "Lifecycle Status": "active",
  "Start Date": "2025-06-15",
  "Is Required": "true"
}

Enumeration values use the machine value, not the display name.

Diagrams

{
  "name": "Application Overview",
  "notation": "M2 ArchiMate 3.2",
  "viewport": { "panX": 0, "panY": 0, "zoom": 1.0 },
  "nodes": [
    { "element": "fq-vessels", "x": 100, "y": 200, "width": 160, "height": 80 }
  ],
  "edges": [
    { "source": "fq-orders-node", "target": "fq-vessels-node", "relationship": "orders-serves-vessels" }
  ]
}

Diagram nodes and edges may also carry per-diagram label overrides, emitted only when set:

Field	On	Description
showLabel	node / edge	false hides the label on this diagram (default shown)
labelOffset	node / edge	{ x, y } position of a dragged label, relative to its default anchor
labelSize	node / edge	{ width, height } of a manually resized label

The diagram itself may carry showStereotypes and showEdgeLabels (the master switch for relationship labels).

M2-Specific Fields

M2 element types include additional fields:

Field	Description
notation	Visual appearance (shape, colour, icon, compartments)
palette	Palette configuration (usually {})
properties	Array of Property definitions
constraints	Relationship constraints (validPairs)
packageRole	Sub-package role (elementTypes, relationshipTypes, etc.)

Boards

A board is a Kanban view of the instances of one element type, grouped into columns by an enumeration property.

{
  "name": "Application Component Board",
  "classifier": "M2 ArchiMate 3.2:Application Component",
  "groupByProperty": "prop:lifecycle-status",
  "columnConfig": {
    "order": ["__none__", "active", "retiring"],
    "hidden": [],
    "limits": [{ "key": "active", "max": 8 }]
  },
  "cardConfig": { "properties": ["prop:owner"] },
  "sortState": [{ "id": "name", "desc": false }],
  "cardRanks": [{ "element": "fq-vessels", "rank": 1000 }]
}

Field	Description
classifier	The element type whose instances become cards (Package:Type)
groupByProperty	The enumeration property that defines the columns, as a portable prop:{$id} slug
columnConfig	Column order / hidden / collapsed (by literal storage value; "__none__" is the “(No value)” column), limits, and width
cardConfig.properties	Which property values appear on cards (prop:{$id} refs)
sortState / filterState	Card ordering and name filter
cardRanks	Manual card order ({$id} refs) when the board uses Manual sort

Enum literals and properties are stored as portable slugs so a board survives round-tripping through .farki even if display names change. A board whose groupByProperty can’t be resolved on import is dropped with a warning.

.farki.zip Archives

When a package contains attachments (images or files) and you export with attachments, Farkitect writes a .farki.zip archive instead of a plain .farki:

mypackage.farki.zip
├── model.farki                       # the JSON model (as above)
└── files/
    └── <element-$id>/<fileName>       # one folder per attachment-carrying element

Inside model.farki, each attachment-carrying element gains an attachmentFile descriptor (M1 only):

"attachmentFile": {
  "fileName": "architecture.xlsx",
  "mimeType": "application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet",
  "size": 245760
}

On import, a .farki.zip is auto-detected and its payloads are restored to the matching elements. A plain .farki (the “Model only” export) omits the payloads; the descriptor is stripped and the model still loads, just without the files.