Frequently asked questions

Design Beaver is a web-based AWS architecture diagramming tool that validates your design as you draw it. Unlike a generic diagram editor that just renders boxes and lines, it understands AWS services and flags problems — missing queues, invalid connections, and security anti-patterns — before you ship. It runs in the browser with nothing to install.

Design Beaver checks your diagram against a built-in knowledge base of AWS services and their real-world connection rules, in real time. As you connect services it confirms the connections are valid, warns when a common pattern is missing a component like a queue, and highlights security anti-patterns. The checks run against modeled AWS knowledge — not your live cloud — so feedback is instant. Read more in why we built a validation engine.

Design Beaver catches three main classes of issue: missing queues (no buffer between a producer and consumer), invalid connections (services wired together in ways AWS doesn't support), and security anti-patterns (risky configurations). It surfaces them as you draw, so problems are caught at design time instead of in review or production.

Most diagramming tools — draw.io, Lucidchart, the AWS Architecture Icons — are drawing surfaces: they render boxes and lines but don't understand what you're drawing. Design Beaver understands AWS. It validates connections, flags missing components, and warns about security anti-patterns as you work, turning a static picture into a checked design. You still get a clean, production-grade diagram — it just tells you when the architecture is wrong.

Design Beaver supports AWS services across compute, database, networking, and storage, each with modeled connection rules for validation. You can browse the full supported list on the services page.

No. Design Beaver is a standalone tool — you don't need an AWS account, credentials, or any cloud connection to use it. Validation runs against a built-in knowledge base of AWS services, so nothing touches your live infrastructure and there's no setup beyond opening the app.

Design Beaver has a free core tier that will always be free. You can draw and validate AWS architecture at no cost. Optional paid features may be added later, but the core diagramming and validation experience stays free.

Design Beaver is built for engineers and solutions architects who design AWS systems — anyone who wants diagrams that are correct, not just presentable. It's aimed at people who care about production-grade architecture and want missing queues, invalid connections, and security issues caught before review or production.

Yes. You can export your diagrams as images in PNG and SVG format, so they drop cleanly into docs, design reviews, slides, or pull requests.

Design Beaver is live in beta — you can start now at app.designbeaver.app, free and with no account required. It runs entirely in your browser, so there's nothing to install. Want to hear about new features? Drop your email on the homepage — over 100 engineers already have.