# Source: https://docs.datadoghq.com/cloudcraft/getting-started/create-your-first-cloudcraft-diagram.md

---
title: Create your first live cloud diagram
description: Datadog, the leading service for cloud-scale monitoring.
breadcrumbs: >-
  Docs > Cloudcraft (Standalone) > Getting started > Create your first live
  cloud diagram
---

# Create your first live cloud diagram

Cloudcraft allows you to import your AWS and Azure cloud environments as *live diagrams*. By reverse-engineering the architecture in your cloud account, Cloudcraft can auto-generate new diagrams or enhance existing ones, saving you hours or even days of work.

{% alert level="info" %}
If you are using Cloudcraft's new live experience, see [Crafting Better Diagrams: Cloudcraft's Live Diagramming and Filtering](https://docs.datadoghq.com/cloudcraft/getting-started/crafting-better-diagrams/ "Crafting Better Diagrams: Cloudcraft's Live Diagramming and Filtering") instead.
{% /alert %}

## Prerequisites{% #prerequisites %}

Before you begin, connect your cloud account to Cloudcraft.

- For AWS accounts, see [Connect your AWS account with Cloudcraft](https://docs.datadoghq.com/cloudcraft/getting-started/connect-aws-account-with-cloudcraft/).
- For Azure accounts, see [Connect your Azure account with Cloudcraft](https://docs.datadoghq.com/cloudcraft/getting-started/connect-azure-account-with-cloudcraft/).

## Your first live diagram{% #your-first-live-diagram %}

To scan and visualize your cloud architecture, create a new blueprint. A blueprint contains your diagram, a budget, and all the documentation you attach to individual components.

1. In Cloudcraft, select the **AWS** or **Azure** tab, then the **Live** tab. In this guide, our primary focus will be on AWS accounts. If you have an Azure account, the process is similar.

On the **Live** tab you have the ability to select your account, scan regions, generate layouts, and view all resources in your account.

{% image
   source="https://datadog-docs.imgix.net/images/cloudcraft/getting-started/create-your-first-cloudcraft-diagram/live-tab.fddc7b9a4f602c6c9f40ed37fdfb09b0.png?auto=format"
   alt="A live infrastructure diagram in Cloudcraft with the AWS and live tabs highlighted." /%}

If you have only added one AWS account to Cloudcraft, it is automatically selected. Otherwise, choose an account from the drop-down.
Select the region you want to perform the scan in. While it's possible to scan and incorporate multiple regions into a single diagram, it's recommended to start with one region.
Below the **Scan now** button is a toggle that says **Live** or **Snapshot**, which tells the application which kind of diagram you want to create. If you select **Live**, the diagram continuously updates with information from your account. If you select **Snapshot**, a point-in-time image is created, which means the diagram will never update automatically.

This example uses the **Live** option. Enable the toggle for **Live**. The cog icon located to the right of the option provides additional customization settings for updating your diagram. For the purposes of this guide, it is recommended to leave it in the default state.

{% image
   source="https://datadog-docs.imgix.net/images/cloudcraft/getting-started/create-your-first-cloudcraft-diagram/live-diagram-options.25be3b885fba7701950fd4e8f7815d41.png?auto=format"
   alt="Interactive Cloudcraft interface with toggle set to live for live resource diagramming." /%}
Click **Scan now** to scan your account for [supported AWS components](https://docs.datadoghq.com/cloudcraft/faq/supported-aws-components/) in your account. A **Scan complete** message appears once the scan is finished.
With the scan complete, the **Auto layout** button and all the supported components from your AWS account should appear. You can start adding them manually immediately, however, it's recommended to let the application lay them out for you automatically.

You can achieve this in two ways:

- Using the **Auto layout** feature.
- Using the **Filtered layout** feature.

The **Auto layout** feature is the most straightforward as it adds all components to the diagram and illustrates their connections and relationships. For instance, you can configure the **Auto layout** to only display EC2 instances while excluding all other components.

The diagram type for this documentation is **Live**, which means if you remove an EC2 instance from your AWS account, the change will be reflected in your diagram.

The **Filtered Layout** feature is a more advanced and powerful way to diagram your cloud architecture, as it allows you to create diagrams that match a pattern. For example, if you have many resources tagged with `environment=production` and `environment=staging` but only want components in production to be added to the diagram, you can filter by `environment=production` and only components tagged with this exact combination of value and key are included.

The power of filters is available even if you do not tag your resources in your cloud provider. For example, to create a diagram with only EC2 instances that are powered down, you could use the filter `ec2 !running`.

The following video depicts the power of **Filtered layout**. In AWS, our sales team tags several resources related to a Cloudcraft demo with the key `Environment` and the value `Demo`. To view what they want to demonstrate and how each component connects to each other, they can use the filter `Environment=demo` in the search bar just below the **Live** tab.

{% video
   url="https://datadog-docs.imgix.net/images/cloudcraft/getting-started/create-your-first-cloudcraft-diagram/filtered-layout-example-video.mp4" /%}

Components labeled with `Environment=demo` are displayed within their corresponding VPCs, subnets, and security groups, despite these resources not being tagged as such in AWS. The WAF, despite having identical tags, is positioned outside of the VPC because the AWS API does not indicate any linkage between the WAF and the rest of the components.

How components connect to each other is service dependent. Cloudcraft uses all available cloud APIs to discover relationships wherever possible.
To continue configuring your **Auto Layout** functionality, select **Auto layout** under the **Live/Snapshot** toggle.
A new dialog box allows you to decide which AWS components to include in your diagram. The dialog also includes an **Options** drop-down menu where you can choose one of three possible options:

- Replace existing components.
- Include existing components.
- Leave existing components.

These options tell the application what to do if you are using **Auto layout** on a diagram that already has components on it.

- If you select **Replace existing components**, everything already in the diagram will be replaced with new components.
- If you select **Include existing components**, the application will perform an automatic layout on all the components in your inventory as well as all the components on the diagram.
- If you select **Leave existing components**, the components in the diagram will not be altered, but the application will perform an automatic layout for the new components.

Since we are creating a new diagram, choose **Replace existing components** from the menu. Select **Layout** to automatically add all of the components in your inventory to the diagram along with their connections.

{% image
   source="https://datadog-docs.imgix.net/images/cloudcraft/getting-started/create-your-first-cloudcraft-diagram/auto-layout-diagram.75c517eb9634485ac9bfa072f9d71d49.png?auto=format"
   alt="Interactive AWS infrastructure diagram created with Cloudcraft featuring auto layout of components with visible connections on a grid background." /%}

The diagram is customizable, allowing you to enhance its appearance using elements from the **Design** tab, all while observing real-time data pertaining to each component.

If you select a component, the **Live feed** dialog should appear in the lower-left corner of your screen and displays live information about the component you selected.

{% image
   source="https://datadog-docs.imgix.net/images/cloudcraft/getting-started/create-your-first-cloudcraft-diagram/live-feed.65b4fc23403943a78e6170c7de6421fc.png?auto=format"
   alt="Interactive cloud infrastructure diagram with highlighted EC2 instance and live feed information dialog box displaying instance details and status." /%}

## New live experience{% #new-live-experience %}

Cloudcraft has introduced a revamped live experience as part of our continuous commitment to enhance user experience and streamline the process of diagramming cloud infrastructure. This updated experience is accessible to all users and has been set as the standard experience for new users.

See [Crafting Better Diagrams: Cloudcraft's Live Diagramming and Filtering](https://docs.datadoghq.com/cloudcraft/getting-started/crafting-better-diagrams/) for more information.