Export to EventCatalog

Once you have modeled your architecture in .ec files, you can export them back into EventCatalog. This turns your models into browsable, versioned documentation that your whole team can discover.

How it works

The CLI reads your .ec files and creates or updates matching resources in your EventCatalog directory. Services become service pages, events become event pages, and so on.

npx @eventcatalog/cli --dir ./catalog import ./main.ec

Import a single file

npx @eventcatalog/cli --dir ./catalog import ./main.ec

Import multiple files

npx @eventcatalog/cli --dir ./catalog import ./core.ec ./payments.ec ./shipping.ec

Import from stdin

Pipe .ec content directly into the CLI:

cat ./main.ec | npx @eventcatalog/cli --dir ./catalog import --stdin

Preview changes first

Use --dry-run to see what would be created or updated without writing anything:

npx @eventcatalog/cli --dir ./catalog import ./main.ec --dry-run

What gets created

The CLI creates EventCatalog resources for everything defined in your .ec files:

.ec definition	EventCatalog resource
service	Service page
event	Event page
command	Command page
query	Query page
domain	Domain page
channel	Channel page
container	Container page
data-product	Data Product page
user	User page
team	Team page

If a resource already exists, it gets updated. If you are importing a newer version, the CLI versions the previous content automatically.

Flags

Flag	What it does
--dry-run	Preview creates, updates, and versioning without writing
--flat	Write resources in top-level folders instead of nesting
--no-init	Skip initialization prompts (useful in CI/CD)

The design-to-documentation workflow

This is the core loop for keeping models and documentation in sync:

1. Model your architecture in .ec files
2. Review the changes in a pull request
3. Export to EventCatalog with the CLI
4. Browse the updated documentation in your catalog

Your .ec files become the source of truth for architectural decisions. EventCatalog becomes the place where everyone discovers and reads them.