Should architecture diagrams be generated or hand-drawn?
Both, for different jobs. Generated diagrams show what the system actually is and cannot go stale. Hand-drawn ones state what it should be, which is the part that can be violated. The useful setup is a stated intent plus a generated reality, compared automatically.
From Architecture diagrams that stay true, published 9 August 2026. That article is where the reasoning behind this answer is set out, including what it does not cover.