> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.algenta.ai/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.algenta.ai/help/glossary.md). # Glossary The canonical vocabulary for Algenta. Each term is defined once here; the rest of the docs use these words exactly. If a page and this glossary ever disagree, the glossary wins. ## The engine | Term | Meaning | | ------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Engine** | The Algenta core — a deterministic computational-intelligence runtime (math/operational libraries, simulation, decision planning, governed query, agent runtime). You deploy it; you don't adopt it as a finished app. | | **Runtime** | The `algenta-core` object (`Runtime`) that reaches the engine in one of three modes — `local`, `api`, or `self_hosted`. | | **Mojo engine** | The compiled, high-performance simulation binary (`mojo_build/simulate`) the API server calls to run simulations. | | **Worker pool / sidecar** | A set of long-lived Mojo worker processes the API talks to over local sockets, instead of forking a process per request. The "sidecar engine." | | **Decision envelope** | The structured result of a simulation or decision — expected value, confidence, percentiles, and a recommended action. | | **Determinism** | The same inputs + `seed` always produce the same result. Algenta computation is reproducible by design. | ## Surfaces — how you reach the engine | Term | Meaning | | ------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **HTTP API** | The versioned REST surface under `/v1`. The default integration path; no SDK required. See [API overview](/http-api/overview.md). | | **SDK** (`algenta-sdk`) | The thin, typed HTTP client for the API — `AlgentaClient` in Python and TypeScript. See [Python SDK](/sdks/python.md). | | **`algenta-core`** | The local-first Python runtime package — run flows in-process (`mode="local"`) or drive a remote engine through one `Runtime` object. | | **MCP server** (`algenta-mcp`) | A Model Context Protocol bridge that exposes the engine as tools for Cursor, Claude Desktop, and other AI clients. See [MCP server](/sdks/mcp.md). | | **CLI** | The terminal clients: `de` (full API surface) and `algenta` (local-runtime demo + inspection). See [CLI reference](/sdks/cli.md). | ## Decisioning | Term | Meaning | | ------------------------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Simulation** | A Monte Carlo run over a scenario that returns a decision envelope (`POST /v1/simulate`). | | **Distribution** | The probabilistic shape of an input variable (for example normal, lognormal, triangular, beta, poisson). | | **Decision** | A single recommended action plus its expected value and confidence. | | **Recommendation / Score / Compare** | Decision primitives: rank actions, score one scenario, or compare alternatives. | | **Decision plan** | A structured, multi-stage decision the engine produces and can later execute. | | **Decision memory** | The persisted log of decisions and their later real-world **outcomes**, so models can learn from results. | | **What-if** | Sensitivity analysis that varies inputs to see how the decision changes (`POST /v1/simulate/what-if`). | ## Governed data | Term | Meaning | | ---------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Governed data** | Data the engine queries under a typed, validated contract — schema-checked, with explicit field hints and operators — so results are deterministic and auditable. | | **Source** | A registered, queryable data origin (schema-inferred and tracked in the source registry). | | **Dataset** | An onboarded, engine-managed table you can summarize and query. | | **Connector** | A configured connection to an external system (SQL, warehouse, REST, file) that backs a source or dataset. | | **Query / Resolve** | A deterministic exact query (`POST /v1/query`) and the plan-resolution step that precedes it. | | **Capability plane** | The unified router that turns an objective into the right provider/skill and executes it. | | **Capability / Skill** | A discrete operation the capability plane can route to and execute (an LLM call, an optimizer, a data operation). | ## Agentic | Term | Meaning | | --------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Agent run** | A persisted, observable agent execution with events, checkpoints, telemetry, approval gates, and lifecycle control. | | **Checkpoint** | Saved agent state you can pause at, resume from, or replay. | | **Repository intelligence** | The code-aware workflow: snapshot a repo, triage an issue, plan, simulate a patch, and apply a fix/PR. | | **Async job** | A long-running execution submitted to `/v1/jobs`, polled for status, and fetched on completion. | | **Trigger** | A registered condition that fires an action (a webhook-driven automation). | ## Deploy & operate | Term | Meaning | | ------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Deployment mode** | The privacy/egress profile: `saas`, `vpc`, `self_hosted`, `air_gapped`, `hybrid_provider`, or `local_dev_daemon`. Set with `ALGENTA_DEPLOYMENT_MODE`. | | **Self-hosted** | You run the full stack (API + worker + engine + Postgres + Redis + object storage) on your own infrastructure. See [Self-hosting](/deploy-and-operate/self-hosting.md). | | **Air-gapped** | A self-hosted profile with zero outbound network — licensing and execution are fully local. | | **Control plane** | The hosted, engine-free surface (auth, accounts, teams, billing, licensing). A deployment runs `full` or `control_plane` via `ALGENTA_SERVICE_ROLE`. | | **Edition** | A product surface over the one engine (Codna, Cohenta, Decimas, Escrypto), selected with `ALGENTA_PRODUCT`. | | **Metering / Credits / Quota** | How usage is counted (metering), topped up (credits), and capped per plan (quota). See [Plans, billing & credits](/deploy-and-operate/billing.md). | | **Egress / Privacy report** | Outbound-network policy and the operator proof (`GET /v1/admin/privacy-report`) that a deployment is cloud-free. | | **Fallback mode** | Whether the API may fall back from the Mojo pool to a slower path. `RUNTIME_FALLBACK_MODE` = `deny` \| `allow` \| `auto`. | ## Security & licensing | Term | Meaning | | ----------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **API key** | The bearer credential (`Authorization: Bearer …`) that authenticates requests. See [Authentication](/getting-started/authentication.md). | | **Device binding** | Binding a capped key to a specific device identity, enforced by fingerprint headers + a replay token. | | **License** | A signed, offline-verifiable JWT (RS256) that grants product entitlements and capacity. Always v2. See [Licensing](/deploy-and-operate/licensing.md). | | **Entitlement** | What a license grants — products, features, and capacity caps (seats, nodes, workers). | | **BYOK** | Bring Your Own Keys — your own provider credentials for LLM/AI capabilities, encrypted per tenant. | | **Execution ownership** | Who runs a capability: `algenta_managed` (the engine) vs `client_managed` (your adapter). Fail-closed when unresolved. | ## Related {% content-ref url="/pages/kcfbhqaXfwEHWksFdtMC" %} [Core concepts](/getting-started/concepts.md) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/WvWo24gXUlAmIwQMTtvz" %} [What Algenta is](/overview.md) {% endcontent-ref %} --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. 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