Skip to main content

Glossary

These terms are used consistently by Core, the official libraries, and the HTTP API.

Core​

The self-hosted control plane and operator console. It receives worker heartbeats, records state and history, and returns pending process commands.

Worker​

One application connected to Core. It is identified by workerName, which must be stable across restarts.

Process​

A unit of work inside a worker — a job, a loop, a task. Names are unique per worker, not globally, which is why processes are addressed by id.

Endless process​

A process that runs until told to stop. Cooperates with a stop signal.

Progressive process​

A process that runs to completion on its own and reaches idle by finishing. It cooperates with the cancellation mechanism provided by its client library.

Execution​

One durable run of a process, with a start, an end and an outcome. Starting a process appends a new execution record; completed executions remain in history.

Run id​

The identifier the Core assigns to an in-flight execution. Present in the heartbeat while a run is active; carried back unchanged by the worker. Treat it as an opaque signed 64-bit value.

Desired state​

What the Core wants a process to be doing. One of idle, running or stopping. idle means "no command", never "stop".

Current state​

What a process is actually doing, as reported by the worker. One of idle, running, stopping or failed.

Desired token​

An integer the Core increments on every user command. The worker applies a command only when this is strictly greater than its ackToken.

Ack token​

The last desiredToken a worker actually applied. Reported on every heartbeat. This is what makes commands idempotent.

Heartbeat​

The single outbound POST a worker makes on a fixed interval, carrying every process it owns, optional captured output, and receiving Core's desired states in reply. It is authenticated with a worker bearer token.

Worker token​

A bearer credential accepted by the heartbeat endpoint. Named tokens can be created and revoked in Core Settings. Their secret is displayed only at creation.

Execution log​

Captured stdout or stderr produced during one process run and associated with that execution in Core.

Framework​

The runtime a worker declares itself to be. Recorded as unknown when not sent — never inferred.