> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.infraglide.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.infraglide.com/getting-started/core-concepts.md).

# Core Concepts & Terminology

InfraGlide organizes people, environments, and infrastructure around a small set of nested concepts. Understanding these terms makes the rest of the product — and the rest of this documentation — easier to navigate.

***

## 🏢 Organization

An **Organization** is the top-level tenant. It owns Workspaces, users, invitations, cloud provider allow/block policy, and optional notification integrations (Slack, Teams, Google Chat).

* Your organization is resolved from your signed-in identity. The UI does not show a separate organization switcher in the header.
* Org Admins can open **Settings → Organization setup** to re-enter the onboarding wizard and manage org-wide options.

### 🔔 Notification Integrations

Organizations can configure real-time alert integrations for team channels:

<figure><img src="/files/L6172D0ls4IEfePdEEVj" alt="Slack Notification Connection"><figcaption><p>Figure 2: Slack Alert Integration Setup</p></figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="/files/HTIcmVw8AS2PLCw8hXdA" alt="Microsoft Teams and Google Chat Integrations"><figcaption><p>Figure 3: Microsoft Teams and Google Chat Notification Integrations</p></figcaption></figure>

***

## 🎯 Workspace & Sandbox

A **Workspace** is a top-level team or business-unit area inside an organization (for example *Platform Team* or *Payments*). A **Sandbox** is a deployable environment inside a Workspace (for example `dev`, `staging`, or `prod`).

* In the UI the header selector shows the active pair as **`Workspace / Sandbox`**.
* **Pipelines and credentials always belong to a Sandbox.** You cannot create either without selecting one.

<figure><img src="/files/TxBC8CrqJ04rgUOfRtH3" alt="Workspace and Sandbox Header Selector"><figcaption><p>Figure 4: Workspace / Sandbox Context Selector</p></figcaption></figure>

***

## 📐 Pipeline

A **Pipeline** is a saved visual architecture: the canvas graph plus its generated Terraform configuration.

* Stored fields include `components` (nodes) and `connections` (edges) as JSON.
* Each pipeline is scoped to one Sandbox, one cloud **provider** (`aws`, `gcp`, or `azure`), and a default **region**.
* Pipelines are versioned (`version`, `isLatestVersion`, optional `parentPipelineId` and `versionNotes`).
* Status values commonly seen in the UI include `draft`, `deployed`, and `failed`.
* A linked `credentialId` is required before Deploy can succeed.

<figure><img src="/files/p85vX5ZJkGESj9jJjzHL" alt="Visual Pipeline Architecture Canvas"><figcaption><p>Figure 5: Pipeline Visual Designer Canvas</p></figcaption></figure>

***

## 🚀 Deployment

A **Deployment** is one execution run against a pipeline version.

* Supported Terraform actions: `plan`, `apply`, and `destroy`.
* Creating a run starts asynchronously (HTTP 202). The browser polls status and streams logs over a WebSocket.
* Status values you will see include `pending`, `running`, `planned`, `success`, `partial_success`, `failed`, and `destroyed`.
* Each deployment can record Terraform output, deployment logs, a plan summary, and a snapshot of created resources.

<figure><img src="/files/GDHa3XfOoiQQj7hJoXAe" alt="Live Deployment Execution Logs"><figcaption><p>Figure 6: Deployment Execution History &#x26; Live Output Stream</p></figcaption></figure>

Destroy is always explicit: the UI requires you to type the confirmation phrase `destroy` before the action is enabled.

***

## 🔑 Credential

A **Credential** stores encrypted cloud provider access for a Sandbox.

* Providers: AWS (access keys or Assume Role), GCP (service account JSON), Azure (service principal).
* Secrets are encrypted at rest and injected into the Terraform process as environment variables only at execution time.

<figure><img src="/files/G28efpUAUDHSORWbkOdo" alt="Cloud Provider Credential Form"><figcaption><p>Figure 7: Adding Cloud Credentials to a Sandbox</p></figcaption></figure>

See [Cloud Credentials Management](/settings-governance-and-rbac/cloud-credentials.md) for field-level details.

***

## 🤖 Jane AI

**Jane AI** is InfraGlide's embedded copilot. It helps with natural-language questions, failed-deployment analysis, security posture review, cost guidance, and canvas refactoring.

* Open Jane with the floating **Ask Jane** button or **⌘/Ctrl+J**.
* When AI capabilities are disabled by your organization administrator, Jane surfaces a clear configuration status message.

See [Jane AI Overview](/jane-ai-copilot/overview.md).

***

## 🔄 Drift

**Drift** is a mismatch between the live cloud resource and the configuration InfraGlide last saved for that resource on a pipeline.

* Drift checks compare saved desired configuration against live provider API reads.
* Event types include `missing`, `added`, and `modified`.
* You can acknowledge, resolve, or sync live cloud values back into the canvas configuration.

<figure><img src="/files/UZFx4RpEBsKFFVHkjNqT" alt="Real-Time Drift Detection Canvas"><figcaption><p>Figure 8: Real-Time Canvas Drift Detection &#x26; Status Badges</p></figcaption></figure>

See [Real-Time Drift Detection Overview](/cloud-sync-and-drift-detection/overview.md).

***

## 🧩 How the Pieces Nest

```
Organization
 └── Workspace (e.g. Platform Team)
      └── Sandbox (e.g. Dev, Staging, Prod)
           ├── Cloud Credentials (AWS, Azure, GCP)
           └── Pipelines (Visual canvas & versioned Terraform specs)
                └── Deployments (Plan, Apply, Destroy execution runs)
```


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