Glossary

The terms these docs use, and how each one is written. Where a term names a registry resource, the entry links to the page that owns it.

Most terms are ordinary lowercase nouns. Workspace is capitalized because it names a specific StreamNative Cloud resource rather than a generic one, and legacy feature names such as Agent Function keep their capitals.

agent

A versioned registry resource declaring the model, system prompt, tools, MCP servers, and skills that shape how a session behaves. Not "Agent".

Agent Function

The deprecated function-mesh code unit that ran an agent. Superseded by triggers. Capitalized: it is a product feature name.

AgentContext

The API an Agent Function used to reach tools, state, and message metadata at runtime. Deprecated with Agent Functions.

custom tool

A tool your own application executes: the session pauses, hands you the call, and waits for a result.

environment

A reusable container template setting the packages and network policy a session executes under. Not "Environment".

event

A message exchanged with a session - a user turn, a tool call, a tool result, or a status change. Not "Event".

file

An uploaded binary asset a session can mount as a read-only resource.

guardrail

A policy rule that can allow, ask for approval, or deny an agent action at session, agent, Workspace, or organization scope.

MCP server

An external Model Context Protocol endpoint whose tools an agent can call. Declared inline on the agent, never a standalone registry resource.

memory store

Workspace-scoped storage that agents read and write across sessions, mounted into the sandbox under /mnt/.

model price

The effective token rates for a provider and model, used by the registry to account for session spend.

permission policy

Whether a tool runs immediately or pauses the session for approval - always_allow or always_ask.

provider

An LLM backend a Workspace exposes, which an agent reaches through its model field. Not "Provider".

registry

The per-Workspace catalog of resources, and the API every CLI and SDK call goes through. Not "Registry".

runtime

The compute layer that executes sessions inside a Workspace. Not "Runtime".

session

A running instance of a pinned agent version inside an environment, driven by events. Not "Session".

skill

A versioned filesystem bundle containing a root SKILL.md, which an agent loads on demand for domain-specific context. Not "Skill".

thread

A server-created subdivision of a session. Threads are not created directly. Not "Thread".

tool

Something an agent can call beyond producing text, declared on the agent as a built-in toolset, an MCP toolset, or a custom tool.

toolset

A group of tools enabled together - agent_toolset for the sandbox tools, or mcp_toolset for one MCP server. Not "Toolset".

trigger

Automation that starts sessions on a cron schedule; StreamNative Cloud also accepts Pulsar and Kafka messages. Not "Trigger".

vault

Workspace-scoped credential storage. A session passes vault IDs, and the gateway injects the matching credential into MCP calls. Not "Vault".

vault credential

One secret inside a vault, bound to an MCP server URL. Kinds are static_bearer, mcp_oauth, and environment_variable.

Workspace

The StreamNative Cloud resource that hosts Orca and is the isolation unit for tenancy, identity, and quotas. Capitalized: it names a specific platform resource. Not "workspace".

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