Use these working definitions to read and discuss agent designs. Terminology varies between systems; follow the linked product documentation when a term affects an implementation.
Browse the groups: System · Information · Actions · Oversight.
System
AI agent
General concept. A system that uses a model to help select and carry out steps toward a goal within configured limits. The interface may be conversational, but the interface alone does not determine whether a system is an agent. See what is an AI agent?.
Agent harness
General concept and AgentShelf product concept. The surrounding setup that gives a model instructions, context, capabilities, and operating rules for a job. Different systems include different responsibilities in this term. See the harness explainer and AgentShelf's harness overview.
Agent runtime
General concept. The execution environment that carries out the agent's work, such as coordinating requests, tool calls, and results. A runtime executes behavior; a job brief describes what that behavior should accomplish. See agent architecture.
Dedicated workspace
AgentShelf product concept with a broader industry meaning. AgentShelf describes a dedicated workspace as the place a user manages an agent's context, tools, conversations, results, and available activity. Do not infer access isolation or retention guarantees from the word alone. See the product overview and workspace documentation.
External agent
AgentShelf documentation term. An agent made available to an external application through the documented integration surface. Consult the developer documentation for supported configuration and lifecycle behavior.
Session
General concept with implementation-specific behavior. A session lets a system recognize continuity between interactions. Its lifetime, storage, and user identity rules depend on the implementation and may differ from a browser session. See sessions and storage.
Information
Approved context
Working editorial term. Information selected and authorized for a particular job and audience, such as an approved service description. Approval needs an owner and a scope; it does not mean a source remains accurate forever. See knowledge and tools.
Knowledge grounding
General concept. Connecting an answer or decision to relevant supplied or retrieved evidence. Grounding helps make a result inspectable, but the result still needs evaluation for relevance and faithfulness. See knowledge, skills, tools, and connections.
Agent memory
General concept. Information retained or retrieved to support continuity across steps or interactions. Conversation context and persistent storage are different mechanisms; check what the implementation stores, for whom, and for how long. See architecture.
Public reference
AgentShelf documentation term. A reference used in the external-agent integration flow to identify a configured public agent surface. It does not authenticate a user or authorize an action. The backend uses a separate bootstrap credential to sign the assertion and keeps that credential server-side. See getting started for the reference's exact use and public references and secure bootstrap for the boundary between them.
Artifact
General concept with implementation-specific behavior. A produced result, often a file or another separately accessible output. Its availability and access rules depend on the system. See files and artifacts.
Actions
Skill
Working editorial term aligned with AgentShelf copy. Reusable instructions or methods for a class of work, such as a research procedure. A skill describes a method; a tool provides a capability. Product-specific packaging varies. See the resource comparison.
Tool calling
General concept. A model requests a defined capability, and the surrounding system decides whether and how to execute it. A requested action and a completed action are different states. See permissions and boundaries.
Connection
Working editorial term aligned with AgentShelf copy. A configured path to an external resource or system. It may involve an API, credentials, a connector, or MCP. The existence of a connection does not determine which actions a user may perform. See AgentShelf's connections overview.
MCP tool
General integration concept. A callable capability exposed through the Model Context Protocol. Review the server, the capability, the data exchanged, and the permissions separately; the protocol name is not a trust decision. See knowledge and connections and permissions.
Structured output
General concept. A result organized into an expected format or set of fields. Correct structure makes inspection and downstream handling easier; it does not prove that the values are correct. See defining a focused job.
Oversight
Human-in-the-loop
General concept. A workflow design in which a person reviews, approves, corrects, or takes over at defined points. Name the responsible person and the behavior while review is pending. See approvals, handoffs, and escalation.
Agent handoff
General workflow concept. A transfer of responsibility and relevant context to a person, another agent, or a system. Use human handoff when a person takes over and cross-system handoff when work passes between systems. Define who accepts it and how incomplete transfers are detected. See human review and handoffs.
Agent observability
General operating concept. The ability to inspect evidence about execution, such as results, errors, tool activity, and usage. Decide what records are necessary without assuming every interaction should be retained. See governance and cost controls.
Shadow AI
General organizational term. AI use outside an organization's approved or visible processes. Review the underlying workflow need as well as access and accountability. See governance for a starting framework.
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Return to foundations for the broader mental model, or use agent design to apply the terms to a specific job.