> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.flowx.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Glossary

> The FlowX.AI vocabulary in one place - what each core term means and where to learn more about it.

FlowX.AI has its own vocabulary, and a few terms mean something more specific here than in everyday usage. This page defines the core terms and links each one to its full documentation.

<Tip>
  The most common mix-up: a **process** is a BPMN flow with user and service tasks; a **workflow** is an integration flow built in the Integration Designer, often with AI nodes. They are different building blocks with different designers.
</Tip>

***

## Platform and projects

**FlowX.AI Designer:** The web app where you build everything: processes, workflows, UIs, data sources, and AI agents. See the [FlowX.AI Designer overview](/5.9/docs/flowx-designer/overview).

**Project:** The container that groups all resources and dependencies needed to implement a use case: processes, workflows, UI, enumerations, media, and integrations. See [Projects](/5.9/docs/projects/managing-applications/application).

**Library:** A specialized project that serves as a reusable container for resources shared across multiple projects. See [Libraries](/5.9/docs/projects/managing-applications/libraries).

**Workspace:** A logically isolated business context within one FlowX instance. An organization can run multiple workspaces, each with its own projects and access rights. See [Workspaces](/5.9/docs/projects/workspaces).

**Dependency:** A link from a project to a library version, making that library's resources available in the project. See [Dependencies](/5.9/docs/projects/managing-applications/dependencies).

**Version:** A tracked snapshot of a project's configuration. Projects evolve through submitted versions, which are then packaged into builds. See [Versioning](/5.9/docs/projects/managing-applications/versioning).

**Build:** A deployable package of a project that encapsulates all its resources into a single unit. Builds are what run in an environment. See [Builds](/5.9/docs/projects/runtime/builds).

**Active policy:** The strategy that selects which build of a project is active in a runtime environment. See [Active policy](/5.9/docs/projects/runtime/active-policy).

**Configuration parameters overrides:** Environment-specific values for parameters within a project, so the same build can behave differently per environment. See [Configuration parameters overrides](/5.9/docs/projects/runtime/configuration-parameters-overrides).

**Config-time vs runtime:** Config-time is where you design (Designer, projects, versions); runtime is where builds execute and end users interact with running instances.

***

## Processes (BPMN)

**Process definition:** The blueprint of a business process: a graph of nodes linked by sequences, modeled in BPMN. See [Process definition](/5.9/docs/building-blocks/process/process-definition).

**Process instance:** One specific execution of a process definition, carrying its own data and state. Instances can be executed, monitored, and optimized. See [Process instance](/5.9/docs/projects/runtime/active-process/process-instance).

**Node:** A visual representation of a point in your process: where a record enters, transitions, or exits. Node types include user tasks, service tasks, and message events. See [Process nodes](/5.9/docs/building-blocks/node/node).

**Token:** The current position in the process flow. A token moves through the node graph as the instance advances; parallel paths mean multiple tokens. See [Token](/5.9/docs/building-blocks/token).

**Node action:** An activity a node handles, such as saving data, calling a business rule, or communicating with plugins and integrations. See [Node actions](/5.9/docs/building-blocks/actions/actions).

**Business rule:** An action type that configures a script on a BPMN node to express business logic or decision-making within a process. See [Business rule action](/5.9/docs/building-blocks/actions/business-rule-action/business-rule-action).

**Subprocess:** A process started from within another process, used to reuse and compose flows. See [Subprocess](/5.9/docs/building-blocks/process/subprocess).

***

## Workflows and integrations

**Workflow:** An integration flow built in the Integration Designer, used for data processing, transformation, and AI operations across connected systems. Not a BPMN process: workflows are started from processes or triggers, and their nodes are grouped into Flow Control, Data Operations, Tools, and AI categories (AI Text, AI Document, AI Image, and AI Data Operations, plus AI Agents). See [Integration Designer](/5.9/docs/platform-deep-dive/integrations/integration-designer).

**Integration Designer:** The drag-and-drop workspace for connecting FlowX to external systems via REST APIs, and for building workflows. See [Integration Designer](/5.9/docs/platform-deep-dive/integrations/integration-designer).

**Data source:** A configured connection a workflow or process can use. Types include RESTful System, FlowX Database, MCP Server, Email Trigger, Email Sender, Knowledge Base, Microsoft Outlook, and Incoming Webhook.

**FlowX Database:** A built-in data source for storing and accessing structured data across processes and apps, without standing up an external database. See [FlowX Database](/5.9/docs/platform-deep-dive/integrations/flowx-database).

**Knowledge Base:** A managed store of documents and dynamic data that gives AI agents contextual information for retrieval-augmented generation. See [Knowledge Base integration](/5.9/docs/platform-deep-dive/integrations/knowledge-base-integration/knowledge-base-overview).

**Incoming Webhook:** A data source that starts or advances flows when an external system sends an HTTP POST, secured with API keys. See [Incoming Webhooks](/5.9/docs/platform-deep-dive/integrations/incoming-webhooks).

**Email Trigger:** A data source that monitors an IMAP mailbox and starts process instances when emails arrive. See [Email Trigger](/5.9/docs/platform-deep-dive/integrations/email-trigger).

***

## User interfaces

**UI Designer:** The visual, multi-platform tool for designing interfaces that render on web, iOS, and Android without extensive coding. See [UI Designer](/5.9/docs/building-blocks/ui-designer/ui-designer).

**UI Flow:** A reusable, multi-platform user interface that runs without the overhead of a BPMN process. See [UI Flows](/5.9/docs/building-blocks/ui-flows).

**UI Flow session:** One user's active interaction with a UI Flow, with its own status, audit trail, and associated processes. See [UI Flow Sessions](/5.9/docs/projects/runtime/ui-flow-sessions).

**Custom component:** A React component you build and register to extend the built-in UI component palette, with access to process data and actions. See [Custom components](/5.9/docs/building-blocks/reusable-resources/custom-components).

***

## AI Platform

**Config-time agents:** AI agents built into the FlowX Designer that help you build faster: AI Analyst, AI Designer, AI Developer, and AI Assistant. See [Config-time agents](/5.9/ai-platform/pre-built-agents/overview).

**Business agents:** AI agents that power experiences for end users in your apps, created with the Agent Builder. See [AI in FlowX](/5.9/ai-platform/ai-in-flowx).

**Agent Builder:** The no-code/low-code tool for creating custom AI agents. See [Agent Builder](/5.9/ai-platform/agent-builder/overview).

**Chat-driven workflow:** A workflow behind a multi-turn chat experience, with session memory, intent routing, and context-aware responses. See [Chat-driven workflows](/5.9/ai-platform/chat-driven-workflows).

***

## Deployment and releases

**SaaS:** FlowX operated as a managed cloud service. New feature releases reach SaaS first.

**Self-hosted:** FlowX deployed and operated in your own infrastructure. Self-hosted deployments follow LTS releases.

**LTS release:** A long-term-support platform version (such as 5.9.x) that receives maintenance patches and is the basis for self-hosted deployments.

**Feature release:** A monthly release between LTS versions that ships new capabilities to SaaS; those capabilities reach self-hosted with the next LTS.

***

## Related resources

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Build your first process" icon="play" href="/5.9/docs/getting-started/building-your-first-proc">
    Put the vocabulary to work in a hands-on tutorial.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Cookbooks" icon="utensils" href="/5.9/cookbooks/overview">
    Tutorials, guides, and reusable patterns for building on FlowX.AI.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>