Glossary
Quick reference for terms used throughout the HiveMind OS documentation. If you're new, start with the No-Code Guide for a hands-on walkthrough.
AFK
Away From Keyboard. When your status is Away or Do Not Disturb, questions and approval requests are forwarded to a channel you choose, such as Slack, Discord, or email. Set your status from the colored dot at the top of the window. Configure the channel in Settings → Agents & Automation → AFK / Status.
See also: AFK Mode
Agent Kit
A portable .agentkit file that packages personas, workflows, skills, and attachments so you can share or move an agent setup. Open Agent Kits in the sidebar. The file does not include credentials, conversation history, or the knowledge graph.
See also: Agent Kits
Agent Stage
A live dashboard in HiveMind OS where you can watch your bots working. Each bot appears as a card showing what it's doing, and you can respond to questions or approve actions directly.
See also: Bots Guide
Bot
A persistent AI agent that works on tasks in the background — like assigning a job to a virtual employee. You give it instructions, and it works autonomously until the task is done.
See also: Bots Guide
Connector
A link between HiveMind OS and an external service like Gmail, Google Calendar, Slack, or Discord. Once connected, your AI assistants can read and send messages, check your calendar, and more.
See also: No-Code Guide → Connectors
Cron Expression
A scheduling format used to describe when something should run. For example, 0 9 * * 1-5 means "weekdays at 9:00 AM." You don't need to memorize the syntax — the workflow designer helps you set one up.
See also: Scheduling Guide
Daemon
The background service that powers HiveMind OS. It runs quietly on your computer so the app works. You don't need to manage it — the desktop app starts it automatically.
Feedback Gate
A pause point in a workflow where the AI stops and asks you a question before continuing. Great for approvals, reviews, or any step where you want to stay in the loop.
See also: Workflows Guide
Flight Deck
The panel opened from the Flight Deck button at the top right of the window, or with Ctrl+Shift+F. It shows agents and workflows that are running, and it is where you browse the knowledge graph.
See also: No-Code Guide → Flight Deck
Knowledge Graph
HiveMind OS's memory system. It stores facts, preferences, and context that the AI remembers across conversations. When you tell the AI "I prefer formal tone," it saves that and applies it later.
See also: Knowledge Management Guide
MCP Server
An external tool plugin that gives your AI new capabilities — like access to a database, a GitHub repo, or a specialised API. MCP stands for Model Context Protocol, an open standard.
See also: MCP Servers Guide
Model
The specific AI brain a provider offers. Different models have different strengths: some are faster, some are smarter, some are cheaper. For example, "Claude Sonnet" and "GPT-4o" are models.
See also: Providers & Models
OAuth
A secure sign-in method where you grant HiveMind OS access to a service (like Gmail or GitHub) through that service's own login page. You never share your password with HiveMind OS — the service gives it a secure token instead.
Persona
An AI assistant you create with a specific personality, instructions, and tool access. Think of it like hiring a specialist: you write a job description (the system prompt), choose what tools they can use, and give them a name.
See also: Personas Guide
Plugin
A TypeScript package that extends HiveMind OS with new connector capabilities — tools, configuration UIs, and background sync loops. Plugins communicate with the host over JSON-RPC and run as isolated Node.js processes. The plugin protocol is a superset of MCP, so every plugin is also a valid MCP server.
See also: Plugin Development Guide
Provider
An AI service that supplies the language models your personas use to think and respond. Examples include Anthropic (Claude), OpenAI (GPT), GitHub Copilot, and Ollama (local, free).
See also: Configure Providers Guide
Scheduler
The sidebar page for work that runs on a timer. The timing is a cron expression. The workflow designer can fill that expression in for you.
See also: Scheduling
Skill
A folder of instructions and reference files that teaches a persona how to approach a kind of task. Skills belong to a persona. Tools are separate: a tool is an action the persona can call, and a skill is the procedure for when and how to call it.
See also: Skills
Spatial Canvas
An experimental session layout. Each message is a card on a 2D canvas, instead of one transcript running down the page. Choose Spatial Canvas when you create a session.
See also: Spatial Chat
System Prompt
Instructions you write to tell an AI persona how to behave — like a detailed job description. The more specific you are, the better the persona performs.
See also: Personas Guide → Writing Effective System Prompts
Trigger
The event that starts a workflow. It could be a timer (schedule), an incoming email or message, a manual button click, or a specific event.
See also: Workflows Guide
Workflow
A multi-step automation that chains AI tasks, tool actions, and decision points together. Think of it like an assembly line: each step does one job and passes the result to the next.
See also: Workflows Guide
YAML
A simple text format used for configuration and data. It uses indentation and colons instead of code. You'll see YAML in some docs examples, but you can build most things in HiveMind OS without ever touching it — the visual designer handles it for you.