---
title: Concepts Reference
description: Plain-English explanations of Elevasis SDK concepts -- glossary, workflow analogies, Zod schemas, execution model, platform tools, and design decisions
---

This page covers core Elevasis concepts in plain English. It is the teaching vocabulary for the agent when helping you build workflows, and a reference you can return to whenever a term or behavior is unclear.

## Glossary

| Term          | Definition                                                                                                                                                                                         |
| ------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Workflow      | A series of named steps that run one after another. Each step does one job. The workflow receives input data and produces output data.                                                             |
| Agent         | An autonomous AI resource with access to platform tools. Agents can make decisions and call tools on their own. Run agents with `--async` to avoid HTTP timeout limits on long-running executions. |
| Resource      | Anything you deploy to the platform -- a workflow or an agent. Each resource has a unique ID.                                                                                                      |
| Step          | One job inside a workflow. A step receives data, processes it, and passes data to the next step.                                                                                                   |
| Schema        | A description of what your data looks like. Schemas validate that input and output data has the right shape -- the right fields with the right types.                                              |
| Credential    | A saved API key or login for an external service (Gmail, Attio, Stripe). Stored securely on the platform, never in your code.                                                                      |
| Execution     | One run of a resource. Each time someone triggers your workflow, that is one execution.                                                                                                            |
| Deployment    | The act of uploading your code to the platform. After deploying, your resources are live and can be executed.                                                                                      |
| Platform Tool | A pre-built integration the platform provides. You call platform tools from your workflow steps using `platform.call()`.                                                                           |
| Organization  | Your team or company on the Elevasis platform. Resources, credentials, and executions belong to an organization.                                                                                   |
| Handler       | The function inside a step that does the actual work. It receives input data and returns output data.                                                                                              |
| Entry Point   | The first step that runs when a workflow is executed. Every workflow must have one.                                                                                                                |
| Resource ID   | A unique lowercase name for your resource (e.g., `lead-scorer`, `send-welcome-email`). Must be unique within your organization.                                                                    |
| Workspace     | Your Elevasis project directory. Contains resources (workflows and agents), documentation, and optionally a database connection and custom apps. Created by `elevasis-sdk init`.                   |
| Data Table    | A table in your database (e.g., Supabase) that stores structured data your workflows can read and write. Defined in `data/schema.ts` as documentation for the agent.                               |

---

## What is a Workflow?

A workflow is a piece of automation that runs on the Elevasis platform. You define the steps in TypeScript; the platform handles running them, logging results, and retrying on failure.

### Two Analogies

**Recipe analogy:** A recipe has ingredients (input), instructions (steps), and a finished dish (output). Each instruction is one step. You follow them in order. If a step fails (you burn the sauce), the recipe stops.

**Assembly line analogy:** Raw material goes in one end (input). Each station does one job (step). The finished product comes out the other end (output).

### When to Use a Workflow

- Automating a repeatable task with defined input and output
- Chaining multiple actions together (fetch data, process it, send an email)
- When you need the platform to handle execution, retries, and logging

### When NOT to Use a Workflow

- One-off tasks you will only do once
- Tasks that need constant human judgment at every step

---

## Understanding Schemas (Zod)

### What Schemas Do

Schemas describe and validate the shape of data your workflow expects and produces. If someone sends the wrong data, the platform rejects it before your code runs. This prevents confusing errors deep inside your handler.

The Elevasis SDK uses [Zod](https://zod.dev) for schema definition. Zod is a TypeScript-first validation library. Every workflow has an `inputSchema` and an `outputSchema`.

### Common Zod Types

| Zod Type                         | What It Means                   | Example                       |
| -------------------------------- | ------------------------------- | ----------------------------- |
| `z.string()`                     | Text                            | `"hello"`, `"user@email.com"` |
| `z.number()`                     | A number                        | `42`, `3.14`                  |
| `z.boolean()`                    | True or false                   | `true`, `false`               |
| `z.array(z.string())`            | A list of text values           | `["a", "b", "c"]`             |
| `z.object({ name: z.string() })` | A group of named fields         | `{ "name": "Jane" }`          |
| `z.string().optional()`          | Text that might be missing      | `"hello"` or not provided     |
| `z.enum(['a', 'b', 'c'])`        | One of a specific set of values | `"a"`                         |
| `z.string().email()`             | Text that must be a valid email | `"user@example.com"`          |

### Why `z.infer` Exists

`z.infer` creates a TypeScript type from a schema so the type system can check your code. You define the schema once and get both runtime validation and compile-time checking. Without it, you would have to define the same shape twice -- once as a Zod schema and once as a TypeScript type.

```ts
const myInput = z.object({ name: z.string(), age: z.number() });
type MyInput = z.infer<typeof myInput>;
// MyInput is now: { name: string; age: number }
```

### Common Schema Mistakes

- Forgetting `.optional()` on fields that might be missing -- the platform will reject valid input that omits those fields
- Returning data from a handler that does not match the output schema -- causes `outputSchema validation failed`
- Misspelling field names -- the schema says `companyName`, but the handler returns `company_name`

---

## The Execution Model

Each execution creates an ephemeral worker thread from your deployed bundle. The platform validates input against your Zod schema, runs your handler, and returns the result. Workers are terminated immediately after completion -- there is no persistent server.

Key implications: files written to disk disappear after execution, logs appear only after the execution completes (no streaming), and each execution is fully isolated with no shared state between runs. Outbound network access is unrestricted. Memory is capped at 256MB per worker; the platform applies a default execution ceiling of 2 hours to all resource types (agents can override via `constraints.timeout`).

For the complete execution lifecycle, concurrency model, observability, and resource limits, see [Runtime](runtime.mdx).

---

## Platform Tools Overview

Platform tools are pre-built integrations the platform provides. You call them from inside workflow steps using `platform.call()` or typed adapters without managing API keys in your code. The platform supports 70+ tools across 12 categories including CRM, email, payments, AI, storage, and more. Credentials are stored securely on the platform and injected at runtime -- they never appear in your code.

See [Platform Tools](platform-tools/index.mdx) for the complete catalog, credential setup, and code examples.

---

## Common Errors

For the full error catalog with CLI errors, deployment errors, schema validation failures, platform tool failures, and runtime errors with diagnostic steps, see [Troubleshooting](troubleshooting.mdx).

---

## Design Decisions Guide

### Single-Step vs Multi-Step

Use a single step when the workflow does one thing -- validate an email, format a message, call one API.

Use multiple steps when you have distinct phases (fetch data, process it, send a notification) or when you want separate error handling per phase. Each step failure is logged independently, making it easier to identify where something went wrong.

### When to Use Conditional Routing

Use `StepType.CONDITIONAL` when different inputs should follow different processing paths.

Example: score >= 80 goes to the approve path, score >= 50 goes to the review path, everything else goes to the reject path. Each path can have its own steps and logic.

Always include a `default` fallback step for inputs that do not match any condition. Without a fallback, an unmatched execution will fail.

---

**Last Updated:** 2026-02-26
