---
title: "Ballet glossary"
description: "TL;DR: A quick reference for Ballet terms you'll encounter in the Studio, help articles, and Ask Ballet conversations. Terms are grouped by category — platform, automation, AI, and admin."
canonical_url: "https://docs.ballet.dev/articles/ballet-glossary-uLRIjERYoU"
md_url: "https://docs.ballet.dev/articles/ballet-glossary-uLRIjERYoU.md"
---
# Ballet glossary

**TL;DR:** A quick reference for Ballet terms you'll encounter in the Studio, help articles, and Ask Ballet conversations. Terms are grouped by category — platform, automation, AI, and admin.

## Who this is for

All Ballet users looking up unfamiliar terms.

## Platform terms

| Term | Definition |
|:---|:---|
| **Workspace** | Your team's shared Ballet environment (company/account). |
| **Owner** | Role with billing, invites, and full builder access. |
| **Builder** | Role that creates and edits playbooks, connectors, and agents. |
| **Member** | Role that runs granted playbooks; cannot author. |
| **Builder Mode** | Full Studio UI for authoring automations. |
| **Member Mode** | Simplified UI for running playbooks and chatting. |
| **Studio** | The Ballet web application (app.ballet.dev). |

## Automation terms

| Term | Definition |
|:---|:---|
| **Playbook** | A multi-step automation workflow. |
| **Step** | One unit in a playbook (Code or HTTP). |
| **Run** | One execution of a playbook. |
| **Trigger** | What starts a run: Manual, Schedule, or Webhook. |
| **Collection** | A folder organizing playbooks; may be Git-backed. |
| **Input** | A value the runner provides when starting a playbook (`flow.input`). |
| **Output** | Data a step or run produces. |
| **Suspended / Paused** | Non-terminal run status while waiting to continue; sandbox is freed; same `runId`. |
| **Pause** | Operator action that parks a run between steps after the current step finishes. |
| **Continue** | Wake a suspended run on the same `runId` (Studio or API). |
| **waitForInput / suspend** | SDK call that parks mid-step for human or external signal (`reason: input_request`). |
| **state.resume** | Park payload on a suspended run: `requestId`, `stepId`, `prompt`, `details`, `schema`, `reason`. |
| **requestId** | Server-issued correlation token required to wake a HITL park via `/reply`. |
| **Drift** | Git sync state when remote and Ballet versions differ. |

## AI terms

| Term | Definition |
|:---|:---|
| **Ask Ballet / Console** | The AI assistant panel on Home and inside playbooks. |
| **Agent** | A configured AI assistant with model, instructions, tools, and skills. |
| **Skill** | Reusable AI instruction template for specific task types. |
| **Tool** | A callable function used by agents or playbooks. |
| **Plan / Build** | Console flow: AI proposes a plan, then executes on confirmation. |
| **Allow / Ask** | Console permission modes for autonomous vs. approved actions. |

## Connection terms

| Term | Definition |
|:---|:---|
| **Connector** | A linked external service or MCP server. |
| **MCP** | Model Context Protocol — standard for connecting AI to tools. |
| **Secret** | An encrypted credential stored in the workspace. |
| **AI Gateway** | Workspace setting for AI model routing and providers. |

## Related articles

* [What are Agents?](/articles/what-are-agents-OKFRlcHoGP)
* [What are Skills?](/articles/what-are-skills-opWWDU5VJU)
* [What is a playbook?](/articles/what-is-a-playbook-3lHOpTgJUy)
* [How do I pause and resume a playbook run?](/articles/how-do-i-pause-and-resume-a-playbook-run-TK6ueiBF0d)