Glossary

Assistant — the AI you talk to in a workspace. It can read and write your data, build views, define workers, wire automations and run code against your files. See The Assistant.

Association — a type that links two other types many-to-many, and can carry fields of its own. See Data structures.

Channel — a messaging app connected to a workspace, so you can reach its assistant from Telegram, WhatsApp, Signal or iMessage. See Channels.

Component — one block on a saved view: a table, a chart, a board, a form, a stat. See Saved views.

Composite type — a type that extends a parent type with extra fields. A Vehicle that is also an Asset. See Data structures.

Data source — the query or tool call behind a component. Named, reusable, and re-run every time the page loads unless it’s a snapshot.

Drive — a workspace’s file storage. See Drive & computer.

Graduation — promoting a settled type from the flexible record store to its own proper table, for speed. See Data structures.

Group chat — a conversation with more than one participant, human or AI. Mentions are binding; un-mentioned workers may only offer. See AI workers.

Instance — one run of a workflow, bound to the record that triggered it. Can be running, waiting, completed, failed or cancelled. See Workflows.

MCP — the Model Context Protocol, the standard CogniWork uses to talk to outside tools and to be one. See Integrations.

Memory — the facts, rules and decisions the assistant carries between sessions in a workspace. See The Assistant.

Record — one instance of a type. A single lead, a single invoice.

Role — what a member may do in a workspace: owner, admin, member or viewer. See Members & roles.

Saved view — a persistent page in your sidebar, built from components bound to live data. See Saved views.

Skill — a bundle of ability the assistant loads only when the current task needs it, so it stays accurate on long work.

Snapshot — a view whose data is frozen at the moment it was saved, rather than re-queried on load.

Step — one action in a workflow. Automatic, AI, or manual — a manual step waits for a named person. See Workflows.

Trigger — the event that starts a workflow or a rule: a record created, a record updated, a schedule, or you.

Type — a data structure you’ve defined, with named fields. Plain, composite or association. Sometimes called an entity.

Usage — metered AI consumption per workspace. See Usage & cost.

Worker — a named AI colleague with one specialization and a curated set of abilities. Can be run on demand, scheduled, or called from outside. See AI workers.

Workflow — a trigger plus ordered steps, run per record, with an audit trail. See Workflows & triggers.

Workspace — the container for everything: data, files, views, workers, automations, integrations, memory and members. See Workspaces.

Workspace computer — the isolated machine a workspace uses to run code against its own files. One per workspace. See Drive & computer.