Shared language for systems and interfaces.

The governed interfaces through which another application can read data or request actions from a system, including APIs, queries, events, SDKs, extensions, and MCP.

Also: capability layer · access surface

Reference: BYO-UI thesis

The explicit limit on what an interface may do automatically, what it may only draft, and what requires approval or completion in the native system.

Also: approval boundary

Reference: BYO-UI Composer

A documented software interface for reading platform objects or invoking supported actions. An API may expose capabilities that are not available through MCP, and vice versa.

Also: application programming interface · REST API · GraphQL

Reference: Platform Atlas

A capability available for testing before general availability, often with changing behavior, limited support, or restricted eligibility.

Also: public beta · private beta

Reference: Methodology

An architecture in which a mature platform remains the governed system while a customer-owned, task-specific interface serves a particular moment of work.

Also: bring your own interface · buy the system bring your own interface

Reference: BYO-UI thesis

This site’s editorial assessment of how credibly a platform supports externally built interfaces through access, identity, action controls, and governance. It is not a product-quality grade.

Also: maturity level · access maturity

Reference: Methodology

The MCP initialization step in which client and server declare supported features so each side knows which protocol operations are valid for the session.

Also: MCP capabilities

Reference: MCP specification

A durable marker recording how far a synchronization process has progressed, so later runs can resume without silently skipping or repeating data.

Also: sync checkpoint · cursor

Reference: Pattern library

An MCP utility through which a server can suggest valid argument values for a prompt or resource-template reference.

Also: MCP completion

Reference: MCP specification

A proposed interface that coordinates responsibilities across two or more governed systems without pretending they share one source of truth.

Also: multi-platform composition · multi-system composition

Reference: Compositions

A configured integration path linking a platform to another system or data source. A connector is not automatically an MCP tool, and its ownership may be native, partner-built, marketplace-provided, or customer-built.

Also: integration connector · data connector

Reference: Methodology

A reviewed list of named systems or data sources that a product can connect with, preserving whether entries are native, partner-built, marketplace apps, recipes, or examples rather than treating them as one uniform capability.

Also: integration catalog · connector inventory

Reference: Methodology

A mutation with material business, financial, publishing, security, or customer impact that should receive stronger identity, approval, audit, and recovery controls.

Also: high-consequence action · destructive action

Reference: Methodology

The process of detecting and reconciling repeated records or events so a combined interface does not present or act on the same underlying item more than once.

Also: dedupe

Reference: Pattern library

Access performed on behalf of a specific user, with that user’s permissions and attributable identity rather than a shared integration identity.

Also: user-delegated access

Reference: Methodology

An action that creates a proposed change or artifact for human review without finalizing the consequential operation.

Also: draft and prepare · prepare action

Reference: BYO-UI Composer

The site author’s reasoned interpretation—such as system role or maturity—kept visibly separate from a vendor-supported fact.

Also: editorial classification

Reference: Methodology

An MCP client feature that lets a server request additional user information or, where supported, direct the user through an external interaction needed to continue.

Also: MCP elicitation

Reference: MCP specification

A customer or partner application rendered inside, beside, or in the context of a platform’s native interface using supported extension points.

Also: embedded application · embedded panel

Reference: Platform Atlas

A machine-readable notification that something happened in a system, commonly used to trigger orchestration or keep an external read model current.

Also: event stream · change event

Reference: Platform Atlas

An editorial indication of how strongly a classification is supported by reviewed evidence, with first-party documentation preferred for capability claims.

Also: confidence level · high-confidence evidence

Reference: Methodology

A production release offered under the vendor’s normal availability and support model, while still potentially subject to plan, region, or administrative limits.

Also: GA · generally available

Reference: Methodology

A property that makes retrying the same request safe from unintended duplicate effects, usually by recognizing the repeated operation.

Also: idempotent · idempotency key

Reference: Methodology

A structured proposal describing the user, systems, reads, actions, access approach, approval boundary, smallest useful version, and unresolved risks for an interface.

Also: BYO-UI brief · build brief

Reference: BYO-UI Composer

The application or environment in which a customer-owned interface runs. A BYO-UI interface host is an architectural role and is not necessarily an MCP host.

Also: host environment

Reference: Platform Atlas

The task-specific experience through which a person works, separated from the governed data, logic, permissions, and history retained by underlying systems.

Also: experience layer · customer-owned interface

Reference: BYO-UI thesis

A reusable shape for a moment of work, such as an exception queue, decision brief, approval inbox, or operations cockpit.

Also: pattern

Reference: Pattern library

The request, response, and notification message format used by MCP’s data layer.

Also: JSON RPC · JSON-RPC 2.0

Reference: MCP architecture

The MCP connection sequence covering initialization and version/capability negotiation, normal operation, and shutdown.

Also: MCP lifecycle · initialization

Reference: MCP specification

An MCP server running on the same machine as its host, commonly connected through the standard input/output transport.

Also: local server · stdio server

Reference: MCP architecture

A product approach that keeps a useful local working state for speed, resilience, or ownership while preserving source provenance and synchronization responsibilities.

Also: local first

Reference: Pattern library

The protocol component created by an MCP host to maintain a dedicated one-to-one session with one MCP server.

Also: protocol client

Reference: MCP architecture

The AI application that coordinates and manages MCP clients, permissions, user authorization decisions, and the integration of server-provided context.

Also: host application · AI application

Reference: MCP architecture

A core MCP feature exposed by a participant. Server primitives include tools, resources, and prompts; client features include sampling, elicitation, and roots.

Also: protocol primitive

Reference: MCP architecture

A discovery service for MCP server metadata such as identity, version, package or remote location, and publication status. Registry presence is not proof of first-party ownership, security, availability, or a server’s current tool catalog.

Also: official MCP registry · server registry

Reference: Official MCP Registry documentation

A program that exposes context and capabilities to an MCP client through protocol primitives such as tools, resources, and prompts. It may run locally or remotely.

Also: Model Context Protocol server

Reference: MCP architecture

An open protocol for connecting AI applications to external systems through standardized messages, lifecycle rules, transports, and capability primitives.

Also: MCP · Model Context Protocol

Reference: MCP architecture

A customer-owned interface that coordinates two or more systems while assigning each read and action to an explicit source and responsibility.

Also: multi-platform BYO-UI · cross-system interface

Reference: Compositions

A boundary in which a custom interface prepares or reviews work but the final consequential action occurs in the governed platform’s own interface.

Also: finalize in native UI · native handoff

Reference: BYO-UI Composer

A one-way JSON-RPC message that communicates a change or event without requiring a response.

Also: MCP notification

Reference: MCP architecture

A delegated authorization framework used to obtain scoped access tokens without giving an application the user’s password.

Also: OAuth 2.0 · authorization code

Reference: MCP authorization

An MCP tool annotation indicating that a tool may interact with entities outside a closed domain. It is a descriptive hint, not a security guarantee.

Also: openWorldHint

Reference: MCP schema

An early capability offered for evaluation whose interface, eligibility, reliability, or production suitability may change.

Also: developer preview · technical preview

Reference: Methodology

A server-provided reusable message template that a user can explicitly select, often with arguments, to structure an interaction.

Also: MCP prompt · prompt template

Reference: MCP architecture

An interface or composition created by this research as an architectural possibility, not a claim that a vendor currently ships it.

Also: proposed interface · design proposal

Reference: Methodology

The dated MCP specification version agreed by client and server during initialization for a session.

Also: MCP version · version negotiation

Reference: MCP specification

A query-optimized representation derived from source systems for fast interface use; it should retain provenance and a defined synchronization contract.

Also: materialized view · local read model

Reference: Pattern library

An access or interface boundary that retrieves information without changing source-system state.

Also: read only · retrieval only

Reference: BYO-UI Composer

An MCP tool annotation suggesting that a tool does not modify its environment. Clients should treat annotations as untrusted hints unless the server is trusted.

Also: readOnlyHint

Reference: MCP schema

An MCP server reached over a network transport, typically Streamable HTTP, rather than launched as a local process by the host.

Also: remote server · hosted MCP server

Reference: MCP architecture

Contextual data exposed by an MCP server for an application to read, such as file contents, records, schemas, or application-specific information.

Also: MCP resource

Reference: MCP specification

An authorization parameter identifying the intended protected resource so an access token is bound to the correct MCP server.

Also: RFC 8707 resource parameter

Reference: MCP authorization

In MCP authorization, the HTTP server that accepts and validates access tokens for protected MCP requests.

Also: OAuth resource server · protected resource

Reference: MCP authorization

An MCP resource definition with a parameterized URI that lets a client discover families of resources rather than only fixed resource addresses.

Also: templated resource · URI template

Reference: MCP specification

Moving modeled or enriched data from a warehouse or governed analytics layer into operational systems, customer-facing destinations, or controlled writeback tables. Reverse ETL is a data-movement capability, not automatically an MCP capability.

Also: warehouse activation · data activation · reverse extract transform load

Reference: Methodology

A source-system change with a defined correction, rollback, or recovery path, still requiring identity and audit controls.

Also: reversible action · undoable write

Reference: BYO-UI Composer

A client capability for communicating URI boundaries that a server may use to understand the scope of relevant files or resources.

Also: MCP roots · filesystem roots

Reference: MCP architecture

An MCP client feature that lets a server request a language-model generation through the host while the host retains control over model access and user policy.

Also: MCP sampling · sampling request

Reference: MCP architecture

A named authorization boundary describing the access an application requests or an access token grants.

Also: OAuth scope · permission scope

Reference: MCP authorization

Vendor-supported code, libraries, types, or helpers that simplify building applications against a platform’s documented capabilities.

Also: software development kit · client library

Reference: Platform Atlas

Software operated in infrastructure controlled by the customer or another deployer rather than only as a vendor-managed service.

Also: self hosted · on-premises · on premises

Reference: Methodology

A standard HTTP mechanism for a server to stream events to a client. Current MCP Streamable HTTP can use SSE for streaming multiple messages.

Also: SSE · server sent events

Reference: MCP transports

A non-human identity used by software for authorized access. Its ownership, scopes, rotation, and audit attribution should be explicit.

Also: machine identity · integration user

Reference: Methodology

A customer-owned interface serving a focused job over one governed platform without requiring a multi-system composition.

Also: single-platform BYO-UI

Reference: Pattern library

The authoritative system responsible for the current state of a particular record or decision. A custom interface should not accidentally create an ungoverned second source.

Also: system of truth · authoritative source

Reference: BYO-UI thesis

Direct or governed query access to platform data through native SQL, warehouse-mediated SQL, a structured language such as GraphQL, DAX, GROQ, HogQL, SOQL, JQL, or a dedicated query API. The profile should state where the query executes.

Also: SQL · direct query · warehouse access · structured query

Reference: Platform Atlas

The MCP transport in which a client launches a server as a subprocess and exchanges messages over standard input and standard output.

Also: standard input output · stdio

Reference: MCP transports

The standard network MCP transport using HTTP POST and optional GET with streaming support; it replaced the older HTTP+SSE transport design.

Also: MCP HTTP transport · streamable HTTP transport

Reference: MCP transports

A durable record of a synchronization run, including what was requested, received, reconciled, changed, and checkpointed.

Also: synchronization receipt · sync evidence

Reference: Pattern library

The durable platform foundation that retains data, identity, permissions, domain logic, integrations, actions, and operational history beneath an interface.

Also: governed system · underlying system

Reference: BYO-UI thesis

A platform whose primary architectural role is managing interactions, communication, or relationship activity.

Also: engagement system

Reference: Platform Atlas

A platform whose primary role is deriving signals, predictions, recommendations, or analytical understanding from underlying data.

Also: intelligence system

Reference: Platform Atlas

A platform whose primary role is coordinating work, events, automation, or actions across systems and people.

Also: orchestration system

Reference: Platform Atlas

A platform whose primary role is creating, rendering, assembling, or publishing an operational artifact.

Also: production system

Reference: Platform Atlas

A platform that authoritatively owns a class of durable business records and the controls governing those records.

Also: record system

Reference: Platform Atlas

An experimental MCP mechanism in the 2025-11-25 specification for durable, pollable work whose result may be deferred beyond one request-response exchange.

Also: MCP task · task-augmented request

Reference: MCP specification

An executable function exposed by an MCP server that an AI application can discover and invoke, subject to the host’s controls and user authorization.

Also: MCP tool · tool call

Reference: MCP architecture

Descriptive MCP metadata about a tool’s behavioral properties. Unless the server is trusted, annotations should not be treated as security guarantees.

Also: tool annotations · tool hint

Reference: MCP schema

A dated inventory of exact tools exposed by a specific MCP server, documentation snapshot, source revision, or authorized session. Configuration, permissions, plan, tenant, and server release can change the live set.

Also: MCP tool catalog · tool inventory · tools list

Reference: Methodology

A supported framework for adding interface components or actions inside a platform’s product experience.

Also: interface extension · app extension

Reference: Platform Atlas

A claim tied to a reviewed first-party source for the dated research snapshot, distinct from an editorial assessment or proposed design.

Also: verified capability

Reference: Methodology

An HTTP callback sent when a platform event occurs, allowing another system to react without repeatedly polling for change.

Also: web hook · callback

Reference: Platform Atlas