> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://metorial.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Glossary

> Definitions for Metorial organizations, providers, sessions, identities, consumers, and related concepts.

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# Glossary

This glossary summarizes core Metorial concepts. For deeper guides, see [Projects and Organizations](/concepts-projects-organizations), [Providers](/concepts-providers), [Sessions](/concepts-sessions), and [Workforce](/product-workforce).

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## Account

An account is the dashboard term for a [consumer](#consumer) managed through Workforce. Accounts represent people or external users who can receive access to approved [providers](#provider), [magic MCP servers](#magic-mcp-server), and [portals](#portal).

## Actor

An actor is any entity that can perform actions in Metorial: a person or an automated agent. Actors own one or more [identities](#identity). Examples include a developer using the [Metorial CLI](#metorial-cli), a support agent using a [portal](#portal), or a background workflow.

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## Callback

A callback is a webhook that receives event notifications when a [trigger](#trigger) fires, so your system can react to changes in an external system.

## Consumer

A consumer is a user who interacts with a Metorial [instance](#instance) through an interface such as a [portal](#portal), the [Metorial CLI](#metorial-cli), or a custom surface. Consumers only see resources they are allowed to access, including [providers](#provider) and [magic MCP servers](#magic-mcp-server) assigned to them.

## Consumer Profile

A consumer profile is how the same person is represented in a specific interface (for example a portal versus the CLI). One person can have multiple profiles; access rules remain consistent across them.

## Credential

A credential is concrete access to a specific external provider for an [identity](#identity). It combines provider authentication configuration, [provider config](#provider-config), and [provider deployments](#provider-deployment) into a fully configured connection ready to use.

## Custom Provider

A custom provider is a user-defined integration that connects Metorial to your own services using MCP-compatible interfaces, for example a Docker-based MCP server, a remote MCP server, or a Metorial-hosted server. Once deployed, it behaves like any other [provider](#provider) in [sessions](#session) and configurations.

## Custom Provider Deployment

A custom provider deployment is created when you introduce a new [custom provider version](#custom-provider-version). It runs build and discovery, moves through states until successful, and enables a standard [provider version](#provider-version) you can use across Metorial.

## Custom Provider Version

A custom provider version is a versioned snapshot of your custom integration. New versions do not affect existing ones. Remote MCP servers are typically not version controlled by Metorial.

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## Deployment

In Metorial, a **deployment** is a running integration that can execute tool calls and scale to handle load. You usually work with one of two kinds: a [provider deployment](#provider-deployment), which runs a catalog or custom [provider](#provider) with its [provider config](#provider-config) and [provider auth config](#provider-auth-config), or a [custom provider deployment](#custom-provider-deployment), which is the build-and-discovery pipeline that turns a new [custom provider version](#custom-provider-version) into a usable [provider version](#provider-version). [Sessions](#session) reference deployments (for example by provider deployment ID) so your AI clients know which running integration to use.

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## Identity

An identity is a collection of external access tied to an [actor](#actor): which accounts or systems that actor can use. An identity is owned by exactly one actor and contains one or more [credentials](#credential). Identities can be shared through [identity delegation](#identity-delegation).

## Identity Delegation

Identity delegation lets one [actor](#actor) temporarily use another actor’s [credentials](#credential) to act on their behalf. Delegation is controlled, scoped, and can be time-bound.

## Instance

An [organization](#organization) contains [projects](#project); a project contains instances. An instance is an isolated environment (for example development or production) with its own resources such as custom [providers](#provider), [sessions](#session), and logs. Changes in one instance do not affect others.

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## Magic MCP Server

A **magic MCP server** is a Metorial resource that exposes a Model Context Protocol (MCP) endpoint for your [consumers](#consumer), alongside catalog [providers](#provider). You assign it per [instance](#instance) and access rules; users connect through the same surfaces as other integrations (for example a [portal](#portal) or the [Metorial CLI](#metorial-cli)).

## Magic Skill

A Magic Skill is a reusable Workforce asset that packages agent workflows, documents, custom logic, and resources. Magic Skills can be organized into [skill groups](#skill-group), published through [skill marketplaces](#skill-marketplace), and governed by default execution settings.

## Member

A member is a person with access to your [organization](#organization). You assign [roles](#role), [policies](#policy), or [teams](#team) to control what they can see and do.

## Metorial CLI

The Metorial CLI is the command-line interface for [consumers](#consumer) to interact with Metorial: connect to [providers](#provider) and magic MCP servers, fetch logs, and automate workflows.

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## Organization

An organization is the top-level workspace in Metorial. It typically represents your company or a major team. All [projects](#project) and their [instances](#instance) live inside an organization, and it is the central place to manage [members](#member) and global access boundaries.

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## Participant

A participant is any entity involved in a [session](#session), for example a connected client or a [session provider](#session-provider). A session can have multiple participants at the same time.

## Policy

A policy defines who can access what by assigning [roles](#role) to [members](#member) or [teams](#team) at the [organization](#organization), [project](#project), or [instance](#instance) level.

## Portal

A portal is a custom user interface on top of a Metorial [instance](#instance). It exposes selected [providers](#provider) and resources without granting the full dashboard, and supports authentication such as SAML SSO or email login.

## Project

A project groups related work inside an [organization](#organization), for example a product, feature, or team. You can set access separately per project so teams only see what they are assigned.

## Provider

A provider is an integration with an external system. It defines what is possible, typically [tools](#tool) callable via MCP or the Metorial API, and optionally [triggers](#trigger) for external events. Providers are [versioned](#provider-version), can be built-in or [custom](#custom-provider), and appear in the catalog.

## Provider Auth Config

A provider auth config stores authentication material such as API keys or OAuth tokens for a [provider](#provider). It is required for authenticated providers and optional when authentication is not needed. You can maintain multiple auth configs.

## Provider Config

A provider config stores non-sensitive settings for a [provider](#provider), for example regions, endpoints, or feature flags. Metorial can create defaults when none are required. Multiple configs per provider are supported.

## Provider Deployment

A provider deployment is the runtime instance that combines a [provider](#provider) with a [provider config](#provider-config) and [provider auth config](#provider-auth-config) and executes requests. Multiple deployments can share the same configs and scale independently. For how deployments fit into the overall model, see [Deployment](#deployment).

## Provider Version

A provider version is a specific release of a [provider](#provider). New versions can add or change [tools](#tool) and [triggers](#trigger) while older versions keep existing setups stable.

## Provider Skill

A provider skill is a human-readable capability summary shown on provider pages. Skills help you evaluate what a provider is useful for, but they are not executable [tools](#tool).

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## Role

A role is a named set of permissions (scopes) that describes what actions someone can perform, for example read-only versus full management. [Policies](#policy) attach roles to [members](#member) or [teams](#team).

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## Session

A session is a connectable environment that exposes [tools](#tool) from one or more [providers](#provider) through a single interface. [Session providers](#session-provider) attach each provider; clients connect via [session connections](#session-connection). Activity is recorded in logs.

## Session Connection

A session connection represents one client connected to a [session](#session). Multiple connections can exist at once and do not interfere with each other.

## Session Provider

A session provider attaches a [provider](#provider) to a [session](#session) using a [provider config](#provider-config), [provider auth config](#provider-auth-config), and [provider deployment](#provider-deployment). Each session provider contributes [tools](#tool) to the session.

## Skill Group

A skill group organizes related [Magic Skills](#magic-skill) so they can be managed as a set.

## Skill Marketplace

A skill marketplace publishes selected plugins and [Magic Skills](#magic-skill) to users through a curated catalog.

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## Team

A team is a group of [members](#member) who share the same access rules. You assign [policies](#policy) to the team once instead of managing each person individually.

## Tool

Tools are the callable actions exposed by a [provider](#provider). They are invoked through MCP or the Metorial API and may return data or perform operations in external systems.

## Trigger

A trigger lets a [provider](#provider) react to events in an external system. When a trigger fires, a [callback](#callback) can notify your application so you can run event-driven workflows.

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## Workforce

Workforce is the product area for managing [accounts](#account), agents, [identities](#identity), and [identity delegation](#identity-delegation). It connects human and non-human actors to the provider access, portals, and Magic MCP servers they are allowed to use.