Glossary
Every kdeps term defined in one place. First mention of any term in other docs pages links here.
A
actionId
A unique string identifier for a resource within a workflow. Used as the target for requires dependencies. Must be unique across all resources in the workflow. In agent mode, resources are not exposed as tools directly -- the whole workflow is the tool, named after metadata.name.
agent
An autonomous LLM-driven pipeline defined by kind: Agent in a workflow. Agents have tools, memory, and multi-step reasoning. Run with kdeps serve. See Agent Mode.
agency
A pattern where one agent calls another agent as a sub-agent. The caller delegates a task, the callee runs autonomously, and the result is returned. Defined via the agent: action type. See Agencies.
apiResponse
A resource action type that returns a structured JSON response to the client. The terminal node in most workflows -- the final resource that formats and sends the output. See API Response.
B
before
An expression block that runs before a resource's main action. Use for data preparation, normalization, and input validation. Each expression executes sequentially. See Expression Blocks.
browser
A resource action type for browser automation (Playwright-based). Navigates pages, clicks elements, fills forms, and extracts content. See Browser.
C
chat
A resource action type for LLM chat completion. Sends a prompt to a language model and returns the response. The most commonly used action type. See LLM (Chat).
check
A list of boolean expressions in validations.check. ALL must be true for the resource to execute. If any is false, the resource fails with a configurable error code and message. Unlike skip, check failure stops the workflow. See Validation & Control Flow.
component
A reusable, packaged workflow published to the kdeps registry. Components encapsulate resources, logic, and configuration that can be imported into other workflows. Defined by kind: Component. See Components.
componentTools
Tools provided by a component that are exposed to the calling agent or workflow. When an agent calls a component, the component's tools become available for the LLM to invoke.
E
embedding
A resource action type that generates vector embeddings from text. Used for semantic search and RAG pipelines. See Embedding.
exec
A resource action type that runs shell commands. Captures stdout, stderr, and exit code. See Exec.
expr
Short for "expression." A statement evaluated by the expr-lang engine. Used in before/after blocks, validations.check/validations.skip, and {{ }} string interpolation.
F
file
Accesses uploaded files or local files. The file() function takes a glob pattern and optional selector (first, last, count, all, mime:<type>).
G
get
The primary data access function. Retrieves values from query params, headers, request body, session, memory, environment variables, or resource outputs. Uses auto-detection when no source hint is given. See Expression Functions.
H
httpClient
A resource action type for making HTTP requests. Supports GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, headers, query params, request body, retry, and caching. See HTTP Client.
I
info
Returns request metadata: ID, timestamp, path, method, IP, sessionId, filecount, files, filetypes.
items
An array of data that a resource iterates over. When set, the resource runs once per item. Access the current item via item.current() or get('current'). See Items & Loop.
J
jsonResponse
A boolean field on chat resources. When true, forces the LLM to return valid JSON (no markdown wrapping, no explanatory text).
L
loop
A while-loop configuration on a resource. The resource body executes repeatedly as long as the while expression is true, up to maxIterations. Supports every for ticker-style scheduled execution. See Loop.
M
memory
Request-scoped key/value storage. Values set with set('key', value, 'memory') persist for the duration of a single request and are accessible via get('key', 'memory'). Cleared when the request completes.
O
output
Accesses the output of a completed resource by its actionId. Use output('actionId') to read results from upstream resources.
P
python
A resource action type that runs Python scripts. Supports inline scripts, file paths, packages, and virtual environments. See Python.
R
requires
A list of actionIds that must complete successfully before this resource can run. Defines DAG edges. The engine resolves transitive dependencies automatically.
resource
The fundamental building block of a kdeps workflow. Each resource has an actionId, a primary action type (chat, httpClient, sql, etc.), optional requires dependencies, and optional validations/loop/error handling.
S
scenario
A test scenario defined for a resource or workflow. Scenarios specify inputs and expected outputs, used for validation during kdeps validate.
scraper
A resource action type for web scraping. Extracts structured data from HTML pages using CSS selectors. See Scraper.
searchLocal
A resource action type for local semantic search over indexed documents. See Search.
searchWeb
A resource action type for web search via configured search APIs.
session
Session-scoped key/value storage. Values set with set('key', value, 'session') persist across requests from the same client. See Session & Persistence.
set
Stores a value in memory or session. Usage: set('key', value) (memory) or set('key', value, 'session') (persistent across requests).
skip
A list of boolean expressions in validations.skip. If ANY expression is true, the resource is skipped. Unlike check, skipping is silent -- the workflow continues to the next resource. See Validation & Control Flow.
sql
A resource action type for SQL database queries. Supports PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite. Parameterized queries prevent injection. See SQL.
streaming
A boolean field on chat resources. When true, the LLM response is streamed token-by-token instead of waiting for the full response.
T
targetActionId
The entry point resource for a workflow. Execution starts by resolving the dependency graph from this resource backward. Set in metadata.targetActionId.
tools
Functions registered with the LLM. In agent mode, tools are whole workflows (named after metadata.name) and components -- not individual resources. The LLM decides which tool to call based on the user prompt. In workflow mode, tools are custom functions defined in chat.tools on a chat: resource. See Tools.
V
validations
A resource-level configuration block containing skip, check, routes, methods, and error. Controls whether a resource runs and how it fails. See Validation & Control Flow.
W
workflow
The top-level unit of execution in kdeps. A YAML file defining resources, their dependencies, and configuration. Declared as kind: Workflow. See workflow.yaml Reference.
See Also
- Execution Flow -- how the DAG resolves and runs
- Expression Functions Reference -- all functions available in expressions
- Expression Operators -- comparison and logical operators