Terminology
Standardized terminology and translations for Aleph concepts
This page establishes canonical names for Aleph concepts to ensure consistency across documentation, code, and UI.
| English | Chinese | Definition |
|---|
| Agent | 智能体 | An AI instance with a specific configuration (model, tools, prompts) |
| Harness | 执行驱动 | The Think→Act loop that drives agent execution |
| Thinker | 思考器 | The LLM interaction layer — prompt building, model routing, streaming |
| Orchestrator | 编排器 | Resolves AgentDef + FlowSpec, assembles dependencies, dispatches to Harness |
| Gateway | 网关 | WebSocket control plane — routing, sessions, events, authentication |
| Session | 会话 | A persistent conversation context identified by a session key |
| Turn | 轮次 | One complete Think→Act cycle within a session |
| Flow | 流程 | A single execution request from ingress to completion |
| FlowSpec | 流程规范 | Defines execution parameters for a single flow |
| AgentDef | 智能体定义 | Static configuration defining an agent's behavior |
| English | Chinese | Definition |
|---|
| Memory | 记忆系统 | Persistent knowledge storage (SQLite + sqlite-vec + markdown notes) |
| Raw Memory (L0) | 原始记忆 | Ephemeral session data before compression |
| Note (L1) | 笔记 | Persistent markdown knowledge files |
| Wikilink | 维基链接 | Obsidian-compatible [[note-name]] cross-references |
| Compression | 压缩 | Converting raw memories into structured notes |
| Dream Daemon | 梦境守护进程 | Background memory consolidation process |
| Scratchpad | 草稿板 | Per-session working memory (discarded on session end) |
| User Profile | 用户画像 | Dialectic user model (USER.md) |
| English | Chinese | Definition |
|---|
| Tool | 工具 | A callable capability exposed to the LLM |
| ToolService | 工具服务 | Unified façade over all tool sources |
| Builtin Tool | 内置工具 | Native Rust tool implementation |
| MCP Tool | MCP 工具 | External tool via Model Context Protocol |
| Extension Tool | 扩展工具 | Plugin-provided tool (WASM / Node.js) |
| Skill | 技能 | A learned or installed capability that adds tools |
| Skill System | 技能系统 | Framework for skill discovery, registration, and lifecycle |
| Dispatcher | 调度器 | Tool registry, risk evaluation, and semantic retrieval |
| Hydration | hydrated tools | Semantic tool retrieval based on query context |
| English | Chinese | Definition |
|---|
| Sandbox | 沙箱 | Per-session execution isolation with capability enforcement |
| Capability | capability | Permission declaration (filesystem, network, process) |
| Approval Gate | 审批门 | Human-in-the-loop approval for elevated permissions |
| IdentityContext | 身份上下文 | Immutable identity snapshot flowing through execution |
| PolicyEngine | 策略引擎 | Stateless permission checker |
| GuestScope | 访客范围 | Tool-level restrictions for guest sessions |
| Pairing | 配对 | Device trust establishment via PIN/code |
| English | Chinese | Definition |
|---|
| Interface | 接口 | A client connection type (CLI, Telegram, Discord, etc.) |
| Channel | 频道 | A specific conversation endpoint within an interface |
| Session Key | 会话密钥 | Unique identifier for a session (e.g., agent:main:main) |
| Event Bus | 事件总线 | Pub/sub system for real-time event distribution |
| JSON-RPC | JSON-RPC | Request/response protocol over WebSocket |
| Trace | 追踪 | Execution event stream for observability |
| English | Chinese | Definition |
|---|
| Provider | 提供商 | LLM API vendor (OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, etc.) |
| Protocol | 协议 | Adapter for a specific LLM API format |
| Model | 模型 | A specific LLM instance (e.g., gpt-4o, claude-sonnet) |
| Prompt | 提示词 | Input text sent to the LLM |
| PromptLayer | 提示层 | One section of the assembled system prompt |
| Streaming | 流式传输 | Real-time token-by-token response delivery |
| Thinking | 思考 | Extended reasoning mode (Claude's extended thinking) |
| English | Chinese | Definition |
|---|
| A2A | A2A | Agent-to-Agent protocol for inter-agent communication |
| ACP | ACP | Agent Client Protocol for agent discovery and delegation |
| ClawHub | ClawHub | Central hub for agent registration and service discovery |
| GroupChat | 群聊 | Multi-agent group chat coordination |
| Team | 团队 | Agent team management and role assignment |
| WorldModel | 世界模型 | Environmental state tracking for proactive behavior |
| Proactive Dispatcher | 主动调度器 | Daemon that dispatches proactive tasks based on world state |
| Desktop Bridge | 桌面桥 | UDS JSON-RPC protocol for desktop automation |
| Code Symbol | Document Name |
|---|
AgentHarness | Harness / 执行驱动 |
HarnessDeps | Harness Dependencies |
HarnessRunner | Harness Runner |
FlowRequest | Flow Request |
FlowOutcome | Flow Outcome |
SessionService | Session Service |
ToolService | Tool Service |
AiProvider | AI Provider |
StopHookHandler | Stop Hook |
ContextBudget | Context Budget |
SkillPrefetcher | Skill Prefetcher |
TraceSink | Trace Sink |
InProcessActorSessionService | In-Process Session Service |
WorkspaceSandbox | Workspace Sandbox |
OsSandboxDriver | OS Sandbox Driver |
ApprovalGate | Approval Gate |
PolicyEngine | Policy Engine |
IdentityContext | Identity Context |
GuestScope | Guest Scope |
MultiProviderRegistry | Multi-Provider Registry |
ProtocolRegistry | Protocol Registry |
PromptPipeline | Prompt Pipeline |
MemoryEnvelope | Memory Envelope |
WorkingMemoryAssembler | Working Memory Assembler |
HybridAssembler | Hybrid Assembler |
NoteFactRetrieval | Note Fact Retrieval |
CompressionService | Compression Service |
DreamDaemon | Dream Daemon |
DesktopBridgeClient | Desktop Bridge Client |
| Old Term | Replacement | Reason |
|---|
| OTAF | Think→Act | Architecture changed from OTAF to Harness |
| Agent Loop | Harness | Unified under Harness terminology |
| LanceDB | SQLite + sqlite-vec | Storage backend changed |
| JSON5 config | TOML config | Config format changed |
aleph binary | aleph-server | Binary renamed |
| Skill System v1 | Skill System v2 | Complete rewrite |
| EvolutionTracker | Registry | Part of old skill system |
| SolidificationDetector | EligibilityService | Part of old skill system |
| SubagentTool | FlowRunTool | Architecture changed |
| LoopToolRegistry | ToolService | Unified tool façade |