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Shared vocabulary and statuses

Look up the terms and status values used across Cloud application APIs.

4 min read Updated 2026-07-27 #vocabulary#statuses#contracts

Use the shared term that matches the Cloud contract.

Do not create an application synonym for an existing platform concept.

Identity and access

Term Meaning
Actor Credential that made the request
User-backed actor User session or delegated service account with a user
Access subject Principal whose resource grants are checked
Principal User, group, service account, authenticated users, or public
Permission none, read, write, or admin
Resource-bound service account Machine identity restricted to one application resource
Delegated service account Machine credential acting for a user

An actor and access subject can differ.

See Identity and access.

Application and runtime

Term Meaning
Application Independently running HTTP service connected to Cloud
Application definition Metadata and platform declarations passed to defineApp()
Application ID Stable machine ID used in routes and registration
Built-in application Application developed and released from the Cloud monorepo
Standalone application Application developed and released from its own repository
Base URL Stable internal service address used by the gateway
Resource Domain object owned by an application
Route prefix Top-level URL path published by an application
Registry entry Current discoverable metadata for one application ID
Gateway Edge service that forwards requests to applications by route prefix
Runtime snapshot Registry-derived application state for one process or request
Capability Executable integration passed to app.start(), such as universal search
Lifecycle Application setup, start, and stop hooks

The registry stores one logical entry per application ID, not one entry per replica. Replicas refresh the same entry and share the same base URL.

Platform definitions

Term Meaning
Setting Typed operator-controlled runtime configuration declared by an application
Notification definition Typed event contract for recipients, payload, presentation, and delivery
Search capability Permission-aware provider that returns application resources to universal search
Dashboard widget Application-owned endpoint rendered on the shared dashboard

Service results

Application services return Result<T>:

  • { ok: true, data };
  • { ok: false, error }.

Common error codes map to bad input, unauthenticated, forbidden, not found, conflict, dependency failure, and internal failure.

See Services and results.

Notification delivery

Status Meaning
deferred A fallback waits for an earlier channel
pending Delivery is ready for work
sending A worker owns the attempt
delivered The channel accepted delivery
suppressed Delivery was intentionally skipped
failed Delivery ended with an error

See Notifications.

Workflow runs

Status Meaning
queued Waiting for a worker
running Executing steps
waiting Waiting for a durable dependency
succeeded Completed successfully
failed Completed with an error
canceled Stopped by cancellation
needs_attention Requires operator action

Step planning can also report planned, unsupported, or indeterminate.

See Workflow overview.

AI turns

Status Meaning
queued Turn is waiting for the AI worker
running The model or a tool is active
waiting_for_action Approval or a browser tool is required
completed Turn finished successfully
failed Turn ended with an error
aborted Cancellation finished

The browser controller uses presentation states such as streaming, stopping, and reconnecting. These are UI states, not persisted turn states.

See Chat runtime.

Trace status

A trace span is unset, ok, or error.

An open span past the abandonment threshold is reported as stuck. It is not still running merely because it has no end timestamp.

See Tracing.

Connect a coding agent

The Cloud skill provides compact working instructions. MCP supplies exact current documentation when details matter.

CLI command
bunx skills add https://docs.example.com

This command installs the working instructions published by this website in the selected coding agent.

For exact, current details, also connect the MCP server through one of the agent tabs.

Installation uses the open-source Vercel Skills CLI.

The skill and MCP complement each other: the skill describes workflows, while MCP supplies current documentation.