# Glossary

> Definitions of the words Whorl uses, such as Space, Thread, Captain, Crew, Digest, Environment, Portal, Wait and Reminder, with links to learn more.

Source: https://docs.whorl.work/reference/glossary

The words below mean one thing each across Whorl. They are listed alphabetically.

**Activity**: The page that lists what needs your attention: mentions, Requests to you and updates on your work. See [Activity](/activity).

**Automation**: A standing rule that wakes a Thread or Captain, or starts a new Thread, with a saved prompt on a schedule or when an event happens. See [Automations](/automations).

**Box**: A website or web app that lives in a Space and stays online at its own address, built and changed by an agent in a Thread. See [Boxes](/boxes).

**Calendar**: Your events, from Outlook or from Whorl Calendar. See [Calendar](/calendar).

**Captain**: A named, lasting AI teammate for a whole Space, with a photo, its own email address and one shared conversation that never ends. See [Captains](/captains).

**Company Space**: The Space every member of your company belongs to. See [Spaces](/spaces).

**Connector**: Whorl's link to one outside platform. Microsoft 365 comes first. People manage connectors on the Integrations settings page. See [Microsoft 365](/microsoft-365).

**Conversation**: A chat or channel you take part in, such as a Teams chat. Not the same as a Thread. See [Conversations](/conversations).

**Crew**: The ordinary Threads a Captain starts for longer work. They sit under the Captain in the sidebar. See [Captains](/captains#crew-threads).

**Desk**: A Captain's hidden background Thread, where its follow-ups, watches, routines and reviews wait and run. See [Captains](/captains#the-desk-and-reviews).

**Digest**: The pane beside a Thread or Captain that shows where its work stands: an overview, what needs you, tasks, what it made, usage and automations. See [Threads](/threads#digest).

**Environment**: The replaceable computer where a Thread's agent runs code and tools. Replacing it never loses the Thread or its files. See [Environments](/agents/environments).

**File**: A stored item in Files, such as a Word, PDF or Excel file, with every version kept. See [Files](/files).

**Files**: A Space's one tree of folders and files. Each Thread and Captain has its own folder there. See [Files](/files).

**Huddle**: A voice call, with optional camera and screen share, in a Thread, Captain, Note, Space or Conversation. See [Huddles and meetings](/huddles).

**Mail**: Your Outlook mailbox inside Whorl. See [Mail](/mail).

**MCP server**: A connection that gives agents another service's tools. See [Tools, MCP servers and connectors](/agents/tools).

**Note**: A rich-text page that people and agents edit together, live, on the Notes page. Notes do not appear in Files. See [Notes](/notes).

**Personal Space**: One person's permanently private Space. See [Spaces](/spaces).

**Plugin**: A versioned folder that bundles skills, tools, MCP server connections and a panel. See [Plugins](/agents/plugins).

**Portal**: A signed-in live view of a service running in a Thread's Environment. See [Portals](/portals).

**Reminder**: A Wait that posts a Note mentioning the people it names when it comes due. See [Automations](/automations#waits-and-reminders).

**Request**: Work a person hands to another person or a Captain, with an answer expected. Agents do not open Requests. They tag the person in the Thread. See [Activity](/activity).

**Run**: One attempt by an agent to move a Thread or Captain forward.

**Secret**: A key or token stored encrypted. Tools read it by name, and nobody can see it again. See [Secrets](/agents/secrets).

**Shared Space**: A Space with its own members and owners. See [Spaces](/spaces).

**Skill**: Reusable instructions for doing a task the same way each time. See [Skills](/agents/skills).

**Space**: The only container in Whorl, and the boundary of who can see what. There are three kinds: Company, Personal and Shared. See [Spaces](/spaces).

**Subagent**: A helper an agent starts inside its own Thread to do part of the work and return one answer. It shares the Thread's Environment. See [Threads](/threads#child-threads-and-subagents).

**Task**: A piece of work a Thread or Captain tracks in the open, with a status and an owner. Tasks show in the Digest. See [Threads](/threads#digest).

**Thread**: One lasting conversation with an agent, and the unit of work. See [Threads](/threads).

**Wait**: A one-time "wake me when this happens" that an agent sets about its own work, always with a timeout. See [Automations](/automations#waits-and-reminders).

## Related

- [How Whorl works](/how-whorl-works)