> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://alike.help/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Key concepts > The words that Alike uses, in plain language. ## The big picture Alike keeps a **world model**: a shared record of your team's work. It contains items such as tasks, decisions, projects, documents, and people. Your coding sessions add to it. Your connected tools, for example GitHub, Linear, and Slack, add to it too. Your agents read from it. ## Glossary > [accordion] Item (entity) > > One record in Alike, for example a task, a decision, or a person. The tools and the web app call items "entities". Each item has an ID in the form `urn:alike::`, for example `urn:alike:task:3f9c…`. See [Item types](https://alike.help/reference/item-types.md). > [accordion] Anchor > > The name of a piece of work outside Alike: a git branch, a GitHub pull request, or a Linear issue. Sessions with the same anchor link to the same work item. > [accordion] Work item > > A task, project, or decision that work happens on. Alike links each agent session to a work item, usually by the git branch, the pull request, or the issue. > [accordion] Work focus > > A note that says "an agent works on this item now". It becomes idle after 5 minutes without activity. > [accordion] Agent > > One coding tool that acts for you, for example Claude Code or Cursor. Alike shows one agent for each tool that you use. > [accordion] Agent session > > One run of an agent, from start to end. Alike keeps the raw record private to you. It also writes a short summary, which is an item of type `agent_session` with an ID like `urn:alike:agent_session:3f9c…`. Your agent can find it by title and read it, like any item. Your sharing level decides who in your workspace sees the summary. A session is **live** while it has activity in the last 5 minutes. > [accordion] Decision > > A choice with its reason. Alike gives decisions to later sessions on the same code. See [Decisions](https://alike.help/use/decisions.md). > [accordion] Brief > > The context that your agent gets at the start of a session: the work item, decisions, related work, live sessions, and questions for you. > [accordion] Briefing > > Your view of the day: your plan, the items that wait for your review, and requests from teammates. It is on the **Briefing** page, and your agent gets it with `get_briefing`. It is not the same as the brief. > [accordion] Coordination pointer > > A short reference to an item that Alike adds to a session. It is a lead for the agent to read, not an instruction. > [accordion] Confirmed and not confirmed > > An item that Alike found by itself is **not confirmed** until a person confirms it. In your agent's context, confirmed items carry the mark `(confirmed)`. > [accordion] Workspace > > The group of people who share context in Alike, usually a company or a team. People outside your workspace never see your data. > [accordion] Colleague > > A person in your workspace. You see only what their sharing level shows. > [accordion] Sharing level (preset) > > A setting that decides who in your workspace sees each type of item. The default for builders is **High Sharing**. See [Who sees what](https://alike.help/privacy/who-sees-what.md). > [accordion] Trusted circle > > The people that you choose to see more of your items. You can use it in your sharing level. > [accordion] Hooks > > Small commands that your agent runs at points in a session. Alike's hooks send the session to Alike and add context back. See [What leaves your machine](https://alike.help/privacy/what-leaves-your-machine.md). > [accordion] Fail open > > If Alike is slow or cannot be reached, the hooks stop and your agent continues without Alike's context. Alike does not stop your agent's work. > [accordion] Prepared action > > An action that waits for your confirmation before Alike does it, for example an invitation. Your agent shows you the details first. Alike does the action only after you confirm. > [accordion] MCP > > The Model Context Protocol, a standard way for an agent to call outside tools. Alike's MCP server gives your agent its tools. See [MCP tools](https://alike.help/reference/mcp-tools.md). > [accordion] Pairing > > The one-time step that links a machine to your account. See [Pair a machine](https://alike.help/install/pairing.md). > [accordion] Transcript capture (sweep) > > The background upload of your agents' saved session files. See [Sessions and transcript capture](https://alike.help/use/sessions-and-capture.md). > [accordion] Intervention > > A prompt that you send in a session after the first prompt. Analytics counts interventions to show how often you had to step in. This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.