> For clean Markdown of any page, append .md to the page URL.
> For a complete documentation index, see https://docs.astropods.com/llms.txt.
> For AI client integration (Claude Code, Cursor, etc.), connect to the MCP server at https://docs.astropods.com/_mcp/server.

# Key concepts

Seven terms cover most of what you read and do in Astropods. A project becomes a blueprint, and a blueprint becomes an agent.

## Project

A project is a local agent codebase with an `astropods.yml` spec at its root. You build and run a project on your machine.

## Astropods Spec

The Astropods Spec is the declarative YAML format in `astropods.yml`. It describes an agent's container image, models, knowledge stores, interfaces, and ingestion jobs. See [Astropods Spec](/astropods-package-spec) for every key.

## Blueprint

A blueprint is a versioned snapshot of a project in the Astropods registry. It holds the built container image and the registered spec. Blueprints are private by default, and one blueprint can back many deployments. See [Publish a blueprint](/blueprints).

## Agent

An agent is a running instance of a blueprint, deployed on the platform with its own URL. See [Deploy an agent](/deploy-agent).

## Account

An account is the scope for platform resources. Blueprints, agents, and secrets belong to an account. Every user has a personal account, and organizations add more. See [Working with accounts](/accounts).

## Secrets

Secrets are encrypted credentials stored in the account vault. You reference them when you deploy an agent, so keys never appear on the command line. See [Managing secrets](/secrets).

## Agent card

An agent card is an `AGENT.md` file that controls how a blueprint appears in the catalog, including its description, tags, authors, and integrations. See [Agent card](/agent-card).

## Next steps

* [Install the CLI](/install-cli): manual installs, Windows setup, and upgrades
* [Astropods Spec](/astropods-package-spec): the full reference for what a spec can declare