> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.get-hive.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Key concepts in Hive

> The core ideas behind Hive: signals, coverage, approvals, blast radius, the autonomy ladder, the kill switch, the Business Brain, workflows, agents and connectors.

Hive uses a small vocabulary consistently across the product. Learn these terms once and every
screen reads the same way. For a short A–Z list, see the [glossary](/help/glossary).

## The operating loop

Hive runs a loop over your connected tools: **collect** what changed, **detect** what needs
attention, **propose** a next step, pass it through a **deterministic policy check**, **execute**
what was approved, and **learn** from the outcome. The model proposes; the policy engine decides
what may run. Everything is recorded in the audit log.

## Signals and attention

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Signal">
    Something Hive found in a connected tool that is at risk of being missed — a risk, an
    opportunity or a decision someone needs to make. Every signal carries evidence (the readings
    and their source), why it matters, a severity (**High**, **Medium**, **Low**) and usually a
    proposed next step. See [Signals](/signals/overview).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Coverage">
    What Hive is actually monitoring for each connected tool, and whether each metric is
    **Learning**, **Watching** or **Paused**. Coverage exists so an empty feed is never mistaken
    for an all-clear. See [Coverage](/signals/coverage).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Signal Case">
    A durable situation that groups evidence, decisions and outcomes over time. Signal Cases are
    a pilot and may not be enabled for your workspace. See [Signal Cases](/signals/signal-cases).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Snooze and dismiss">
    **Snooze** hides a signal for a while — it comes back. **Dismiss** asks why, and the reason
    changes what Hive raises next (stay quiet about a record, mute a type, or flag a data source).
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Approvals and autonomy

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Approval">
    A role-gated decision on a proposed action: **Approve & run now**, **Decide later** or **Do
    not run**. Approvals appear on the Signals screen (and inline in Ask for actions you asked
    for). They expire after seven days. See [Review and approve](/approvals/review-and-approve).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Blast radius (B0–B4)">
    How much damage an action could do if it were wrong.

    | Tier | Meaning | Example |
    | - | - | - |
    | B0 | Invisible or reversible | Update a fact, write a draft |
    | B1 | Internal-facing | Post in Slack, create a task |
    | B2 | External, cheap to fix | Email a known contact |
    | B3 | External, hard to reverse | Message a VIP, mass send |
    | B4 | Money, legal or irreversible | Issue a refund, revoke access |
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Autonomy ladder">
    How far Hive may go on its own for a type of action: **Shadow** (simulate only), **Suggest**,
    **Approve each**, **Auto in limits** and **Autonomous**. Money, irreversible and B4 actions
    always ask a human. See [Autonomy and blast radius](/approvals/autonomy-and-blast-radius).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Shadow mode">
    Hive simulates what it would do without acting, so you can see the value before granting
    autonomy.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Kill switch">
    Halts every autonomous action and approval company-wide. Owners and admins control it; it
    survives restarts. See [Safety and control](/admin/safety-and-control).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Audit log and receipts">
    An immutable trace of signal → plan → decision → result for every action. Reversible actions
    can be undone. See [Audit log](/approvals/audit-log).
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Knowledge

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Business Brain">
    One shared memory of your business across every department: entities, facts and
    relationships, each with its source, date and trust level. See
    [Business Brain](/brain/business-brain).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Learned behaviours">
    Rules, workflows and exceptions Hive has learned from your team's decisions. They start in
    **Shadow** and only become **Active** when a lead, admin or owner activates them. See
    [Learned behaviours](/brain/learned-behaviours).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Personal memory">
    Notes you choose to save about yourself for chat, private to you and off by default. See
    [Personal memory](/brain/personal-memory).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Library">
    Your workspace's files and folders — uploads, generated documents and images — plus a prompt
    library. See [Library](/library/library).
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Doing the work

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Ask Hive and projects">
    The home screen: a chat that answers across your tools, files, the Brain and the web, with
    citations. **Projects** group chats with shared instructions and files. See
    [Ask Hive](/ask/ask-hive) and [Projects](/ask/projects).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Workflow">
    A graph of steps started by one trigger (manual, in-app form, public form or schedule).
    Workflows are drafted, tested, then deployed as numbered versions. See
    [Workflow builder](/workflows/workflow-builder).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Agent">
    A specialised assistant you configure in Agent Studio for one job, with its own knowledge,
    connectors, autonomy ceiling, budgets and evals. See [Agent Studio](/agents/agent-studio).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Scheduled task">
    An agent run or workflow on a recurring schedule. See [Scheduled tasks](/library/scheduled-tasks).
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Connections

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Connector">
    A connection to one of your tools, over managed OAuth, an MCP server or a signed incoming
    webhook. Each connected account has its own autonomy: **Read**, **Draft** or **Act**. See
    [Accounts and autonomy](/integrations/accounts-and-autonomy).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Channel">
    Slack or Microsoft Teams, used to ask Hive questions from chat. Signals and approvals stay in
    Hive. See [Slack and Teams](/integrations/slack-and-teams).
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## People and billing

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Roles">
    **Owner**, **Admin**, **Department lead**, **Operator** and **Analyst** (read-only). Roles
    decide who can approve which blast-radius tier and who manages members, policy, connectors
    and billing. See [Roles and permissions](/admin/roles-and-permissions).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Departments">
    Finance, Sales, Marketing, Customer Success, People and IT & Security, plus a whole-business
    view. Roles can be scoped to departments.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Seats, credits and runs">
    Each member holds a seat (Basic, Pro or Max) that includes monthly model credits. Workflow and
    agent runs draw on the workspace's run allowance. See [Billing and plans](/admin/billing-and-plans).
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Related

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Navigate Hive" icon="compass" href="/get-started/navigate-hive">
    Where each of these lives in the app.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Glossary" icon="spell-check" href="/help/glossary">
    Every term, A to Z.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>