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Core Concepts

Read this page once before diving into Platform tour or Building a Wrkflow. Feature pages assume you know these terms.

Wrk uses a small set of building blocks repeatedly. Once these concepts are clear, the rest of the platform becomes much easier to reason about.

Wrkflow​

Definition: A Wrkflow is the full automation you design and run in Wrk.

A Wrkflow defines the order of work, the conditions between steps, the data passed forward, and the points where the Launch should stop, retry, or wait for a person. Think of the Wrkflow as the unit of delivery: it is what gets tested, launched, monitored, and improved.

Example: A Wrkflow that sends an SMS when a high-priority support ticket is created.

See Wrkflow Automation for the operational home screen and launch tooling.

Wrk Action​

Definition: A Wrk Action is one executable step inside a Wrkflow.

A Wrk Action can call an API, automate a browser with RPA, transform data, invoke AI, or send work to a human reviewer. Wrk Actions are intentionally narrow so you can debug a single step without losing the context of the entire Launch.

Example: A Send SMS Wrk Action that posts the ticket ID and message to your messaging provider.

Connector and Connected Account​

Definition: A Connector is Wrk's authenticated bridge to an external system. A Connected Account is the linked credential you create in the Wrk UI that a Connector uses at runtime.

Connectors store auth method and service-specific configuration required for Wrk Actions and Triggers. When you link Gmail or Slack in the platform, you are creating a Connected Account backed by a Connector: the reusable link that Wrk Actions can call without signing in again.

Example: A Connected Account for your SMS provider so the Send SMS Wrk Action can authenticate without storing secrets in the Wrkflow.

See Connected Accounts for where to manage them in the UI.

Trigger​

Definition: A Trigger is the event that starts a Launch.

Triggers can be time-based (schedule), webhook-driven, email-driven, manually invoked, or tied to a Connector event. The Trigger defines how data first enters the Wrkflow and how often the process can begin.

Example: A webhook Trigger that starts the Wrkflow whenever your ticketing system creates a high-priority ticket.

Launch​

Definition: A Launch is a single execution of a Wrkflow: one run from Trigger to completion.

The Wrkflow is the design. Each Launch is one time that design runs, with its own inputs, progress, status, and history. Launching the same Wrkflow ten times creates ten Launches.

Example: Three high-priority tickets arrive in one hour, so the same Wrkflow produces three separate Launches.

See Launches for Launch history and status in the UI, and Launch in the Glossary for a one-line definition.

Human-in-the-Loop​

Definition: A Human-in-the-Loop step pauses automation so a person can review, approve, reject, or correct the work.

Use Human-in-the-Loop when business risk is too high for full automation or when judgment is required. You can assign the task, define timeout behavior, and decide what happens after approval, rejection, or no response.

Example: A reviewer confirms the SMS wording before the message is sent to a customer.

For when and why to use human steps, see Human-in-the-Loop.

Orchestration​

Definition: Orchestration is the layer that coordinates all Wrkflow steps from start to finish.

Wrk orchestration tracks dependencies, moves data between Wrk Actions, handles retries, preserves Launch state, and keeps API, RPA, AI, and human tasks in one control plane.

Example: After the reviewer approves, orchestration continues the Launch to the Send SMS Wrk Action and records the outcome.

For a deeper look at how Wrk combines execution styles, see Orchestration model.

How the concepts work together​

Here is one path through the same ticket-alert Wrkflow:

  1. A Trigger fires when the ticketing system posts a high-priority ticket to your webhook.
  2. Wrk starts a Launch of your Wrkflow with the ticket details as launch inputs.
  3. A Wrk Action reads the ticket fields. Another Wrk Action uses a Connected Account (via its Connector) to draft or send an SMS.
  4. If the message needs judgment, a Human-in-the-Loop step pauses the Launch for a person to approve or edit the text.
  5. Orchestration moves data between steps, waits for the reviewer when needed, and marks the Launch complete when the last Wrk Action finishes.

That is the same pattern for most Wrkflows: Trigger starts a Launch, Wrk Actions (and optional human review) do the work through Connected Accounts, and orchestration keeps the Launch moving until it completes.

Next steps​