Agents Glossary
Canonical PacSpace terms for agents. Every term links to the authoritative reference page or endpoint.
This is the terminology source of truth when an agent generates integration code, prompts, or customer-facing copy. Every term below links to the place in the public docs where the concept is fully defined.
Use When
Use this page before writing new integration code, when normalizing copy the agent is about to surface to a tenant, or when disambiguating terms between a prompt and a schema.
Inputs
- The target integration workflow and the API operations involved.
- Any existing tenant language that should be normalized to canonical terms.
Primitives
| Term | Definition | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Delta | A credit or debit change recorded through the API. The fundamental unit. | Emit |
| Verified delta | A delta that has been permanently recorded and can be independently verified. | How Verification Works |
| Proof | The artifact confirming a delta was recorded at a specific time with specific content. | Proof Fingerprints |
| Receipt | A proof document containing one or more verified deltas, safe to share with counterparties. | Receipt |
| Fingerprint | A unique identifier derived from content. Same content always produces the same fingerprint. | Proof Fingerprints |
| Proof root | A single fingerprint covering every delta in a group or window. | Verify |
| Checkpoint | A period-end proof that locks verified deltas in a window into one fingerprint. | Checkpoint |
| Derived balance | The running total computed from verified deltas for a customer. | Query |
Platform Concepts
| Term | Definition | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Integration | A PacSpace environment configured for a tenant. Each integration is an independent verification system. | Environments |
| Environment | Either Sandbox (development and testing) or Production (live verified records). | Authentication |
| Sandbox API | Dedicated endpoint for pk_test_* traffic. Runs on isolated infrastructure. | Authentication |
| Production API | Dedicated endpoint for pk_live_* traffic. | Authentication |
| Configuration ID | The unique identifier for an integration. | Environments |
| Account Identifier | The unique address for a tenant's data isolation. | Tenant Information |
| Verification layer | The public infrastructure where proofs are permanently recorded. Independent of PacSpace. | How Verification Works |
Operations
| Term | Definition | API call |
|---|---|---|
| Emit | Record a usage event as a delta. | POST /api/v1/balance/delta |
| Derive | Compute the running balance from verified deltas for a customer. | GET /api/v1/balance/derive/:customerId |
| Compare | Surface the exact point of divergence between two parties' views of a balance. | POST /api/v1/balance/compare |
| Checkpoint | Lock a period-end proof covering all verified deltas in the window. | POST /api/v1/balance/checkpoint |
Public Contract Field Names
When writing schemas, payloads, or SDK code, keep these field names verbatim:
| Field | Where it appears | Notes |
|---|---|---|
recordId | Emit response, status lookup | Unique identifier for a submitted delta. |
receiptId | Emit and receipt responses, webhooks | Proof root for the submission. Safe to share. |
proofRoot | Checkpoint, receipt, verify responses | Single fingerprint covering a group of deltas. Safe to share. |
proofHash | Webhook payloads, proof responses | The per-record proof fingerprint. Safe to share. |
contentHash | Webhook payloads, proof responses | Fingerprint of the delta content itself. Safe to share. |
previousProofHash | Webhook payloads | Links to the prior proof in the verification chain. |
deltaCount | Checkpoint, derive, compare responses | Number of verified deltas in the response's scope. |
verificationReference | Delta status, verify responses | Reference on the verification layer for independent verification. |
These values appear in public responses and are the fields agents should log, persist, and forward.
Integration Surfaces
| Term | Definition | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| API key | A credential used to authenticate requests. Prefixed with pk_test_ (Sandbox) or pk_live_ (Production). | API Key Management |
| Idempotency key | An application-supplied value that prevents duplicate effects when a request is retried. | Safety and Idempotency |
referenceId | The agent's own deterministic reference for a delta, used for correlation and idempotency. | Integration Patterns |
| Webhook | An outbound HTTP notification sent when a delta is verified or another event fires. | Webhook Overview |
| Autonomous agent pattern | A webhook handler that reacts to verification data instead of just logging it. | Autonomous Agent Pattern |
Failure Modes
- Using prohibited terms from other platforms when writing agent prompts or UI copy.
- Mixing internal infrastructure language into customer-facing responses.
- Treating
proofHashandproofRootas interchangeable —proofHashis per record,proofRootcovers a group.
Related Pages
- Overview — entry point for this section.
- Capabilities — how the four operations and supporting reads fit together.
- Authentication — full detail on environment routing and key formats.