Key concepts
A brief overview of the building blocks you will use in Coord.
Coord is built around a small set of concepts. Here is a quick overview of each one. Follow the links for full details. For quick-reference definitions of every term, see the Glossary.
Jobs
A job is the core unit of work in Coord. Every task you want done — whether by a person or an AI agent — is a job. There are two types: agentic jobs (executed by an AI agent) and user jobs (completed by a person).
Job lifecycle
Every job moves through a series of stages: Backlog, Ready, In Progress, Review, and eventually Done. Both agentic and user jobs can go through a review step before completion. Each stage has a clear meaning and specific transitions.
Learn more about the job lifecycle
Canvas
A canvas is a visual workspace for organizing jobs and planning work. You can start with an idea — a lightweight job that exists before it makes it onto the backlog — or drag existing jobs onto a canvas. Add groups, sticky notes, and links to map out your plan and collaborate with your team in real time.
Workspaces
A workspace is your team's shared environment. All your jobs, canvases, and members belong to a workspace. Workspace roles — owner, admin, member, viewer — control who can do what.
Learn more about workspaces and teams
Coord Runner
The Coord Runner is a desktop app that executes agentic jobs on your machine. It connects to your workspace, picks up jobs that are ready, and runs AI agents locally. You need at least one runner to execute agentic jobs.
Learn more about the Coord Runner
Attempts
An attempt is a single round of work on a job. When an agent or person works on a job, that is one attempt. If a reviewer requests changes, the revision creates a new attempt. Jobs can have multiple attempts.
Learn more about reviews and attempts
Reviews
A review is the process of checking completed work before marking a job as done. For agentic jobs that work on a repository, the review happens on the pull request. You can approve the work or request changes, which triggers a new attempt.
Learn more about reviews and attempts
Dependencies
A dependency is a relationship where one job must be completed before another can start. You can chain jobs together so work happens in the right order — for example, a design job must finish before the implementation job can begin.
Notes
A note is a comment or message attached to a job. Notes are permanent — once added, they cannot be edited or deleted. Use notes to add context, ask questions, or leave updates for your team as work progresses.
Next steps
- Runner quick setup — install the Coord Runner
- Create your first job — a more detailed guide with all the options
- Core concepts — deep dive into how jobs work