Terminology

Term	Definition
Action	Every time an action block runs successfully counts as an action. You can track your action usage under the Usage tab in your dashboard. Find more info on actions and how they relate to pricing here.
Action Blocks	Action blocks are what follow a trigger block in a workflow. There can be any number of consecutive action blocks after a trigger block. Inside action blocks, you're able to select from a number of app-specific actions to perform.
API	API stands for Application Programming Interface. Alloy's app partners create API's in order to integrate with Alloy and allow their data to be exchanged with data from other apps. This two-way exchange essentially means that you can "push" and "pull" data from one app into another. In Alloy, each block correspond with one API "call," or action.
Block	Blocks (also known as connectors) are connected to 3rd party apps such as Shopify, Tone Messaging, Gorgias, etc. You will need to authenticate these blocks using your existing accounts in order to use them as part of your workflow. Every rectangle you see in the workflow canvas is a block, and there are two types of blocks - Trigger Blocks and Action Blocks.
Trigger	Triggers are similar to app blocks, with the exception that instead of being a part of the workflow, they are placed at the start of your workflow. The trigger event you select, if it occurs in the app trigger, is what causes the workflow to run. Triggers are crucial to your workflows, as trigger blocks set workflows in motion.
Trigger Event	This refers to the event in an app that causes your trigger to fire your workflow to run. The Trigger Event parameter is typically found in the “Configure” step when you are setting up your trigger blocks.
Triggered Workflow	Triggered workflows are workflows that depend on a trigger block. It will only take place when an event in one of your apps occurs and kicks off the workflow.
Automatic Workflow	Automatic workflows depend on an “on-off” switch that allows you to activate or deactivate them. Once activated, a workflow will run each time the trigger is set off.
Branch	Branch blocks allow you to perform different paths of logic depending on the conditions you create for each branch.
Integration	Integrations refer to the 3rd party software tools that Alloy connects with. We use "integrations" and "apps" interchangeably.
Iterate	If you're technical, you may recognize Iterate as essentially a for loop. For nontechnical folks, Iterate blocks allow you to perform operations on each item in a list of items. For example, if you use a Shopify List Orders action block, then you can add an Iterate block right after to iterate through the orders from the previous block.
Manual Workflow	A manual workflow only runs when the user presses the “Run” button in order to trigger the workflow. Manual workflows are useful for running workflows at your discretion.
Recipe	These are the pre-built workflows available under the Marketplace tab in your dashboard. Recipes are sourced from our community of top agency/app partners and merchants, and are a great starting point for new users as they only take a few minutes to set up.
Variable	Variables allow you to use the outputs of blocks in a workflow as input into blocks that are downstream. Inputs refers to the fields you must fill out when configuring blocks.
Variable Selector	When you add in variables, this will bring up a popup called the Variable Selector. You can combine variables with text if the input field is a text field (rather than phone number, dollar value, etc)
Webhook	Webhooks enable outside applications to communicate with Alloy, if they aren't natively supported as an App Trigger already. They allow you to send real-time data from your application to Alloy, and set a workflow in motion. and you can build your workflows to feed this data in Alloy.
Workflow Run	A workflow run refers to each time an entire workflow is run. This can include any number of actions within it. For example, if your workflow runs once every hour during a day, then there were 24 workflow runs. You can check notifications in the top right of the workflow editor for details on why a workflow may have failed.