Core Concepts
This page introduces the key concepts used across the Planton platform. Understanding these terms makes the rest of the documentation easier to navigate.
Infrastructure Concepts
Infra Components
An Infra Component is a deployed infrastructure instance — a VPC, a database, a Kubernetes cluster: one deployed instance of any catalog kind Planton manages. Infra Components are the fundamental unit of infrastructure in the platform.
Each Infra Component:
- Belongs to an environment (dev, staging, prod)
- Has a specific catalog kind (e.g., AWS VPC, GCP GKE Cluster)
- Is deployed and managed through Infra Jobs
- Tracks its own lifecycle, configuration, and deployment history
Catalog Kinds
A catalog kind is a type the Infra Catalog offers — a typed schema with its IaC modules, defining how to provision one kind of Infra Component. The Infra Catalog is the starting point for deploying infrastructure.
When you deploy a catalog kind, it creates an Infra Component instance with your specific configuration.
Examples of catalog kinds:
- AWS VPC (networking)
- AWS RDS (managed database)
- GCP GKE Cluster (Kubernetes)
- AWS S3 Bucket (storage)
Infra Charts
An Infra Chart is a composed collection of catalog kinds that work together. Instead of deploying resources individually, an Infra Chart deploys an entire set of related resources in the correct dependency order.
Example: An AWS ECS Environment Infra Chart might include a VPC, ECS Cluster, ALB, Route53 Zone, Security Groups, IAM Roles, and ECR Repositories — all deployed as a coordinated unit.
Key characteristics:
- Deploy multiple resources in correct dependency order
- Handle inter-resource dependencies automatically
- Template-based with customizable values
- Show deployment progress as a DAG (directed acyclic graph)
Infra Stacks
An Infra Stack is an Infra Chart declared into one environment with your values. If an Infra Chart is the template, an Infra Stack is the deployed instance.
The lifecycle:
- Choose an Infra Chart (template) and an environment
- Set the values that environment needs
- Review the plan: what applying creates, updates or destroys, resource by resource
- Apply it: the stack records a numbered revision, and its Infra Components deploy in dependency order
- Progress is tracked in real time via DAG visualization; every later change is another plan and another revision
Infra Jobs
An Infra Job is the atomic execution unit that provisions infrastructure using Pulumi, Terraform, or OpenTofu. Every infrastructure change — deploying an Infra Component, updating an Infra Stack, or running a refresh — triggers one or more Infra Jobs.
Each Infra Job follows this sequence:
Init → Refresh → Plan → Apply
Key characteristics:
- Created automatically when you deploy or update infrastructure
- Run multiple operations in sequence (init, refresh, plan, apply)
- Stream logs in real-time
- Handle credentials securely via the Runner
- Manage IaC state files automatically
Application Concepts
Services
A Service is the configuration bridge between a Git repository and a deployment target. It defines what to build, how to build it, and where to deploy it.
Each Service is connected to a Git repository (GitHub or GitLab) and includes:
- Build configuration: Buildpacks (auto-detect) or Dockerfile
- Trigger paths: Which file changes trigger rebuilds
- Project root: For monorepo support
- Pipeline provider: Platform-managed or self-managed (custom Tekton)
Example:
Name: user-api
Repository: github.com/acme/services
Project Root: /services/user-api
Build: Buildpacks (auto-detect Node.js)
Deploy To: EKS cluster in production
Pipelines
A Pipeline is the automated CI/CD workflow that builds and deploys a Service. Pipelines are powered by Tekton and are triggered by Git commits.
Pipeline stages:
- Trigger: Git webhook received
- Clone: Fetch the source code
- Build: Create a container image (Buildpacks or Dockerfile)
- Push: Store the image in a container registry
- Deploy: Update the running service
Platform Concepts
Connections
A Connection is a secure integration with an external service — cloud provider credentials, Git provider OAuth tokens, container registry access, or Kubernetes cluster credentials.
Types of Connections:
- Cloud Providers: AWS, GCP, Azure credentials
- Git Providers: GitHub, GitLab access
- Container Registries: Docker Hub, ECR, GCR, ACR
- State Backends: S3, GCS for Pulumi/Terraform/OpenTofu state
- Kubernetes Clusters: External cluster access
Connections are created at the organization level and authorized for specific environments. The platform automatically resolves the correct credentials for each deployment.
Teams
Teams are groups of users with shared permissions. Create teams at the organization level, add members, and grant permissions to environments and resources.
Learn more about Teams and Access
Context
Context is your current position in the resource hierarchy (Organization / Environment). It determines:
- What resources you see
- Where new resources are created
- Which credentials are used
- Which actions are available
Acme Corp / production
↑ ↑
Organization Environment
Flow Control
Flow control is written on the resource it governs, as annotations or a typed field, and decides how cautiously its Infra Jobs run:
- Record a resource without ever deploying it (unmanaged)
- Make a job wait for approval before it begins
- Pause between preview and apply
A protected environment adds its own review on top: a direct change pauses for an approver, and an Infra Stack's change becomes a request an approver decides on the exact plan.
How Concepts Connect
Infrastructure Side
- Catalog Kinds are templates; deploying one creates an Infra Component
- Infra Charts create Infra Stacks that orchestrate multiple Infra Components
- Infra Components are provisioned by Infra Jobs
- Infra Jobs use Connections for cloud provider credentials
Application Side
- Services are linked to Git repositories
- Pipelines build and deploy Services
- Services deploy to infrastructure provisioned through Infra Components
- Pipelines use Connections for Git and registry access
Platform Side
- Organizations contain Environments
- Environments contain deployed Infra Components and Services
- Teams group users for permissions
- Context determines your current scope
Concept Reference
| Concept | What It Is |
|---|---|
| Infra Component | A deployed infrastructure instance (VPC, database, cluster) |
| Catalog Kind | A type the Infra Catalog offers, the template for provisioning it (AWS VPC, GCP GKE Cluster) |
| Infra Chart | A template of catalog objects installed together as an Infra Stack |
| Infra Stack | A deployed instance of an Infra Chart with specific configuration |
| Infra Job | The atomic IaC execution unit (Pulumi/Terraform/OpenTofu) |
| Service | Configuration bridge between a Git repo and a deployment target |
| Pipeline | Automated CI/CD workflow triggered by Git commits |
| Connection | Secure integration with an external service (cloud, Git, registry) |
| Context | Your current position in the Organization/Environment hierarchy |
Related Documentation
- Connections — Credential and integration management
- Infrastructure — Infrastructure provisioning and management
- CI/CD — Application deployment and CI/CD
- Teams and Access — Collaboration and permissions
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