What are the core concepts in CMD+K?
CMD+K models six things: a Workspace (your team's account), an Assistant (one embeddable chat widget), a Knowledge source (a URL, sitemap, or file the assistant grounds answers in), an MCP server (a tool provider you connect), an MCP deployment (an MCP server you host with us behind our gateway), and an End-user (the visitor the assistant runs as, identified by a JWT you sign). Understanding these six terms is enough to navigate the rest of the docs.
What is a workspace?
Workspace — a tenant boundary in CMD+K. Every assistant, knowledge source, MCP server, member, and invoice belongs to exactly one workspace. Members are invited with a role (owner, admin, or member); only owners and admins can change billing or delete data. You can belong to many workspaces with one login.
What is an assistant (widget)?
Assistant — one embeddable CMD+K chat surface with its own branding, JWT secret, knowledge bindings, MCP tool bindings, and analytics. One workspace can run many assistants — for example, a docs assistant on your marketing site and a different one inside your authenticated app.
What is a knowledge source?
Knowledge source — a URL, sitemap, or uploaded file that we crawl, chunk, and embed so the assistant can ground answers in it and cite passages. Sources live at the workspace level; an assistant binds the ones it should use, so different assistants can be scoped to different docs.
What is an MCP server?
MCP server — a tool provider that speaks the Model Context Protocol — Anthropic's open standard for AI tool calls. Lists tools the assistant can invoke (read data, take actions) over a single HTTP endpoint. You can connect any MCP server: yours, a marketplace one, or one you build by converting an API. Some marketplace connectors are workspace-level (Slack, for example, is connected once by your workspace); the ones your end users connect with their own accounts are Linear, Notion, GitHub, Atlassian and Intercom.
What is an MCP deployment?
MCP deployment — an MCP server you host on the CMD+K gateway. We give it a public URL (mcp.commandplusk.com/<slug> or your custom domain), handle OAuth consent for end-users, and surface analytics. Use this when you want a managed URL, a custom auth proxy, or per-request billing.
What is an end-user?
End-user — a visitor of your product talking to the assistant. Identified by the sub claim of the JWT you sign on your backend. All quota, OAuth tokens (Linear, GitHub, …), and Monetize meter events are attributed to the end-user, not to your workspace member account.
What is an Operator?
Operator — a workspace member building with CMD+K — that's you. We use the term in Monetize and pricing contexts to keep the distinction with the End-users you serve.
How do these pieces fit together?
- One Workspace contains many Assistants, Knowledge sources, and MCP servers.
- Each Assistant binds a subset of knowledge sources and MCP tools.
- An End-user opens an Assistant; the JWT you sign identifies them.
- MCP tools the assistant calls run on your behalf, as that end-user.
- Metering, caps, and billing roll up from end-user → assistant → workspace.
Next steps
FAQ
- What's the difference between an MCP server and an MCP deployment?
- An MCP server is any tool provider implementing the MCP protocol — yours or someone else's, hosted anywhere. An MCP deployment is one that we host on the CMD+K gateway (mcp.commandplusk.com/<slug> or a custom domain). You can use either with an assistant.
- Is an Assistant the same as a Widget?
- Yes. Internally we use 'widget' (it's a database table) and 'assistant' (user-facing label) interchangeably. The dashboard says Assistant; URLs and the embed attribute say widget.
- Who is an Operator?
- An Operator is you — the workspace member building and embedding CMD+K. We use Operator in pricing and Monetize docs to distinguish you from your End-users.
- What identifies an end-user?
- The sub claim of the JWT you sign when the user is authenticated, or an anonymous browser session ID when they're not. All metering, allowlists, and OAuth grants are keyed off this identity.