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Welcome to OriGen

This page is a short orientation guide — the Alohas, Holas, and Hello Worlds of OriGen. It introduces a small set of terms that help you roam the docs comfortably. Think of it as a legend for the map.

OriGen uses a light navigation metaphor — Maps define intent, Routes describe the path, Navigators provide the tools, and Backpacks carry the supplies. This framing helps the terminology feel intuitive before you encounter it in context.

These snippets of OriGen Speak appear throughout the documentation and make the Primer, Value Statement, and Architecture easier to follow.

Core Concepts

Map — A declarative definition of workflow intent (your source of truth).

Navigator — A tool or action used within Steps (executables, compilers, transformers). Navigators describe how individual Steps operate.

Backpack — Immutable Resource Bundle: a versioned, read-only bundle of supporting assets carried into execution. Backpacks contain static, immutable materials such as datasets, configuration files, templates, or fonts. They are defined ahead of time, never mutated, and not produced by any Step.

Route — Intermediate Representation (IR): the deterministic, platform-neutral execution graph OriGen compiles from a Map. A Route defines how a workflow should run, independent of any backend system.

Guide — Backend Adapter: Translates a Route into native backend execution formats (e.g., GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Argo, Kubernetes, or local scripts). Guides perform translation only — OriGen does not run workflows.

Step — A smallest unit of execution in a workflow.

Cargo — Outputs produced by Steps: files, directories, images, binaries, datasets, or other generated results. Cargo is created during execution, mutable, and often consumed by later Steps.

Topology — The structure of workflow dependencies (DAG, fan-in, fan-out).

Execution Boundary — The boundary at which a Route, transformed by a Guide into backend-native form, leaves OriGen and is executed by the target platform.

You Are Good to Go

With these foundational concepts in mind, you’re ready for the deeper sections. The paths in-front of you are:

(Optional) CLI Usage Preview

This section is optional, but many readers may find that a quick glance at real CLI commands helps anchor the terminology in practical use.

origen survey

Discover Maps in the current repository.

origen topo route

Visualize the topology (DAG) of a compiled Route.

origen pathfinder

Analyze dependencies and determine execution order.

origen bearing

Explain what happens next or what’s blocking progress.

origen backpack inspect

Inspect the immutable supplies bundled in a Backpack.

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