> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.cleric.ai/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.cleric.ai/meet-cleric/concepts.md).

# Concepts

Core concepts for working with Cleric

### Issues

An **Issue** is a tracked problem that Cleric investigates. Issues originate from monitoring alerts or on-demand requests. A single issue can collect multiple related alerts. Each issue contains the complete investigation history from start to resolution. See [How Investigations Work](/usage/how-investigations-work.md).

### Integrations

An **Integration** is a credential configuration that enables Cleric to authenticate with your infrastructure systems. You configure integrations once by providing credentials (API keys, tokens, service accounts), after which Cleric uses standard CLIs and APIs (`kubectl`, `gh`, `aws`, etc.) to query data during investigations.

Examples:

* **Datadog**: API credentials for querying metrics, logs, and monitors
* **AWS**: Role-based access for CloudWatch logs, metrics, and resource inspection
* **GitHub**: Access to repositories, commit history, and workflow logs

Most integrations use read-only access. The GitHub integration includes write permissions by default to enable creating issues and pull requests as a result of investigation findings. View the full list of integrations, what data they access, and their setup instructions in [Supported Integrations](/integrations/supported-integrations.md).

### Agents

An **Agent** is a named workflow with instructions that Cleric runs against an issue. Cleric ships with one built-in agent (`investigate`) for deep root-cause analysis. You can create custom agents with your own instructions to encode runbooks or specialize on a service or alert type. See [Configuring Automations](/setup/agents-and-triggers.md#agents).

### Triggers

A **Trigger** is a rule that runs an agent automatically when a matching event fires. Each trigger has a type: **Bot message** fires when a bot message posted in a Slack channel matches the trigger's keywords (evaluated top-down per channel, first match wins), and **Scheduled** fires on a recurring cron schedule. See [Configuring Automations](/setup/agents-and-triggers.md#triggers).

### Memories

A **Memory** is a fact or procedure that Cleric learns from your conversations and uses to improve future investigations. Memories capture infrastructure details, service dependencies, investigation preferences, and other operational knowledge. Cleric proposes memories based on what you share during investigations. You can accept or reject each proposal.

### How Cleric Communicates

Cleric's responses include clear reasoning to help you understand and validate its analysis:

* **Evidence Summary**: What data supports the conclusion
* **Reasoning Process**: How the evidence connects to the conclusion
* **Recommended Actions**: Specific next steps
* **Follow-up Questions**: Additional access or information that might be needed

This transparency helps you quickly assess conclusions and decide on appropriate responses.