Ions

An Ion is a composable unit that performs one job inside an Aion. Each Ion groups the agentic primitives and configuration needed for that job. An Ion might connect the application to a network, control how the application handles work, or make a live implementation available. You arrange Ions in Composer and connect them into runtime flows called Sequences. An Ion is not the same thing as an AI agent. An agent is one capability an Ion can provide.

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The three Ion categories

Choose an Ion category by the responsibility it has in the application: The category describes the Ion’s job, not every interface it exposes. Adding an agent, MCP, or event capability does not create another Ion category.

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Ions and Sequences

A Sequence is the ordered list of Ions used when work enters through a Distribution Ion. Connections between Ions define which Ions participate in that flow. Read the graph from either Distribution Ion:

• Slack Sequence: Slack → Policy → Support → Support service
• A2A Sequence: A2A → Policy → Support → Support service

Each Distribution anchors its own Sequence. The shared Policy, Support, and Support service Ions let both entrypoints reuse the same application flow. This separation lets you:

• add a Distribution Ion for another network without duplicating application behavior
• reuse a Behavior Ion across several Sequences
• update a Deployment Ion without redesigning the application’s network entrypoints

An Ion’s position belongs to the Sequence, not its category. An Ion that finishes one flow can participate earlier in another; there is no separate terminal-Ion category.

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Capabilities

A capability is a service surface an Ion can make available as part of its job. Do not think of an Ion as an AI agent itself. The Ion is the building block; agent, MCP, and event interfaces are capabilities it can carry. An implementation declares the capabilities it supports. The Ion’s runtime configuration determines which supported capabilities are enabled and supplies any settings or authentication they require. An Ion can carry one capability, combine several, or expose none. Its category still describes the goal it serves: Distribution, Behavior, or Deployment.

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Ions, Projects, and Aions

Ions live in Project graphs. A Project stores the Ions, their connections, and the configuration used to work on them together. A Project is not an Aion. An Aion follows its Identity, while Projects organize the Ions used to implement it:

• One Project can contain Ions serving several Aion Identities.
• One Aion can use Ions and Sequences assembled in more than one Project.

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What to do next

• To create and connect Ions, follow Build an Aion.
• To understand the visual editing workflow, read Composer.
• To design network ingress, read Distribution Ions.
• To add reusable application logic, read Behavior Ions.
• To make an implementation available, read Deployment Ions.