Key concepts

This page defines the terms used throughout Telflo and these docs.

Configuration

A configuration is a named project: one canvas, one generated YAML document, and its version history. It is the unit you create, name, and open in the editor.

Flow

A flow is a prebuilt collector configuration from Telflo's curated catalog, each solving one problem. Using a flow creates your own independent configuration from it, pinned to the collector version the flow was validated against. See Flows.

Version

A version is a snapshot of a configuration's canvas and YAML at a point in time, with an optional note. Telflo records a version each time you save.

• The current version is the one you are editing.
• Published versions and older versions are read-only. Editing a read-only version prompts you to save the changes as a new version.

See Versions & publishing.

Pipeline

A pipeline carries one signal type (traces, metrics, or logs) through a chain of receivers, processors, and exporters. A configuration can contain multiple pipelines, including custom-named pipelines such as traces/production. On the canvas, pipeline membership is defined by the edges you draw, and each pipeline is color-coded.

Collector version

Each configuration targets a specific OpenTelemetry Collector version, selected in the toolbar. The collector version determines which components and fields are valid, and which collector binary runs during a test.

Publishing

A saved version is private to the editor. Publishing marks a version as a release that can be deployed. Only published versions can be assigned to a fleet's deploy groups. See Versions & publishing.

Fleet

A fleet is a named group of collectors managed together. You create and manage fleets in the Fleet section. In a server fleet, each collector connects to Telflo and pulls the configuration assigned to its deploy group. In a Kubernetes bridge fleet, one bridge connects to Telflo and manages the cluster's collectors, each with its own assigned configuration. A Kubernetes supervisor fleet, available in private preview, runs supervisor-managed collectors in a cluster without the Operator. See Fleet management.

Deploy group

A deploy group is a named group of a server fleet's collectors. Each group holds an assigned configuration version and an assigned variable group, so different groups in one fleet can run different configurations. Every new server fleet starts with a group named Default. Groups are managed on the fleet's Deploy Groups tab. See Create a fleet.

Instance

An instance is a single collector that has enrolled in a fleet, listed on the fleet's Collectors tab with its status and the configuration version it runs. On a server fleet, the statuses are In sync, Pending pickup, Applying, Apply failed, and Stale. Kubernetes bridge fleets report through the bridge and use their own status set. See Kubernetes fleets.

Organization

Your work belongs to an organization. Members of an organization share its configurations and fleets. Each member has a role, Admin or Contributor, that controls what they can do. See Members & roles.

Vault

The vault stores reusable values. Organization variables are shared across the organization and referenced from a configuration as $orgvar:NAME tokens that Telflo resolves when each collector checks in. User variables are personal to your account; selecting one inserts its value into the field. See Vault.

API token

An API token is a bearer credential for the Telflo API, created by an organization admin and scoped to the organization. See API tokens.