Glossary
Key terms and concepts used in MoFA.
A
Agent
A software component that processes inputs and produces outputs, typically using an LLM. Agents implement the MoFAAgent trait.
AgentContext
Execution context provided to agents during execution, containing metadata, session information, and shared state.
AgentCapabilities
Metadata describing what an agent can do, including tags, input/output types, and concurrency limits.
AgentInput
Wrapper type for input data sent to an agent. Can contain text, structured data, or binary content.
AgentOutput
Wrapper type for output data produced by an agent, including the result and metadata.
AgentState
Current lifecycle state of an agent: Created, Ready, Executing, Paused, Error, or Shutdown.
C
Coordinator
A component that manages communication between multiple agents using patterns like consensus, debate, or parallel execution.
F
Foundation Layer
The mofa-foundation crate containing concrete implementations of kernel traits, business logic, and integrations.
K
Kernel
The mofa-kernel crate providing core abstractions, traits, and base types. Contains no business logic or implementations.
L
LLMClient
A client wrapper for LLM providers, providing a unified interface for text generation.
LLMProvider
Trait defining the interface for LLM providers (OpenAI, Anthropic, etc.).
M
Microkernel
Architectural pattern where the core provides minimal functionality, with all other features implemented as plugins.
MoFAAgent
The core trait that all agents must implement, defining identity, capabilities, state, and lifecycle methods.
P
Plugin
An extension that adds functionality to MoFA. Can be compile-time (Rust/WASM) or runtime (Rhai scripts).
Persistence
The ability to save and restore agent state, session data, and conversation history.
R
ReAct
A pattern combining Reasoning and Acting, where an agent alternates between thinking and taking actions.
Rhai
An embedded scripting language used for runtime plugins in MoFA.
Runtime
The mofa-runtime crate managing agent lifecycle, execution, and event routing.
S
Secretary Agent
A special agent pattern that coordinates tasks, manages todos, and routes key decisions to humans.
SDK
The mofa-sdk crate providing the unified public API, re-exporting functionality from all layers.
StateGraph
A workflow abstraction representing a directed graph of states (nodes) and transitions (edges).
T
Tool
A callable function that agents can use to interact with external systems or perform operations.
ToolRegistry
A registry managing available tools, allowing registration, discovery, and execution.
W
Workflow
An orchestrated sequence of agent executions, potentially with branching, parallelism, and state management.
WASM
WebAssembly modules that can be loaded as compile-time plugins for cross-language compatibility.