| Primary abstraction |
Backend resources, visual workflows, published artifacts, and handoff materials managed in a project workspace. |
JavaScript and TypeScript queries, mutations, actions, and HTTP actions authored as the backend application. |
| Data model |
Relational project schemas and relationships backed by PostgreSQL data paths and exposed through explicit REST routes. |
A relational data model storing JSON-like documents with document IDs, indexes, optional schemas, and generated TypeScript types rather than PostgreSQL or SQL. |
| Realtime experience |
Project channels exist, but authorization, reconnect, scale, and combined multi-resource behavior require project-specific acceptance testing. |
Reactive queries subscribe clients and update UI state when underlying data changes; this is a core architectural promise. |
| API surface |
Published REST routes include request validation, auth context, workflows, testing, OpenAPI, docs, typed SDK output, and snippets. |
Convex clients call typed functions directly; developers define HTTP actions for webhooks or public and custom HTTP APIs. |
| Business logic |
Visual workflows cover database work, conditions, loops, filters, external calls, responses, tasks, and triggers with supported code roundtrip. |
Business behavior is written as tested TypeScript queries, mutations, actions, scheduled functions, and components. |
| Authentication and access |
Managed product JWT auth, roles, permissions, ownership and tenant semantics, plus workflow-level checks; project authorization still requires review. |
Integrates with OIDC and JWT providers, with authorization enforced in public backend functions; Convex Auth is documented separately. |
| Agents and MCP |
Authorized project MCP supports inspection, preview, mutation, validation, publishing, review, and handoff; public anonymous project mutation remains unavailable. |
Convex CLI MCP operates against selected deployments, while first-party Agent and RAG components support product agent workflows. |
| Change control |
Draft resources, validation, integrity-checked published artifacts, API testing, review, and selective restore create explicit backend release gates. |
Git-managed TypeScript source and the Convex development and deploy workflow provide the primary change-management model. |
| Durable automation |
Tasks, triggers, channels, and agents exist but require current end-to-end acceptance coverage for the exact project topology. |
Scheduled functions, cron jobs, workflows, and work-pool components are documented production building blocks. |
| Self-hosting and exit |
Generated runtime and project/data export surfaces exist, but Spala has no generic supported customer self-host installer and is not open source. |
Convex documents self-hosting under its current FSL Apache 2.0 licensing model, with operators taking responsibility for the deployment. |