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Overview

Atlas is an extensible software catalog that brings software ownership, relationships, interfaces, architecture, resources, and operational context together. This section gives new readers enough product and architecture context to choose their next step.

Who this section is for

Start here if you are evaluating Atlas or need a shared understanding of its product scope before using, operating, or extending it. The pages in this path explain:

  • what runs in an Atlas installation;
  • how Core and selected plugins become a distribution;
  • which catalog concepts stay consistent across features; and
  • where catalog users, operators, and plugin authors should continue.

Start here

Read System shape first. It identifies the backend, frontend, database, ingestion worker, distribution, and trust boundaries without requiring knowledge of the repository layout.

  1. System shape describes the supported runtime and ownership boundaries.
  2. Architectural principles explains the constraints behind build-time composition and plugin isolation.
  3. Entity model explains what the catalog stores and how its kinds relate.
  4. Choose a journey: Getting Started to run Atlas, Using Atlas to work with catalog data, Operating Atlas to manage an installation, or Plugin Development to extend a distribution.

Section boundary

Overview explains the supported product shape. Setup commands, operating procedures, and extension contracts live in the journey links above. Use Concepts and Architecture for the reusable domain model in more depth.