Glossary

Terms as they are used in merobox and throughout these docs. Only vocabulary that appears in the current codebase is listed; for the Calimero protocol concepts these build on (context, group, namespace, CRDT), see the Calimero Core docs.

Term	Definition
assert / assert_log (step)	Workflow steps that validate results. assert checks statements (e.g. is_set(...), contains(...), equality); assert_log_present / assert_log_absent check node log output. A failed assertion fails the workflow unless marked non_blocking.
AuthManager	Component (commands/auth.py) that handles JWT authentication against merod endpoints — user/password or API key — used by NodeResolver when a node requires auth.
auth service	Docker-mode feature that puts a Traefik proxy and the Calimero auth stack in front of nodes, enabled with --auth-service or auth_service: true. Binary mode uses merod’s embedded auth instead (--auth-mode embedded).
BaseStep	Abstract base class (commands/bootstrap/steps/base.py) for every workflow step. Defines the async execute() method and field-validation helpers; each step type subclasses it.
BinaryManager	Node backend (commands/binary_manager.py) that runs merod as native processes instead of Docker containers. Tracks processes with PID files and stops them with signals. Selected with --no-docker.
bootstrap	The CLI command group for workflows: merobox bootstrap run <file> executes a workflow and merobox bootstrap validate <file> checks it without running. (Also, in Calimero, the peer-discovery phase — see apply_bootstrap_nodes.)
call (step)	Workflow step that invokes a method on an application within a context over JSON-RPC, with optional args, executor_public_key, and outputs.
calimero-client-py	External Python library that provides the JSON-RPC client for merod. Steps use it to install apps, create contexts, call methods, and query state.
Click	The Python CLI framework merobox is built on. merobox/cli.py defines the command group; each command lives under commands/.
cluster()	Testing context manager (merobox/testing.py) that starts N nodes, yields their endpoints, and tears them down — used as a pytest fixture. Returns a ClusterEnv.
ClusterEnv	TypedDict returned by cluster(): nodes (names), endpoints (name→URL map), and manager (the DockerManager).
config.toml	The TOML configuration file for a merod node. merobox generates/edits it per node via commands/config_utils.py helpers (apply_bootstrap_nodes, apply_e2e_defaults, apply_mdns_setting).
context	A Calimero context — a running instance of a WASM application with its own state. In a workflow the create_context step creates one; later steps reference it by context_id.
DockerManager	The default node backend (commands/manager.py). Uses the Docker SDK to pull images and manage the container lifecycle, networking, and (with the auth service) the Traefik stack.
fixture	A pytest fixture backed by merobox’s testing helpers — cluster(), workflow(), nodes(), or run_workflow() — that provides running nodes to a test and cleans up afterward.
fuzzy_test (step)	Long-duration randomized load test that runs weighted operation patterns across nodes for a set duration and reports pass rates. Supports random generators like {{uuid}} and {{random_int(min, max)}}.
group	A Calimero governance boundary. merobox exposes group operations both as a CLI command (merobox group) and as workflow steps (create/invite/join/upgrade, membership and capability management).
health	CLI command (merobox health) that reports node status.
JSON-RPC	The protocol merobox uses to talk to merod. calimero-client-py sends JSON-RPC requests to node endpoints for method execution and state queries.
JWT	JSON Web Token. Used by AuthManager to authenticate with nodes that run behind the auth service or in embedded-auth mode.
MeroboxError	Root exception class (commands/errors.py). Subclasses include NodeResolutionError, AuthenticationError, WorkflowError (with StepValidationError, StepExecutionError), ValidationError, ClientError (with MeroboxTimeoutError), and ConfigurationError.
merod	The Calimero node daemon binary. merobox runs merod instances as Docker containers (DockerManager) or native processes (BinaryManager).
namespace	A Calimero root group. merobox exposes namespace operations as a CLI command (merobox namespace) and as workflow steps.
node	A single merod instance a workflow acts on, referenced by name (e.g. calimero-node-1). Declared in a workflow’s nodes: section or started ad hoc with merobox run.
NodeResolver	Component (commands/node_resolver.py) that maps a node reference to a URL and handles auth. Resolution order: registered remote → direct URL → Docker container → binary process.
nuke	Destroys merobox-managed state: stops/removes containers, kills binary processes, and clears data. Available as the merobox nuke command and as the nuke_on_start / nuke_on_end workflow options.
ok() / fail()	Result helpers (commands/result.py) that return the standard success/error dictionary shape ({"success": ...}) used by steps and commands. There is no separate result class.
parallel (step)	Control-flow step that runs several sub-step groups concurrently.
PID file	File holding a process ID, written by BinaryManager when it spawns a merod process, used for tracking and cleanup.
placeholder	A {{...}} template reference resolved at step time: {{name}} for a value captured in a prior step’s outputs:, and random generators inside fuzzy_test. Environment variables use ${VAR}, expanded at load time.
remote node	A pre-existing merod node (not started by merobox) that a workflow targets by registering it via RemoteNodeManager and the merobox remote command.
RemoteNodeManager	Component (commands/remote_nodes.py) that maintains the registry of remote nodes and their auth, consulted first by NodeResolver.
repeat (step)	Control-flow step that loops a sequence of sub-steps a set number of times, exposing an iteration variable to the child steps.
RetryConfig / @with_retry	Retry primitives (commands/retry.py): RetryConfig holds retry settings (max attempts, delay, exponential backoff) and @with_retry wraps async network calls with them. NETWORK_RETRY_CONFIG is the shared preset.
scenario	An informal name for a workflow YAML file — a declarative description of nodes and steps that merobox executes end to end.
script (step)	Step that runs a shell command or script, optionally targeting the host image or the nodes.
step	The atomic unit of work in a workflow. Each step has a type, an optional name, an optional outputs: map, and type-specific fields. There are nearly 100 step types.
Traefik	Reverse proxy that DockerManager deploys alongside the containers when the auth service is enabled, routing requests to nodes and applying the auth middleware.
wait / wait_for_sync (step)	wait pauses for a fixed duration; wait_for_sync polls nodes until they report a synchronized state for a context.
workflow	A YAML file declaring nodes: and an ordered list of steps:, executed by WorkflowExecutor from setup through teardown.
workflow()	Testing context manager (merobox/testing.py) that runs a workflow YAML and yields a WorkflowEnv for use in a pytest test.
WorkflowEnv	TypedDict returned by workflow(): node names, endpoints, the manager, the boolean workflow_result, and captured dynamic_values.
WorkflowExecutor	The orchestration engine (commands/bootstrap/run/executor.py). Parses the YAML, manages node startup and cleanup, dispatches steps by type, and maintains workflow_results.
workflow_results	The dictionary WorkflowExecutor maintains across a run, accumulating step outputs so later steps can resolve {{...}} placeholders against them.

See the system overview for how these fit together, the YAML reference for the full step catalog, and the CLI reference for every command.