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Spaces and Threads

Threads are the durable record of work. Spaces are the workrooms that shape those threads. When a chat message, email, schedule, webhook, or integration event creates work, the thread records what happened and the Space explains the context it happened in.

This separation keeps the system understandable. The thread is the trace. The Space is the local context, access boundary, channel, and policy that shaped the trace.

Some Threads are promoted into Goals. A Goal does not replace the Thread. It adds an outcome contract for workflow execution: owner, Delegate or Collaborate mode, progress model, completion rule, review policy, and a portable Goal folder.

For user-facing guidance on choosing a Space, reading the Goal panel, and using review actions, see Work in a Space.

What the thread gets from the Space

Section titled “What the thread gets from the Space”

A Space can affect a thread’s:

  • Workspace context.
  • Participant access.
  • Knowledge and memory scope.
  • Trigger or channel metadata.
  • Tool availability.
  • Runtime policy.

Historical records may still expose an agent id. In the current managed model, that id is the tenant platform agent. The Space is the useful boundary for explaining why the turn had local behavior.

Work entry examples

Section titled “Work entry examples”
SourceThread shape
Mobile chatA user starts or resumes a Space-scoped chat thread
EmailEmail from a registered tenant user to space-slug@tenant-slug.thinkwork.ai creates or reopens an email thread when enabled
ScheduleA Space schedule wakes an automation thread in that Space
WebhookAn external event creates or wakes a thread in the configured Space
IntegrationA provider event routes into the Space selected by integration rules

When a Thread becomes a Goal

Section titled “When a Thread becomes a Goal”

Most Threads can stay conversational. Promote the Thread into a Goal when the work needs an accountable outcome, visible progress, or explicit review.

Keep it as a ThreadPromote it into a Goal
A question, draft, investigation, or quick coordination threadA repeated workflow such as customer onboarding, renewal preparation, finance review, or incident follow-up
The next step is conversationalThe next step is task progress, handoff, approval, or completion review
Completion is obvious from the conversationCompletion needs a rule and often a named reviewer
The output is mostly a responseThe output is a stateful folder with progress, decisions, artifacts, and handoffs

Customer Onboarding is the reference pattern. The Space owns the onboarding template, the Thread carries the conversation and audit trail, and the Goal records what must be complete before the work can close.

Audit value

Section titled “Audit value”

When an operator audits a thread, the Space tells them where the work belonged. That makes it easier to answer:

  • Which workspace context was available?
  • Which people should have had access?
  • Which trigger or channel started the work?
  • Which knowledge and tools were available?
  • Which local policy applied?
  • Was there a Goal, and if so what outcome, owner, mode, completion rule, and review policy applied?
Section titled “Related pages”