Concepts

CI types, configuration items, plugins and connections — the four ideas everything is built from.

Concept	What it is
CI Type	A user-defined template with custom fields (“IT Service”, “Customer”)
Configuration Item	An instance of a CI Type (“Checkout Service”)
Plugin	A code-defined integration with one external system (GitHub, Stripe)
Connection	A CI + a plugin + its config and credentials

A plugin never copies a system’s data into the item; it reads it live when the item is viewed. The item is the place, the plugins are the windows.