For how these pieces connect, with the full hierarchy in one place, see the data model.
The glossary
container
The top-level container for one set of campaign rules: all the fields, picklists, and taxonomies for an account or a brand. You author it, then publish revisions of it. See governance models.
building block
One named piece of data you capture or generate, like
campaign_name, utm_source, or a computed tagged_url. A field is defined once in the governance model and can be reused by many taxonomies. Each field has one of 13 types that decides how its value is entered or derived:- User-entered: Text, URL, Date, and Dropdown. A person types or picks the value.
- Computed: Concatenation, Tagged URL, Autofill, Auto Number, Random, Constant, Terminus ID, and QR Code. The value is derived from other fields or generated, and recomputes when its sources change.
- Short URL: builds a branded short link. Depending on the field’s settings, its slug is generated for you, generated and editable, or typed in by the submitter.
option source
A reusable list of allowed values that backs a dropdown field. Picklists are closed lists: submitters pick from the published options and cannot add their own. A picklist is static (you maintain the options, optionally with a parent picklist so dropdowns cascade) or automated (options come live from another taxonomy’s approved records; requires the Business plan or higher). See picklists and picklist structures.
form shape
An ordered selection of fields inside a governance model. A taxonomy is the form people fill in, and it is what you connect to a workspace. It references fields rather than owning them, and can tune each one (for example, make it required or narrow its options) without changing the field itself. See taxonomies.
scope
A scoped environment where a team collects data. You attach one or more taxonomies to a workspace and control who can submit to it. See workspaces.
draft batch
A batch of one or more draft rows entered against a taxonomy in a workspace. A submission can be saved as a draft, sent for review, or approved. See submissions.
approved row
One approved row of campaign data, created by approving a submission. Records are validated and read-only; to change or remove one, you approve a new submission seeded from it. Each record has a stable Terminus ID,
trm0 followed by lowercase letters and digits (for example trm0abc123def456ghi7), that never changes. See records and work with records.output
A branded short link generated from a record’s destination URL, for example
ter.link/aB3xZ. Each click is counted and attributed to the record. See the short URL field.output
A QR code generated from a record’s link or another field. A scan is counted just like a click and reported separately from link traffic. See the QR code field.
One more: the revision
A revision is an immutable published snapshot of a governance model. Submission forms and validation always run against the latest published revision, never the live editor, so edits you are still making to the model do not reach anyone until you publish. When you publish, submissions that are not yet approved pick up the new revision the next time they are opened or saved. An approved record keeps the revision it was approved under. See publishing a revision.Choose your path
Building governance models
Start with the tutorial, then dig into the field reference or grab a recipe.
Submitting data
Learn fill modes and how submissions move to approval.
Integrating via the API
See the API reference and authentication.
Related
Quickstart
Go from sign-up to your first short URL.
Data model
See how all of these concepts fit together.