Core Concepts

This section explains how Blue Dots works underneath the product narrative. It is organised into three layers:

1. Concepts — the vocabulary and the two DPGs: Signals, Aggregators, Networks, Domains & Instances, and Items, Actions & Events.
2. Architecture — how the system is put together: High-Level Architecture, the Signals DPG and Aggregator DPG, the Data Model, and Identity & Auth.
3. Technical Documentation — implementation detail: the Schema-Driven Model, Read & Write Paths, and the Tech Stack.

The mental model in one paragraph

A Blue Dots deployment is network-aware. A network is a shared contract (for example blue_dot) defined by a schema. A domain is a role inside that network (for example student). An instance is one running deployment of the Signals API serving one or more domains. Inside an instance, every record is an item — a versioned, schema-typed object such as profile_1.0. Interactions between items are actions, and their structured results are events. The Aggregator DPG sits on top of this, helping organisations create items (signals) on behalf of the participants they onboard.

If you only remember one thing: the vocabulary is precise and is used identically in the product, the docs and the code. Learning it once pays off everywhere.

Explore the concepts

Signals (Blue Dots)What a signal is, the Signals DPG, and how signals flow through the network.

AggregatorsOrganisations that onboard participants and bulk-create their signals.

Networks, Domains & InstancesThe shared contract, the roles inside it, and the deployments that serve them.

Items, Actions & EventsVersioned schema-typed records, interactions between them, and their structured results.

GlossaryPrecise definitions of the Blue Dots vocabulary, used identically in product, docs and code.