Glossary: Agora's technical words, explained simply

In short. Here are the technical words you will meet in the documentation and in Agora, grouped by topic, each in a sentence or two. You do not need to remember them all: search the page (Ctrl+F) when you meet a word you do not know.

Agora and its parts #

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• Agora: the name of the product. It has two sides: the Hub, which you install yourself, and the agorapanel.com website, run by us, where you buy, manage your license and download your install files.
• Hub: your own Agora site. It runs on your machine or at your host and brings together the forum, the MDT, applications, donations, the live map and your game server's console. It is the official word in this documentation: "the Hub" always means your site, never agorapanel.com. See Discover Agora.
• My account (on agorapanel.com): your personal area on Agora's website: your licenses, purchases, install files and support. Not to be confused with My account inside the Hub, which shows your character and your account security. See Buy a license.
• License server: Agora's service (lic1.agorapanel.com and lic2.agorapanel.com) that your Hub contacts to validate your key and download updates. In a panel's variables it carries the misleading name "Hub de licences": it is not your Hub, leave it alone.
• Bootstrap (boot.mjs): the small program supplied at install time. On the first start, it downloads Agora against your key, checks that the download is properly signed, prepares the database and launches the Hub. That is why the installation itself is so light.
• Getting-started screen: the screen that opens on its own on the first visit to your Hub: license key, Discord application, then your account becomes administrator. See First start and getting started.
• agora FiveM resource: the extension you drop on your game server. It opens the tablet and tells the Hub who is online. See Install the agora FiveM resource.
• Tablet: the Hub opened inside the game (the /agora command or the F2 key by default), already signed in with the loaded character. See Use the in-game tablet.
• MDT: the on-board computer of the departments (police, EMS, justice…): citizen records, warrants, arrests, reports. See Configure the MDT.
• Dispatch: the queue of 911 calls and on-duty units. See Dispatch and 911 calls.

Where Agora runs: machines, Docker and panels #

• Machine: the computer the Hub runs on. Not to be confused with the game server (your FiveM server), even though both can sit on the same machine.
• VPS: a "virtual private server", a Linux machine rented from a host, which you administer yourself.
• NAS: a network storage box (Synology, Asustor…). Those that can run Docker can host Agora.
• Docker: a tool that runs a program inside an isolated "box", identical everywhere. See Install with Docker.
• Container and image: the container is the box that runs; the image is the template it is created from. Agora only uses ordinary public images: the application itself is downloaded at startup.
• Docker Compose: the Docker extension that reads a file (compose.yml) describing several containers, for example Agora and its database, and starts them together. You need version 2, whose command is written docker compose with a space.
• Volume: a folder managed by Docker where data survives restarts and updates. Agora uses three: agora_db, agora_app and agora_data.
• Panel (hosting panel): the website a game host provides to manage your servers with clicks: start, stop, console, files, settings. Agora works with Pterodactyl and Pelican, two free panels of the same family that look alike but whose egg files are not interchangeable.
• Egg: a file you import into a panel that tells it how to install and start a type of server. The Agora egg comes in two versions, one for Pterodactyl and one for Pelican: take the one for your panel. See Install on Pelican.
• Nest: in Pterodactyl, the folder where eggs are filed. Pelican has none: its eggs are in an Eggs menu.
• Node: the machine that actually runs a panel's servers. The panel is only the remote control.
• Wings: the program installed on each node that carries out the panel's orders. Agora requires no change to Wings.
• Allocation: the IP address and port a panel reserves for a server. To open a Hub hosted on a panel, you type this address in your browser. See Install on Pterodactyl.
• Host Node.js server: a "Node.js" server sold by an ordinary game host. You drop a single file on it, agora.mjs, and Agora installs the rest.
• Node.js: the engine that runs JavaScript programs, Agora included. It comes with the image or the server: you do not install it yourself.

Connecting to a machine and dropping files #

• Terminal (command line): a window where you type commands. On Windows open PowerShell or Terminal; on macOS, Terminal.
• SSH: a secure connection to the terminal of a remote machine, for example ssh root@ADDRESS. Your host gives you the address and the username. On Windows 10 and 11, the ssh command is already available in PowerShell.
• root and sudo: root is the all-powerful administrator account of a Linux machine; sudo is the prefix that runs a command with its rights. The Docker install script asks for one or the other.
• SFTP: secure file transfer to a machine, with a program such as FileZilla or WinSCP. Agora can use it to drop the FiveM resource.
• File manager: the file explorer a panel offers in the browser, with nothing to install.

The network: address, port, HTTPS #

• IP address: the number that identifies a machine on a network. A public address can be reached from the Internet; a local one (often 192.168.… or 10.…) only works at your place.
• Port: a "door" number on an IP address, written after a colon: IP:3000. With Docker, Agora listens on port 3000 by default.
• Firewall: the filter that allows or blocks ports. "Opening a port" means letting visitors in through it.
• HTTP and HTTPS: HTTPS is the encrypted version (the padlock in the browser), HTTP the unencrypted one. Agora starts on http://IP:PORT; switch to HTTPS as soon as the server leaves testing.
• Domain name: a readable address such as forum.myserver.com. It is optional: an IP address and a port are enough to start.
• Reverse proxy: a program (Caddy, Nginx, Cloudflare tunnel) placed in front of Agora, which receives visitors over HTTPS on your domain and passes them to the Hub. See Behind a proxy.

Databases #

• Database: the digital binder where a program keeps its information durably.
• PostgreSQL: the type of database the Hub uses. Agora provides it and manages it by itself. See The two Agora databases.
• MySQL and MariaDB: the type of database ESX, QBCore and Qbox use. MariaDB is a compatible variant of MySQL; Agora can read both.
• Hub database and game database: the two databases of your installation. The first is Agora's notebook, the second belongs to your game server. See The two Agora databases.
• SQL: the language of databases. You never write any for the Hub; for the game database, a short command to copy and paste creates a dedicated user. See Connect the game server database.
• Table: a sheet inside a database (characters, vehicles…). The tables Agora adds to the game database start with agora_.
• Migration: an update of the Hub database's structure, applied automatically by Agora at each update. A migration cannot be undone, which is why Agora backs up the database first.
• Backup (dump): a copy of the database in a file, often .sql. See Backups and restore.
• Connection URL: a database's "all-in-one" address, shaped like postgresql://user:password@host:5432/database. Only advanced users who bring their own database need it.<!-- À CONFIRMER : œuf tout-en-un (claude/pg-integre) -->

Settings: variables, secrets, keys #

• Environment variable: a setting passed to a program at startup, with an upper-case name (AGORA_KEY). In a panel they are edited in the server's Startup tab; with Docker, in the .env file; on a Node.js server, in agora.env. See Environment variables.
• .env file: a text file, one variable per line. It holds your license key: keep it private.
• agora.env: the equivalent of the .env file on a host Node.js server, placed next to agora.mjs.
• Secret: a confidential value, like a password. Never share it.
• Token: a secret generated by a service so that a program can identify itself, for example the Discord bot token.
• API key: a token created in your panel so that other programs can drive it. Agora uses one to show the server console and drop the resource. See Console, panel and database explorer.

FiveM and your game server #

• Game server: your FiveM server, the one players connect to.
• txAdmin: the management tool shipped with FiveM (restart, see players, sanction). Agora shows it in Server → txAdmin. See txAdmin in Agora.
• Framework: the roleplay base of your server, which handles characters, money and jobs: ESX, QBCore or Qbox. Agora reads its data. See Supported frameworks.
• Resource (FiveM): an extension of your game server: a folder under resources/, enabled by an ensure name line in server.cfg.
• server.cfg: your game server's configuration file. Agora offers an editor in Server → .cfg editor. See Edit server.cfg and permissions.
• OneSync: the FiveM mode that handles many players and lets the server know their positions. ESX Legacy, recent QBCore and Qbox already require it; the live map uses it.
• ACE: FiveM's permission system: an add_ace line gives a right to a group, an add_principal line puts a player or a group inside another group.
• FiveM license and Cfx.re key: three "keys" exist and must not be mixed up. A player's FiveM license is their unique identifier (license:…): it is what links their game. The server key (sv_licenseKey) identifies your server at Cfx.re, the publisher of FiveM. The Agora license key (AGORA-…) is the one from your purchase or trial.

Discord #

• Discord application: what you create in Discord's developer portal. It lets your members sign in with Discord and can carry the bot. See Connect Discord.
• OAuth: the standard way of "signing in with Discord": Discord tells Agora who you are, without a password. Agora only asks for your identity and your email.
• Redirect URL: the address Discord sends the member back to after sign-in. It must be declared at Discord character for character.
• Client ID and Client Secret: your application's public identifier ("Application ID" in the portal) and its secret ("Reset Secret").
• Bot: your application's automated account. It gives your groups' Discord roles and sends private messages. It is optional. See Create and set up your Discord bot.
• Intent (Server Members Intent): a switch to turn on in the portal so that the bot may see the server's member list. It is required for role synchronization.
• Discord server (guild) and its ID: "guild" is the technical name of a Discord server. Its ID is a long number you copy with Discord's developer mode turned on.
• Webhook: a secret address that lets a program post a message in a Discord channel. See Outgoing webhooks.
• 2FA (two-factor authentication): a check on top of the password, for example a code on your phone. See Require two-factor authentication for staff.

The license #

• License key: the AGORA-XXXX-… code that identifies your purchase or trial. Agora reads it from the first start. See Activate or change your license key.
• Trial: the free 14-day key, at the Basic tier. See The 14-day free trial.
• Tier (Basic, Pro): your license level. Basic opens the MDT and the roleplay tools; Pro adds the panel, the console, the database explorer and the beta channel. The forum always stays free. See The Basic and Pro tiers.
• Seat: the place an installation takes on a key. A key has a single seat: one installation at a time. See Free a license seat.
• Lease: the signed authorization, valid for several days, that the license server hands to your installation. It lets you run without permanent contact. See Without access to the license server.
• Grace period and locked: the two states that follow the end of a license. During grace, everything still works; once locked, only the forum stays open. See Understanding your license state.
• Signed token: a signed text that support can hand you so that a server cut off from the network for a long time keeps its license.
• Signature and fingerprint: the signature proves a file really comes from Agora; the fingerprint is a short summary of the file, which lets you check it has not been altered. Agora checks both before installing anything.
• Channel (stable or beta): the stream of updates you follow. The beta channel, reserved for the Pro tier, gives test versions.
• One-click update: the button in Administration → Agora that backs up, downloads, checks, updates and restarts. See One-click updates.

Go further #

• Your first day with Agora puts the steps in order.
• The two Agora databases explains what each database holds.