# Orchestration Overview Bluebricks orchestration gives teams direct control over infrastructure workflows. You define reusable building blocks, target them at specific cloud accounts, and run governed deployment pipelines with plan/approve/apply cycles. {% hint style="info" %} **Looking for the conversational interface?** The Bluebricks agent can answer questions about your infrastructure, open PRs, and manage resources through natural conversation. See [Agent Overview](/docs/agent/agents-overview.md). {% endhint %} The orchestration platform and the agent share the same context layer, governance rules, and approval workflows. Teams can use either interface, or both, depending on what fits their workflow. ## How orchestration works Bluebricks organizes orchestration around three core concepts: **packages** define *what* you deploy, **collections** define *where* it goes, and **environments** define *how* it runs. ### Packages A package is a reusable unit of Infrastructure as Code (IaC). Instead of managing raw Terraform modules, Helm charts, or CloudFormation templates directly, you wrap them into packages that expose clear inputs, outputs, and metadata. There are two types of packages: * **Artifact**: a single IaC component (a Terraform module, a Helm chart, a Bicep template) with defined inputs, outputs, and metadata. Artifacts are building blocks you compose into blueprints * **Blueprint**: a deployable template made of one or more packages. A blueprint wires artifacts together, sets defaults and constants, and exposes only the inputs the deployer needs to provide Blueprints support Terraform/OpenTofu, Helm, CloudFormation, Bicep, and Generic artifact types, so you can mix IaC tools within a single blueprint. [Learn more about packages](/docs/orchestration/packages.md) ### Collections A collection is the deployment target. It groups a cloud account, access rules, shared configuration, and governance policies into one place. Every collection can include: * **Cloud account**: the AWS account, GCP project, Azure subscription, or on-premises target where resources are created * **Properties and secrets**: collection-scoped values (like `region`, `project_id`, or database credentials) that are automatically inherited by every package deployed to the collection * **RBAC**: member and owner roles that control who can create, approve, or execute environments in the collection * **Policies**: guardrails like Owner Approval, Cost Limits, and Allowed Blueprints that govern what runs and under which conditions Collections map to how your organization already works. For example, `dev-us-east-1`, `staging`, and `prod-eu-west-1`. [Learn more about collections](/docs/orchestration/collections.md) ### Environments An environment is the workflow that deploys a blueprint into a collection. It is where *what* (the blueprint) meets *where* (the collection) and produces real infrastructure. When you deploy an environment, Bluebricks evaluates the blueprint and all its child packages to produce a **unified plan** of changes. You can preview the plan, approve it, and apply or destroy the resources when they are no longer needed. Each execution creates a **run**. A run captures the plan, logs, state updates, and outputs in a single auditable record. Runs are fully versioned, so you can trace exactly how your infrastructure evolved and why. [Learn more about environments](/docs/orchestration/environments.md) ## What else is in this section * [**Orchestration Quick Start**](/docs/orchestration/orchestration-quick-start.md): Create your first collection, blueprint, and environment end to end * [**Runs**](/docs/orchestration/runs.md): Monitor execution, manage state, promote environments, and handle parallel workflows * [**Cloud Graph**](/docs/orchestration/cloud-graph.md): Visualize infrastructure across all collections, discover unmanaged resources, and codify them into blueprints * [**Workflows**](/docs/orchestration/bluebricks-git-repository-guide.md): Git repository structure, Bricks Action CI/CD, and webhook integrations --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://bluebricks.co/docs/orchestration/orchestration.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.