Self-hosted Retool glossary
Learn the meanings of self-hosted Retool-related terms.
Definitions of self-hosted-related terms. Refer to the main glossary for definitions of terms across Retool.
A
Artifact
A snapshot of an app at the time of release. Used when implementing multi-instance releases of protected apps.
B
Blueprint
A Retool-provided, fully supported installation path for self-hosted deployments. Blueprints provision all required infrastructure and deploy Retool via the official Helm chart. Available as Terraform Blueprints (production deployments) and Docker Compose Blueprints (non-production and development).
C
code-executor
A type of container that executes arbitrary user-written code for custom JavaScript or Python libraries in workflows
Configuration variables
Environment-specific values stored in the platform database that you can reference in Retool resource configurations, apps, workflows, and queries.
Container logs
The output logs generated by the containers for a self-hosted Retool instance. They contain information about errors and performance.
CORS
Cross-origin resource sharing (CORS) is a mechanism to safely bypass the same-origin policy; that is, it allows a web page to access restricted resources from a server on a domain different than the domain that served the web page.
Custom certificates
The ability to configure and manage your own SSL/TLS certificates for securing connections to self-hosted instances.
D
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E
Edge
A channel of weekly releases to self-hosted Retool.
Edge channel
Contains all edge releases that are available to users that self-host Retool. Edge releases are available if you want the latest features or to use beta functionality.
Environment variables
Configuration settings that control or override specific functions and behaviors of both cloud and self-hosted Retool instances. They are key-value pairs defined at the system or application level, enabling administrators to customize and secure their Retool instance without modifying application code. Environment variables are used to manage a wide range of operational, security, and integration aspects, such as authentication, encryption, resource connections, logging, and feature toggling.
F
Fully qualified domain name (FQDN)
A fully qualified domain name (FQDN), sometimes also called an absolute domain name, is a domain name that specifies its exact location in the tree hierarchy of the Domain Name System (DNS). It specifies all domain levels, including the top-level domain and the root zone. A fully qualified domain name is distinguished by its unambiguous DNS zone location in the hierarchy of DNS labels: it can be interpreted only in one way.
G
GiB
Gibibyte, a binary unit of memory equal to 2^30 (1,073,741,824) bytes. Kubernetes resource specs and Helm charts use GiB (Gi), not the decimal gigabyte (GB, 10^9 bytes) — the two differ by about 7%.
H
Hardened images
Container images for self-hosted Retool built on a minimal, tightly controlled base to improve supply-chain security and reduce the attack surface, as an alternative to classic images.
I
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J
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K
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L
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M
MiB
Mebibyte, a binary unit of memory equal to 2^20 (1,048,576) bytes. Kubernetes resource specs and Helm charts use MiB (Mi), not the decimal megabyte (MB, 10^6 bytes) — the two differ by about 5%.
Multi-instance releases
A feature of Source Control that makes use of release artifacts and manifests to manage app releases across instances using a remote repository.
N
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O
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P
Platform database
The underlying Postgres database that stores the state of the Retool application on a self-hosted instance. Stores information such as organization, user, and app data.
Q
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R
Release manifest
A file that contains a list of app UUIDs and the release that is made available for the instance. Used to manage multi-instance releases.
Retool API
A REST API that enables admins to programmatically manage their organization.
Retool CLI
A Node.js-based command line tool that enables users to interact programmatically with their Retool organization. It provides a set of commands for managing apps, databases, workflows, and other Retool resources directly from the terminal.
Retool Terraform Provider
A Provider in Retool Terraform that helps you configure Spaces, SSO, Source Control, permissions and other settings on self-hosted Retool instance or Retool Cloud organization using Retool Platform API. This Provider helps with configuration, not setup.
S
Sandboxing
A security mechanism to separate and execute untrusted code, such as JavaScript and Python code in workflows, without risking harm to the host system.
SCIM 2.0 API
A commonly used API used to manage users and group membership.
Secrets
Sensitive information such as database passwords, API keys, and other credentials. Can be managed using external secrets managers or with environment variables.
Self-hosted instance
An instance of Retool that is deployed on-premise or in a virtual private cloud (VPC). Can be either Retool-managed or self-managed.
Self-hosted, Retool-managed instance
A deployment offering in which a self-hosted instance is deployed by the customer and partially managed by Retool.
Self-hosted, self-managed instance
A deployment offering in which a self-hosted instance is deployed and entirely managed by the customer.
Service worker
A script that runs in the background of the user's browser, separate from the main page, and acts as a programmable network proxy. For instance, Retool uses a service worker to cache the application frontend and reduce page load times.
Services Layer
An infrastructure layer within a Retool-managed instance that is comprised of the services used by Retool, such as the EKS cluster and databases. Retool monitors the support layer 24/7, and performs maintenance and upgrades as needed.
Stable
A release of self-hosted Retool that occurs every 13 weeks.
Stable channel
Contains all stable releases that are available to users that self-host Retool. Stable releases occur every quarter and enable administrators to more easily maintain and upgrade deployments. Stable releases are a few releases behind the Edge channel and typically do not include beta functionality.
Support layer
An infrastructure layer within a Retool-managed instance that is comprised of the customer-managed core infrastructure and resources, such as the CloudFormation stack.
T
Telemetry
A feature available to instances using retool-helm that enables organizations to collect and forward operational and performance data.
Temporal
A distributed system used to schedule and run asyncronous tasks for workflows.
Temporal Cluster
A group of services to facilitate the execution of each workflow amongst a pool of self-hosted workers that make queries and execute code in your VPC.
Terraform
An infrastructure-as-code tool for managing deployment infrastructure.
Terraform Module
A set of example terraform modules for installing and configuring Retool.
U
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V
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W
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X
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Y
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Z
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