Core concepts
A few terms recur throughout these docs. This page defines them so the rest makes sense.
Providers
A provider is the identity and source your session uses. Cardscape supports three:
- Trello — you sign in through the Trello Power-Up.
- Jira — you sign in through the Jira Cloud app.
- Native Cardscape — you sign in with an email and password directly in the web app.
Your provider shapes what your workspaces and cards look like. See Trello, Jira, and Native accounts. You can also link accounts to reach more than one world in a single session.
Workspaces and boards
A workspace is the top-level container, and a board is a grouping inside it. What they map to depends on your provider:
- Trello — a workspace is an org, and a board is a Trello board.
- Jira — a site is a workspace, and a project is a board.
- Native — a workspace has no boards; canvases live directly at the workspace level.
Canvases
A canvas is an infinite board — your drawing surface. Every canvas belongs to a workspace, and optionally to a board or a specific card. Canvases are where everything else comes together. See Canvases overview.
Inside Trello, canvases are labelled "Scenes" — it's the same thing. See Trello.
Canvas scopes
Every canvas is filed at one of three scopes, set when it's created. The scope decides which workspace, board, or card the canvas is organized under — and therefore where you reach it. The model is the same across providers; only the names change:
| Scope | Trello | Jira | Native |
|---|---|---|---|
| Workspace | the organization | the site | the workspace |
| Board | a board | a project | — (no boards) |
| Card | a card | an issue | — (no cards) |
- A workspace-scoped canvas isn't tied to a board — it spans the whole workspace. It's most visible in the standalone app and the workspace switcher.
- A board-scoped canvas belongs to one board (a Trello board or Jira project). Each board gets a default canvas the first time you open Cardscape on it, and you can add more.
- A card-scoped canvas is attached to a single card (a Trello card or Jira issue) — always within its board.
- Native workspaces have no boards or cards, so their canvases live at the workspace scope only.
The board or card a canvas is filed under organizes it — it does not decide who can open it. Access is governed entirely by workspace membership (see Access below). Anyone who can reach the workspace can reach all of its canvases, whatever board or card they're filed under.
Cards
A card is a live tracker card (a Trello card or Jira issue) that you place onto a canvas. It stays connected to the source, so it reflects the current state and you can act on it without leaving the canvas. See Placing cards and Card details. You can also attach a card to any element as context.
Documents and comments
- Documents are markdown or MDX pages attached to a canvas — notes, specs, or living docs. They can even sync two-way with a GitHub repository. See Documents, MDX documents, and GitHub sync.
- Comments are threaded discussions pinned to a point on the canvas or to a document. See Comments.
The AI agent
The AI agent is a built-in assistant you chat with per canvas. It answers questions and draws on the canvas itself. See The AI agent, its tools, team chats, and settings.
Access
You can reach a workspace only if you're a member of it:
- Trello — direct org membership, or guest access through a board in that org.
- Jira — membership of the site.
- Native — membership of the Cardscape workspace.
Access is checked on every action — opening a canvas, reading a card, joining the live session — so you always see exactly what you're entitled to and nothing more.
AI agents can act on your behalf through the Model Context Protocol using personal tokens. See the MCP overview.