# Glossary

#### Environment

Represents the current configuration and status of any running services in the [project](#project), which may be inspected and modified via the Garden CLI's `environment` command.

Several named environment configurations may be defined (e.g. *dev*, *testing*, ...) in the [project's `garden.yml`](https://docs.garden.io/acorn-0.12/using-garden/projects).

#### Module

The unit of building in Garden. A module is defined by its [`garden.yml` configuration file](https://docs.garden.io/acorn-0.12/using-garden/configuration-overview), located in the module's top-level directory.

Each module has a plugin type, and may define one or more [services](#service).

Essentially, a project is organized into modules at the granularity of its *build* steps. A module's build step may depend on one or more other modules having already been built, as specified in its `garden.yml`, in which case those modules will be built first, and their build output made available to the requiring module's build step.

#### Project

The top-level unit of organization in Garden. A project consists of one or more [modules](#module), along with a project-level [`garden.yml` configuration file](https://docs.garden.io/acorn-0.12/reference/project-config).

Garden CLI commands are run in the context of a project, and are aware of all its configuration, modules and services.

#### Provider

An implementation of a plugin type (e.g. `local-kubernetes` for the `container` plugin).

Whenever "a module's type" is mentioned in the documentation, what's meant is "which provider will handle this module?" Providers are responsible for implementing a module type's behaviors—e.g. how to build, deploy or test the module. Providers need to be specified for all the module types used in the project.

For example, both the `local-kubernetes` and `kubernetes` providers (`kubernetes` is the provider for remote Kubernetes) implement the `container` module type, but they handle deployments differently. `local-kubernetes` deploys to a local cluster, where `kubernetes` deploys to a remote cluster.

For a comprehensive list of providers available in Garden, check out the [References](https://github.com/garden-io/garden/blob/latest-release-0.12/docs/reference/README.md)

#### Service

The unit of deployment in Garden. Services are defined in their parent [module](#module)'s `garden.yml`, each exposing [one or more ingress endpoints](https://docs.garden.io/acorn-0.12/module-types/container#servicesingresses).

Services may depend on services defined in other modules, in which case those services will be deployed first, and their deployment output made available to the requiring service's deploy step.


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