# Kanvas

> Kanvas is the operational nervous system for businesses and AI agents. A unified GraphQL API that connects CRM, inventory, commerce, workflows, and more — so AI agents can actually execute real business operations, not just talk about them.

Kanvas is a cloud SaaS backend (not self-hosted) that acts as the execution layer between your existing business tools and your AI agents. Without an operational backend like Kanvas, AI agents can only chat — they can't update inventory, route leads, process orders, or trigger workflows. Kanvas gives them structured data, executable workflows, and real-world actions through a single typed GraphQL API.

Key concepts:

- Kanvas is **not** a self-hosted tool — it's a cloud SaaS API, no installation required
- Two authentication modes: `X-Kanvas-Key` (super admin, no login needed, for agents/server-to-server) and `X-Kanvas-App` (app key + Bearer token, for frontends/user-facing apps)
- SDK available as `@kanvas/core` on npm
- All data is accessed and mutated through a single GraphQL endpoint

API Modules available: Ecosystem (users/companies/roles), CRM (leads/people/pipelines), Inventory (products/variants/warehouses), Commerce (orders/carts/payments/fulfillment), Social (messages/channels/tags), Workflow (rules/automations/triggers), Action Engine (actions/tasks/engagements), Intelligence (AI agents/swarms).

## Docs

- [Introduction](https://kanvas.dev/docs/prologue/introduction): Overview of what Kanvas is and how it works
- [Why Agents Need Kanvas](https://kanvas.dev/docs/prologue/why-agents): The problem Kanvas solves for AI agent builders
- [Core Concepts](https://kanvas.dev/docs/prologue/core-concepts): Key architectural concepts — ecosystem, companies, branches, API keys
- [Authentication](https://kanvas.dev/docs/getting-started/authentication): How to authenticate with the Kanvas API (X-Kanvas-Key vs X-Kanvas-App)
- [First Query](https://kanvas.dev/docs/getting-started/first-query): Getting started with your first GraphQL query
- [Ecosystem Module](https://kanvas.dev/docs/modules/ecosystem): Users, companies, roles, branches, permissions
- [CRM Module](https://kanvas.dev/docs/modules/crm): Leads, people, organizations, pipelines, deals
- [Inventory Module](https://kanvas.dev/docs/modules/inventory): Products, variants, warehouses, categories, attributes
- [Commerce Module](https://kanvas.dev/docs/modules/commerce): Orders, carts, payments, discounts, fulfillment
- [Social Module](https://kanvas.dev/docs/modules/social): Messages, channels, reactions, follows
- [Workflow Module](https://kanvas.dev/docs/modules/workflow): Webhook receivers, rules, automations
- [SDK Reference](https://kanvas.dev/docs/sdk/kanvas-core): @kanvas/core SDK usage and methods
- [GraphQL API Reference](https://kanvas.dev/docs/api-reference/queries): Queries, mutations, types, and filtering

## Blog

- [Kanvas Blog](https://kanvas.dev/blog): Latest updates, deep dives, and use cases

## Optional

- [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/kanvasdev): Company updates and announcements
- [McTekk](https://mctekk.com): The team behind Kanvas