---
title: "Concepts"
description: "The model shared by the local runtime, the SDK, and the cloud."
canonical: "https://smolmachines.com/docs/introduction/concepts"
source: "https://github.com/smol-machines/docs/blob/main/introduction/concepts.md"
---

# Concepts

These pages describe the model shared by local smolvm workflows, the `smolmachines` SDK, and smol cloud.

## Core concepts

<div class="doc-cards">
	<a class="doc-card" href="/docs/introduction/concepts/machines-and-lifecycle">
		<span class="doc-card-title">Machines and Lifecycle</span>
		<span class="doc-card-desc">Ephemeral runs, persistent machines, and lifecycle operations.</span>
	</a>
	<a class="doc-card" href="/docs/introduction/concepts/isolation-networking-credentials">
		<span class="doc-card-title">Isolation, Networking, and Credentials</span>
		<span class="doc-card-desc">The VM boundary, explicit host access, egress policy, and secret handling.</span>
	</a>
	<a class="doc-card" href="/docs/introduction/concepts/persistent-state-volumes-resources">
		<span class="doc-card-title">Persistent State, Volumes, and Resources</span>
		<span class="doc-card-desc">Machine disks, host mounts, CPU, memory, and storage.</span>
	</a>
	<a class="doc-card" href="/docs/introduction/concepts/packs-and-smolmachine">
		<span class="doc-card-title">Packs and .smolmachine</span>
		<span class="doc-card-desc">Portable disk-based environments and compatible hosts.</span>
	</a>
	<a class="doc-card" href="/docs/introduction/concepts/smolfile">
		<span class="doc-card-title">Smolfile</span>
		<span class="doc-card-desc">Declarative local machine configuration.</span>
	</a>
	<a class="doc-card" href="/docs/introduction/concepts/forks-and-snapshots">
		<span class="doc-card-title">Branches and Checkpoints</span>
		<span class="doc-card-desc">Live copy-on-write clones, packs, and the current checkpoint boundary.</span>
	</a>
	<a class="doc-card" href="/docs/introduction/concepts/gpu">
		<span class="doc-card-title">GPU</span>
		<span class="doc-card-desc">Vulkan graphics and CUDA API remoting.</span>
	</a>
	<a class="doc-card" href="/docs/introduction/concepts/supported-platforms">
		<span class="doc-card-title">Supported Platforms</span>
		<span class="doc-card-desc">Supported hosts, guest architecture, Windows, WSL, and current limitations.</span>
	</a>
</div>