> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.paradime.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# How Paradime works

> The mental model behind Paradime: workspaces, the apps inside the platform, and the Admin, Developer, and Business roles that control what each user can do.

Paradime is a single platform where your team develops, ships, and observes data pipelines built on dbt™. This page gives you the mental model: what a workspace is, which apps live inside it, and who can do what.

## The workspace

Everything in Paradime happens inside a **workspace**. A workspace bundles:

* One **dbt™ project**, connected through your **git repository**.
* Your **data warehouse connections**, split into development and production [environments](/guides/foundations/environments-and-connections).
* Your **team**, each person with a role that gates what they can see and do.

Most teams run one workspace per dbt™ project. Larger organizations run several and connect them with [data mesh](/guides/data-mesh-setup/configure-project-dependencies).

## The apps

Inside a workspace, you move between apps from the navigation bar. Each app has a job:

| App                   | What it's for                                                             |
| --------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Home**              | Your landing page and global search across the workspace.                 |
| **Editor** (Code IDE) | Write and run dbt™ models, explore your schema, and manage git.           |
| **Bolt**              | Schedule and orchestrate production runs, CI/CD, and alerts.              |
| **Agent**             | Run DinoAI autonomous agents that work on your project in the background. |
| **Radar**             | Monitor warehouse cost, dbt™ run health, and team efficiency.             |
| **Catalog**           | Search and understand your documented data assets.                        |
| **Lineage**           | Trace how data flows from sources to models to dashboards.                |
| **Settings**          | Administer connections, git, users, and workspace configuration.          |

You don't need all of them on day one. Developers live in the Editor and Bolt; data consumers mostly use Catalog, Lineage, and Radar; admins configure everything from Settings.

## The roles

Access is controlled by three roles:

* **Admin**: full control, including workspace settings, connections, billing, and user management.
* **Developer**: full development access to the Editor, Bolt, and the AI tools, but not workspace administration.
* **Business**: read-only access to production lineage, Catalog, Bolt logs, and Radar metrics.

See [roles and permissions](/products/settings/users/roles-and-permissions) for the full matrix.

## Where to go next

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Environments and connections" href="/guides/foundations/environments-and-connections" icon="database">
    How the workspace talks to your warehouse.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Quickstart by role" href="/start-here/quickstart/index" icon="rocket">
    Jump into the setup path for your role.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>


## Related topics

- [For read-only users](/start-here/quickstart/for-read-only-users.md)
- [Foundations](/guides/foundations/index.md)
- [Getting Started with your Paradime Workspace](/guides/paradime-101/getting-started-with-your-paradime-workspace/index.md)
- [Workspaces and data mesh](/guides/paradime-fundamentals/workspaces-and-data-mesh.md)
- [DinoAI Bolt Pipeline Agent Self-Healing](/products/dino-ai/bolt-pipeline-agent/self-healing.md)