---
title: Decisions
description: >-
  Close-cousin concepts, side by side — pick the right surface, work unit, and
  organizational container for the task in front of you.
tags:
  - orientation
  - concepts
---

Several platform concepts sit close enough to blur. This page puts each pair side by side so you can choose without guessing. If you are still learning the vocabulary, read [Concept clusters](/docs/concept-clusters) first.

## Chat vs. Studio vs. CLI

All three reach the same backend and share one job history. Choose by how you want to drive the work.

| | Chat | Studio | CLI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Driven by | Conversation | Files and forms | Commands and scripts |
| Tool selection | Orchestrator picks and chains | You choose per job | You specify per command |
| Best for | Exploration, one-off jobs, 3D viewing | Project organization, parameter control, multi-window layouts | Batch runs, CI/CD, reproducible pipelines |
| Start here | [Chat](/docs/chat) | [Studio](/docs/studio) | [CLI](/docs/cli) |

## Tool vs. Workflow vs. Automatic chaining

Same tools underneath; the difference is how much the platform chains for you.

| | Tool | Workflow | Automatic chaining |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | One capability, run once | A documented multi-tool sequence | Your goal, read for intent and turned into a chain of tools |
| Who chains the steps | You | You, following the guide | The orchestrator, per request |
| Parameters | Full control | Full control per step | Defaults, unless you name them |
| Start here | [Which tool?](/docs/which-tool) | [Workflows](/docs/workflows) | [How the orchestrator picks tools](/docs/how-orchestration-works) |

Let the orchestrator **chain automatically** when you want the standard sequence with default settings, you are exploring a new target or compound for the first time, or you want a quick end-to-end analysis without tuning parameters. Describe the goal in chat; you do not pick a pipeline.

Run **tools individually** when you need non-default parameters at a specific step, you want to inspect intermediate results before continuing, or you want to branch the pipeline.

## Job vs. Batch

| | Job | Batch |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | One tool invocation | Many jobs submitted together |
| Limit | Draws down your monthly credits | 100 jobs per submission, on the web and in the CLI |
| Use when | Running or iterating on a single analysis | Screening a library or sweeping parameters |

## Canvas card vs. Passport

Both render on the canvas; they differ in how many tools feed them.

| | Canvas card | Passport |
|---|---|---|
| Source | One job's result | Several tools, aggregated |
| Shape | Tiered result — text, preview, interactive, window | Multi-section profile with a completeness score |
| Use when | You want the output of a single tool | You want a compound, target, safety, literature, or therapeutic-area profile in one view |
| Start here | [Canvas](/docs/chat/canvas) | [Passports](/docs/passports) |

## Campaign vs. Session

Both hold more than one turn, but they live at different layers.

| | Campaign | Session |
|---|---|---|
| Layer | Your organization — a project | The runtime — one conversation's state |
| Groups | Multiple chats sharing an objective | Messages, tool calls, jobs, checkpoints for one chat |
| You use it to | Organize related work and compare results | Persist, sync, and roll back a conversation |
| Start here | [Campaigns](/docs/chat/campaigns) | [Harness sessions](/docs/api/sessions-manage) |

> **Still deciding where to start?**

> For a scientific goal, go to [Which tool?](/docs/which-tool). For the whole platform in 90 seconds, go to [Overview](/docs/overview).