Enterprise Intelligence Architecture
Architecture of the Enterprise Intelligence Platform — how CopilotKit runtimes connect to platform projects, durable threads, realtime sync, operational history, and cloud-hosted or self-hosted deployments.
The Enterprise Intelligence Platform is the platform backend behind production CopilotKit capabilities such as durable threads, realtime sync, project-scoped history, the hosted web app, and operational visibility. This page explains the mental model that applies to both Cloud-Hosted Enterprise Intelligence and Self-Hosting Enterprise Intelligence.
For a product-level map of features and hosting options, start with the Enterprise Intelligence Platform overview. For Kubernetes installation, go straight to Self-Hosting Enterprise Intelligence.
Runtime and platform roles#
A CopilotKit app has three layers:
- Frontend — your React UI calls CopilotKit hooks and renders chat, generative UI, tools, and thread controls.
- Runtime — your application server hosts the CopilotKit runtime and connects to your agent framework through AG-UI.
- Enterprise Intelligence Platform — a platform service that stores durable thread data, indexes operational history, serves project-scoped APIs, and powers dashboard surfaces.
The runtime is the bridge. It receives requests from your app, streams AG-UI events to and from your agent, and uses the Enterprise Intelligence Platform when a capability needs durable platform state.
Project boundaries#
The platform scopes data through three concepts:
- Organization — the billing, workspace, or contract boundary.
- Project — an application or environment inside an organization, such as production, staging, or a demo app.
- User — the authenticated end user from your application context.
Project API keys are issued per project. Threads, events, and dashboard history are visible only inside the project that owns them, so production and staging can share the same platform deployment without sharing conversation data.
Threads and event history#
Threads are stored as durable platform records. When your UI uses useThreads, the runtime asks the platform to list, create, rename, archive, delete, and resume conversations for the selected project and user.
The platform stores event history so a conversation can be replayed after reloads and resumed across devices. That is what separates platform-backed threads from an in-memory chat transcript.
For the thread lifecycle itself, see Threads & Persistence Architecture.
Realtime sync#
Realtime sync keeps thread metadata and active conversation state aligned across clients. When enabled, clients subscribe to platform-backed updates so changes such as renames, archives, and active-run status can appear without a page reload.
The important application-level contract is simple: your app uses the same hooks, while the runtime points at the platform endpoint for the selected deployment.
Inspection and operational history#
The platform also gives teams operational visibility into agent behavior. The cloud-hosted web app exposes project history, thread detail pages, event timelines, API key management, and plan management.
For the cloud-hosted dashboard flow, see Cloud-Hosted Enterprise Intelligence.
Hosting model#
Cloud-hosted and self-hosted Enterprise Intelligence share the same application contract:
| Deployment | What changes | What stays the same |
|---|---|---|
| Cloud-hosted | CopilotKit runs the platform, database, web app, project API keys, and plan management. | Your frontend hooks, runtime APIs, AG-UI agent connection, and thread APIs. |
| Self-hosted | You run the platform in your own Kubernetes cluster and own its infrastructure dependencies. | Your frontend hooks, runtime APIs, AG-UI agent connection, and thread APIs. |
Self-hosting changes operational ownership. It does not require a different React integration. Moving from cloud-hosted projects to self-hosting is available on the Team self-hosted plan or a custom Enterprise plan.
Error handling model#
Platform-backed features are networked features. If the platform endpoint is unavailable or credentials are invalid, thread operations surface as runtime errors rather than silently falling back to local-only state.
Common debugging checks:
- Confirm the runtime is using the right platform URL for the selected deployment.
- Confirm the runtime API key or license is valid for the project or self-hosted environment.
- Confirm the user and project context you pass from the app match the thread history you expect to see.
- Confirm realtime sync is configured when you expect cross-tab or cross-device updates.
Next steps#
- Platform overview: Enterprise Intelligence Platform — features, hosting options, and where to go next
- Cloud-hosted guide: Cloud-Hosted Enterprise Intelligence — login, projects, API keys, threads, and plan management
- Self-hosted guide: Self-Hosting Enterprise Intelligence — install and operate the platform in Kubernetes
- Thread architecture: Threads & Persistence Architecture — event replay, realtime sync, and thread lifecycle semantics