Surfaces
What each Merulan Surface is for, how an operation behaves on the Surfaces that offer it, and which one to use for a person, a script, or an agent.
Surfaces are seven ways to use Merulan. An operation retains its rules on any Surface that offers it.
Which Surface to use
| Caller | Surface |
|---|---|
| A person working in the browser | The Console |
| A script or integration in any language | The API |
| TypeScript code | The SDK |
| A terminal | The CLI |
| An AI agent | The MCP |
| TypeScript that compiles a plan on your machine | Merulan CDK |
| A reviewed infrastructure change | Infrastructure as Code |
Each guide explains its own setup and recovery.
One operation contract
Console, API, SDK, CLI, MCP, and Infrastructure as Code each call a named operation. An operation can appear on more than one Surface. The same caller and input reach the same decision on every Surface that offers it, though a Surface may add a check of its own. Operation lifecycle states that rule. Selecting a Surface owns how to move a working call to another Surface.
Next steps
- Console explains browser access and operation discovery.
- API sets up access and makes the first call.
- Merulan CDK explains the TypeScript form of one Workspace plan.
- Infrastructure as Code explains the OpenTofu form of the same plan.
- Data Pipelines shows how one Capability groups the objects and operations a Surface reaches.