Glossary¶

Acronyms¶

CRD¶: Custom Resource Definition - Kubernetes extension for Jumpstarter resources.
DUT¶: Device Under Test.
gRPC¶: Google Remote Procedure Call - Jumpstarter’s communication framework.
HiL¶: Hardware-in-the-Loop - testing with real hardware in the loop.
JEP¶: Jumpstarter Enhancement Proposal - design document for significant changes.
MAN¶: Manual - reference documentation for command-line tools.
MCP¶: Model Context Protocol - enables AI agents to interact with hardware.

client¶: A user or CI pipeline that connects to the service and leases exporters.
controller¶: Central service for authentication, lease management, and inventory.
exporter¶: Service that exposes hardware interfaces to clients over gRPC.
host¶: Machine running the exporter, typically a single board computer.
operator¶: Kubernetes operator that deploys the controller, router, and CRDs.
router¶: Routes traffic between clients and exporters through a gRPC tunnel.
service¶: Kubernetes backend providing controller, router, and authentication.

adapter¶: Transforms driver connections into other forms (port forwarding, VNC, etc).
device¶: Hardware or virtual resource exposed on an exporter.
direct mode¶: Client connects to an exporter over TCP without a controller.
distributed mode¶: Shared hardware access across teams via a jumpstarter-controller.
driver¶: Modular component providing a standardized interface to a device type.
exporter shell¶: Interactive shell spawned by jmp shell for driver CLI access.
hook¶: Shell script that runs automatically at lease boundaries.
label selector¶: Key-value metadata for selecting exporters when leasing.
lease¶: Time-limited reservation of an exporter with exclusive access.
local mode¶: Client and exporter on the same machine, no Kubernetes required.
session¶: Connection context between client and exporter during testing.