> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://hopsdocs.mintlify.site/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Core concepts > The building blocks of Hops: Spaces, agents, shared context, search, and activity. Hops has a few key ideas. Once you get these, everything else clicks. ## Spaces
A [Space](/docs/spaces/overview) is a project room. It's where your team has conversations, shares docs, maintains standing context, and works with agents — all in one place. Create a Space for a launch, a client, or an ongoing team channel. Everything inside becomes context your agents can use. One Space per project or workflow keeps things focused and makes your agents more accurate.
A Hops Space showing chat, agents, and shared context.
## Agents Three kinds of agents in Hops: the default Hops agent, the private Personal Assistant, and a Custom Agent (Legal helper). Agents are the AI members of your team. They live inside your Spaces, respond when you tag them with `@`, and use your team's actual context to get work done. * **Default agent (`@Hops`)** — available in every Space, no setup needed. Uses admin-added connections plus your personal connections. * **Custom agents** — built for specific roles with their own instructions and connections. Tag with `@[name]`. * **Personal agent** — private to you, reads only your personal connections. A Space can have multiple agents. Tag different ones in the same thread and each responds from its own specialization. See [Agents](/docs/agents/overview) for the full picture. ## Shared context
Your agents remember. Every conversation, every doc, and every connected tool adds to a Space's shared context. The next question already has the background — nobody re-explains the project. Context comes from: * The **Space Context** document — a pinned brief agents always read * Conversations in your Spaces * Docs, files, and artifacts shared with the team * Tools you've connected (Slack, Drive, Salesforce, etc.) * Previous decisions and work Set up **Space Context** early — it's the fastest way to make every agent in the Space sharper.
A Space's About panel highlighting the Space Context section where you set the shared context document.
## Connected tools
Hops [connects to 2,000+ apps](/docs/connections/overview) via the Pipedream catalog. Once a tool is connected, agents can read from it instead of you copy-pasting. * The default `@Hops` agent uses admin-added connections plus your personal connections. * Custom agents get their own connections. * Your personal agent uses only your personal connections.
The Connect personal app modal showing Amplitude, Google Drive, Jira, Notion, Slack, Stripe and more.
## Search
One search covers your whole workspace. Click the **Search** icon at the bottom of the left sidebar (or press ⌘ K). You'll find Spaces, docs, files, tables, and messages you have access to. Filter by **From**, **In**, **Type**, or **Shared with**, and sort by relevance or recency. Search is scoped to what you can access. Private Spaces you're not in won't appear.
The Hops search modal with filters (From, In, Type, Shared with) and recent results across Spaces, threads, and agent chats.
## Activity
The **Activity** tab in the left sidebar is your unified inbox. Every notification lands here — @mentions, thread replies, agent updates, and Personal Assistant nudges — so you don't have to scan each Space. * **Click** any entry to jump into the source thread. * **Filter** to narrow to mentions, replies, or a specific update type. * **Mark all as read** with the double-check icon.
The Activity feed showing @mentions, replies, and agent updates from across the workspace.
## Visible work and control Every agent response shows what it used and what it did. Anything with real-world consequences (sending an email, updating a record) asks for your approval first. ## What's next Create your first agent in under five minutes. How Spaces organize your team's work. How agents work in Hops. Plug in the tools your team already uses.