Dagger · Controlled Vocabulary

Dagger Vocabulary

Controlled vocabulary describing the core concepts of the Dagger programmable CI/CD engine: Engine, GraphQL API, Modules, Functions, Containers, Directories, Files, Secrets, Caches, Daggerverse, and Dagger Cloud.

11 Terms Updated 2026-04-28
View Vocabulary File View on GitHub

Dagger Vocabulary is a controlled vocabulary published by Dagger on the APIs.io network, defining 11 terms.

Defined terms include DaggerEngine, GraphQLAPI, Module, Function, and Container.

A controlled vocabulary pins the words an API’s schemas, parameters and documentation use to one agreed definition each — the shared language a human or an agent needs to read the API the same way its authors do.

Terms

DaggerEngine
The Dagger runtime that executes pipelines as containerized GraphQL operations on a content-addressed store.
GraphQLAPI
The unified, introspectable GraphQL type system exposed by the Dagger Engine and dynamically extended by Modules.
Module
A versioned, language-agnostic package of Dagger Functions published to a Git repository or the Daggerverse.
Function
A typed unit of work in a Module callable via the GraphQL API or CLI.
Container
An OCI container as a first-class GraphQL type built and manipulated through composable steps.
Directory
An immutable directory tree as a first-class GraphQL type, content-addressed by the Dagger Engine.
File
An immutable file as a first-class GraphQL type, content-addressed by the Dagger Engine.
Secret
A first-class GraphQL type for confidential values that are never logged or persisted to traces.
CacheVolume
A persistent cache volume mountable into containers across pipeline runs.
Daggerverse
The free Dagger module index at daggerverse.dev for searching and consuming public Dagger Modules.
DaggerCloud
The hosted control plane providing observability, traces, and checks for Dagger pipelines.

Controlled Vocabulary

Raw ↑ 
name: Dagger Vocabulary
description: >-
  Controlled vocabulary describing the core concepts of the Dagger
  programmable CI/CD engine: Engine, GraphQL API, Modules, Functions,
  Containers, Directories, Files, Secrets, Caches, Daggerverse, and
  Dagger Cloud.
modified: '2026-04-28'
terms:
  - term: DaggerEngine
    description: The Dagger runtime that executes pipelines as containerized GraphQL operations on a content-addressed store.
  - term: GraphQLAPI
    description: The unified, introspectable GraphQL type system exposed by the Dagger Engine and dynamically extended by Modules.
  - term: Module
    description: A versioned, language-agnostic package of Dagger Functions published to a Git repository or the Daggerverse.
    properties:
      - ref
      - sdk
      - dependencies
  - term: Function
    description: A typed unit of work in a Module callable via the GraphQL API or CLI.
    properties:
      - name
      - arguments
      - returnType
  - term: Container
    description: An OCI container as a first-class GraphQL type built and manipulated through composable steps.
    properties:
      - imageRef
      - exec
      - withFile
      - withDirectory
      - withEnvVariable
  - term: Directory
    description: An immutable directory tree as a first-class GraphQL type, content-addressed by the Dagger Engine.
  - term: File
    description: An immutable file as a first-class GraphQL type, content-addressed by the Dagger Engine.
  - term: Secret
    description: A first-class GraphQL type for confidential values that are never logged or persisted to traces.
  - term: CacheVolume
    description: A persistent cache volume mountable into containers across pipeline runs.
  - term: Daggerverse
    description: The free Dagger module index at daggerverse.dev for searching and consuming public Dagger Modules.
  - term: DaggerCloud
    description: The hosted control plane providing observability, traces, and checks for Dagger pipelines.