# Ingesting data into Cortex

Bringing your data into Cortex unlocks everything else the platform can do. It's the foundation for data-driven decisions, clearer accountability, and a shared understanding of how your engineering organization actually works.\
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Once your services, repositories, teams, and infrastructure are connected, Cortex stitches it all into a complete, always-current view of your ecosystem. That view is what makes it possible to track ownership, enforce production readiness through Scorecards, standardize common developer Workflows, and give every engineer the context they need to find what they're looking for, see how the pieces fit together, and make better decisions at every stage of the development lifecycle.

## How Cortex handles data modeling

Cortex is built to mirror how your organization actually works. You get the flexibility to model your business logic across your data, and the structure to make sure that logic stays consistent everywhere it appears so your workspace reflects reality instead of forcing your team to work around it.

Cortex solves for this by giving you the flexibility to mirror your unique business logic across your data, and the structure to persist that logic everywhere:

* **Foundational, configurable data models**. A strong starting point you can shape to fit your environment.
* **Available, extensible integrations**. Connect the tools you already use, and extend them as your needs grow.
* **Complete, customizable experience**. A polished workspace out of the box, ready to be tailored to your team.

**The result**: a consistent developer workflow and an experience built around how your organization actually operates, making it easier to represent your services and infrastructure accurately in Cortex.

See an [overview of Cortex data concepts below](#cortex-data-concepts-reference-table).

{% hint style="success" %}
**Need assistance with data modeling?**\
To ensure a smooth implementation, most of our customers partner with Cortex Professional Services (PS) for hands-on assistance, including expert guidance on data modeling. Contact <help@cortex.io> to learn more.
{% endhint %}

## Connecting your data

Connecting your data in Cortex comes down to three building blocks: **entities**, **catalogs**, and **integrations**. Together, they determine what lives in your workspace and how it stays accurate over time.\
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[Entities](/ingesting-data-into-cortex/entities-overview/entities.md) are the foundation. An entity is an object that represents a software construct such as a service, a piece of infrastructure, a team, or anything else worth tracking. Entities are defined in YAML, can pull in data from your integrations, can have dependencies, can be organized into hierarchies, and can connect to other entities through entity relationships. You can also enforce standards across them using Scorecards.\
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[Catalogs](/ingesting-data-into-cortex/catalogs.md) are how you organize entities into meaningful groups. A catalog is a defined selection of entities used to track and store information about the components that make up your infrastructure.\
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[Integrations](/ingesting-data-into-cortex/integrations.md) are how the data flows in. Cortex supports a broad set of integrations that pull live data from the tools your team already uses, creating a single pane of glass across your engineering ecosystem.

{% hint style="success" %}
Want to learn more? Check out the Cortex Academy course on [Catalogs, Entities, and Relationships](https://academy.cortex.io/courses/understanding-understanding-catalogs-entities-and-relationships).
{% endhint %}

## Cortex data concepts reference table

Learn about the basic data concepts for Cortex below.

<table><thead><tr><th width="158.5728759765625">Concept</th><th width="548.3333129882812">Definition</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Team</strong></td><td>A group of humans responsible for something</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Service</strong></td><td>A running technical component (API, job, infra service)</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Domain</strong></td><td>A foundational grouping layer that represents a logical or functional area of your organization. Domains form the base hierarchy that organizes entities under stable, high-level boundaries. Each domain reflects a cohesive area of ownership, business function, or technical responsibility.</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Custom entity</strong></td><td>Any other trackable thing - ML models, Clients, environment, release, Products. Use this when "service" doesn't fit.</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Catalog</strong></td><td>A folder-like visual container, for UI organization only</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Group</strong></td><td>A logical collection for search, filtering, and reporting—similar to a label or tag</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Dependency</strong></td><td>One entity relies on another; enables impact analysis and notifications</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Ownership</strong></td><td>The accountability link between a team and entity</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Entity relationship</strong></td><td>The generic link between entities</td></tr><tr><td><strong>Hierarchy</strong></td><td>Parent-child or part-of structure; enables inheritance ownership</td></tr></tbody></table>


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