---
term: service
category: service
status: canonical
authority: varies
---

Service

An independently deployed Elonn application boundary with its own routes,
data ownership, and domain logic.

Owns:
- its own routes
- its own database or backing store
- its own domain logic

Allowed:
- service
- product service
- service boundary
- service contract

Forbidden:
- app (too generic without context)
- backend (too generic)
- server (too generic)
- subsystem (implies internal implementation rather than a product boundary)

Notes:
- Use the product name when the specific service is known: API, Time, Social,
Find, Maps, World, Surface, or Docs.
- A service is a deployment and ownership boundary, not a runtime.
- When a sentence already names the product, prefer that product name over the
bare word "service."

Related:
- api
- time
- world