> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.getarca.app/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Core concepts

> Learn how Arca structures work so you can organize tasks and collaborate effectively.

Arca uses a few simple building blocks to organize everything. Understanding them helps you set up your workspace in a way that matches how your team actually works.

## Workspaces

A workspace is the top-level container for your team's work; it holds all tasks, lists, folders, members, and settings.

Use separate workspaces for distinct teams or projects. Each workspace is fully isolated with its own members, settings, and data.

## Folders and lists

Folders and lists are how you organize tasks inside a workspace.

* **Folders** group related lists together (for example, a "Marketing" folder might contain lists for "Campaigns", "Content", and "Events").
* **Lists** are containers for tasks. Use them to group tasks by phase, category, milestone, or any other subdivision that makes sense within your workspace.

<Tip>
  Start simple: create a folder and add a few lists inside it to group tasks by
  phase or category.
</Tip>

## Tasks

Tasks are the core unit of work in Arca. Each task represents one piece of work and can hold everything related to it:

* A title and rich description
* Status (which stage of your workflow it's in)
* Priority (Urgent, High, Medium, Low)
* Assignees (who owns it)
* Start and due dates
* Labels (custom tags)
* Subtasks (smaller steps within the task)
* Dependencies (other tasks this task is blocked by or related to)
* Comments, reactions, and file attachments

Keeping all of this on the task means your team never has to dig through email or chat to find context.

## Views

Views are personal, saved layouts that let you look at tasks in different ways, filtered, sorted, and formatted for a specific purpose.

* **Table:** a spreadsheet-style grid with columns for every field. Great for triaging and bulk updates.
* **Board:** drag-and-drop cards grouped by status. Great for sprint boards and visualizing workflow stages.
* **Calendar:** tasks plotted on a calendar by due date. Great for deadline planning.
* **Timeline:** tasks shown as bars across a time axis. Great for project scheduling and seeing overlaps.

Create a saved view once and it is available as a tab you can return to any time, with filters, sort, and layout all preserved. Each member manages their own views independently; views are not shared with the rest of the workspace.

## Dashboards

Dashboards show you the big picture. Instead of opening individual lists to understand how work is going, a dashboard surfaces key metrics (task completion, workload by assignee, tasks by status) in a single view.

Use dashboards in planning sessions, retrospectives, and check-ins to understand whether work is on track and where bottlenecks are forming.

<Info>
  Dashboards are workspace-specific and available to anyone with workspace
  access.
</Info>