> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.aohwv.dev/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.aohwv.dev/core-concepts/the-identity-graph.md).

# The Identity Graph

AOH Sync stores a graph, not a flat list of accounts: people at the center, with the records that describe them attached. This page defines the nouns.

## Identity

An **identity** is AOH Sync's canonical record of a single person. It exists because AOH Sync observed that person in at least one connected system, then linked every other record about them to it. One person, one identity.

An identity has a status (active, inactive, pending, deleted) derived from its linked records, not set by hand. A person whose only login account is disabled is not active just because a stale HR row lists them.

## User

A **user** is an authentication-capable account from a target system (e.g. an Entra ID account). Users are what people log in with; they control SSO, federation, and downstream access. A user links to exactly one identity.

## Account

An **account** is a data record from a source system (an HR row, a payroll record). It describes a person but cannot log in. It carries attributes (department, title, manager, employee ID) that enrich the identity, and links to one identity.

### Users vs accounts

|            | User                                 | Account                                   |
| ---------- | ------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------- |
| Comes from | Target system (Entra, Okta, AWS IAM) | Source system (HR DB, payroll, SaaS, CSV) |
| Can log in | Yes                                  | No                                        |
| Role       | Controls access                      | Provides attributes                       |
| Linked to  | One identity                         | One identity                              |

## How records attach

AOH Sync matches incoming users and accounts to an identity using configurable **join keys** (shared values such as user principal name or employee ID). When multiple keys could match, a priority order decides. A record that matches nothing becomes an [orphan](/core-concepts/orphans.md).

## Tenant

A **tenant** is one logical AOH Sync instance, usually one organization. The graph, posture scores, and audit trail are scoped per tenant. Data never mixes across tenants.

## Example

"Dana Lee" might appear as an Entra **user** (`dana.lee@corp.com`), an HR **account** (employee ID 4471), and a payroll **account**. AOH Sync links all three to one **identity**. When her HR account changes department, that is one [mover event](/core-concepts/lifecycle.md), not three disconnected updates.


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