last updated · 2026-05-11
Core concepts (Node · Query · Assignment · Settlement).
Four nouns. The rest of the docs assume you know what they mean. None of them are crypto despite the borrowed register — there is no chain, no token, no wallet.
Node
A single LinkedIn account connected to xlinked and online. One human, one account, one node. When you finish onboarding, your account becomes a node; when you pause or disconnect, it stops being one. Nodes have a pace (queries per hour) and a scope (which read-only endpoints are allowed). They never have write capability.
Query
A workspace request for B2B data — usually a search filter and a row count, sometimes a list of profile URLs to enrich. Queries decompose into atomic reads: one profile fetch, one company fetch, one search page. A 1,000-row segment typically expands to 1,000–4,000 reads.
Assignment
Routing a read to a specific node. Assignment scores freshness (does this node see this geography often?), load (under hourly cap?), and trust (uptime, account age, SSI). Downstream workspaces do not see which node served a read. You see every read in your audit feed.
Assignment is where network value is created. Bad assignment hurts freshness and concentrates load. Good assignment is invisible — the property a healthy network wants.
Settlement
The monthly close. On the 1st of each month we sum every node's qualified uptime hours, prorate against the $15 baseline, and send a Wise payout on the 25th. Sales Nav nodes settle on a per-account quote (always net > $15). The math is in Payout calculation.