---
sidebar_position: 4
slide: /diagrams/abi-request.svg
slide_alt: A request hits a surface, then the kernel, then an agent.
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# Request path

You talk on Nexus UI, the API, or the CLI. The kernel loads the enabled module and runs the agent. Tools attach on the agent.

1. **Surface**: Nexus UI, REST, or `abi chat`
2. **Kernel**: ABI loads the enabled module
3. **Agent**: model + system prompt + tools
4. **Tools**: whatever that agent needs, including graph context
5. **Response**: same path back

`config.yaml` enables the module. The kernel loads it. No rewrite of the router.

The stack behind this path: [Architecture](/get-started/system-architecture).