Glossary
Plain-language meanings of the words that appear in Claude's explanations and on GitHub.
When you meet a word you do not know, you can also ask Claude: "Please explain that word without technical terms."
Words in the flow of work
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Repository | The place where code, the blueprint of the apps, is kept together. On this platform, every app lives in one repository |
| Branch | A working copy. It is used to make a change without affecting production |
| main | The branch that the production apps are built from. A change that enters it reaches production |
| Commit | Saving a change as a record |
| Push | Sending a change made on your computer to GitHub |
| Pull request (PR) | A proposal that says "please take this change into main". You check and merge on the PR page |
| Merge | Taking the change in a PR into main. Merging puts it into production |
| Automatic checks | The inspection that runs automatically every time a PR is created. Also called CI |
| Build | Assembling a working app from code. A change that fails to assemble cannot go to production |
| Deploy | Placing the assembled app where it can be used |
| Local | On your own computer. Claude opens the changed app locally to show it to you. The data in it is made-up test data |
| Test data | The made-up companies and people in an app opened locally. It can be recreated as often as you like |
| Preview | A trial environment on the internet, prepared for a PR when you ask Claude for it. It runs on a copy of the production data. Also called staging |
| Production | The environment your colleagues actually use |
Words about Claude
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Claude Code | The Claude that reads and writes files on your computer to build apps. You use it in the Code tab of the Claude desktop app |
| Request | The text you send to Claude. Also called a prompt |
| Conversation | One continuous exchange with Claude. Also called a session. Start a new one for each change |
| Skill | A set of instructions written for Claude. You call one by a name that starts with a slash, such as /new-minor-feature |
| Plan mode | A mode in which Claude only makes a plan and does not change files |
| CLAUDE.md | The file that holds the rules Claude follows in this repository |
| PLAN.md | The file that holds each app's status and plans |
Words about how apps work
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| App Portal | The front door to the production apps. It lists the apps you can use |
| Sign-in | The step that confirms who is using an app. You enter your email address and open the link in the email you receive |
| Magic link | The link sent by email for signing in |
| Role | A group of users. An administrator decides which role can open which app |
| Database | Where an app's data is stored |
| Table | A container for data inside the database. It is like one sheet in a spreadsheet |
| Migration | The record used to apply changes to the database structure in order |
| Environment variable | A setting value given to an app from outside |
| Secret | A secret value such as a password or an API key. An administrator registers it |
| API key | A value like a password that is needed to use an outside service. It is handled as a secret |
| Log | The record an app keeps while it runs. It gives clues when looking for the cause of a bug |
| Monorepo | The practice of managing several apps in one repository |
| shared | The folder that holds the parts every app shares. A change there affects other apps too |