Glossary
One definition per term, in the sense this repository uses it. The model behind them is architecture.md, and the code identifiers are listed beside each term.
| Term | Means | In code |
|---|---|---|
| workspace | One document, one sync room and one IndexedDB entry for a whole body of work | WorkspaceDocument, meta, ?workspace=<id> |
| board | A view inside a workspace that shows cards at positions; it has a name and a tab | boards, boardId |
| card | The object itself: content, primary type, tags, properties and connectors. It exists with or without a board | cards, Card |
| placement | Where a card sits on one board, including size and layer rank | placements, Placement |
| section | A rectangle on one board that groups the cards inside it. Membership is derived from position, never stored | sections, sectionMembership |
| library | The dock and drawer that find cards not on the board in front of you | apps/canvas/src/library |
| type | A card schema: a name, glyph, colour and a set of fields | types, CardType |
| field | One definition inside a type, with a kind and optional options | types.<id>.fields, FieldDefinition |
| property | One card’s value for one field | cards.<id>.properties, PropertyValue |
| tag | A free label a card can carry, workspace-wide rather than owned by a type | tags, tagIds |
| template | A card a type copies when it creates a new card | CardType.templateCardId |
| reference | A mention or a card property pointing at another card. It is workspace truth and places nothing |
references, mention |
| link | A drawn arrow between two endpoints on a board. It carries no data beyond its label | edges, GraphEdge |
| connector | A named point on a card’s perimeter where a link attaches | connectors, Connector |
| trash | The soft delete state, recorded as deletedAt, from which a card can be restored |
deletedAt, trashCard |
| view | A saved query: search text, scope, facets, grouping and order, stored without any card ids | views, ViewQuery |
| lens | What a saved view does to the canvas: it dims everything the query did not select | activeViewId, runViewQuery |
| portal | A card that opens another board and shows a live miniature of it | PortalNode, board field |
| share projection | The read-only copy of a board, card or selection that a share link opens | projectWorkspace, share-<token> |
| account | A person in the identity service, mapped to workspace capabilities through an organization role | services/auth, account |
| licence | A signed Ed25519 token that sets a hosted relay’s workspace and byte caps, and never gates a feature | licence.ts, LicenceClaims |
| presence | Ephemeral signals about a peer: pointer, selection, gesture, caret | EphemeralStore, presence.ts |
| target | The one shape for “the thing I mean”, shared by focus, Follow, Goto and tours | Target, focusTarget |
| handbook article | In-app documentation stored as a card | handbook |
| tutorial | A card whose body holds step blocks | tutorial.ts |
| tour | One tutorial’s steps presented over the canvas | TourOverlay |
| capability | One permission flag a session carries, such as canPublish |
sessionCapabilities |
| inbox | The cards with no placement on any board | listInboxCards, Inbox tab |
| home board | The board a card returns to and the workspace lands on; the oldest placement wins | homeBoardId, homeBoardId(cardId) |
| layer rank | The fractional z value ordering cards within one board |
placements.<id>.z, moveLayer |
| claim | Recording the organization that owns a workspace, which happens on the first signed-in join | workspace_orgs, claimWorkspaceForSession |
| fold | A card or a section reduced to its header. Reader state, never a document write | collapsedCards, collapsedSections |
| swatch | One colour in the workspace palette: a name and a value for each mode | palette, PaletteSwatch |
| type style | The default paint for every card of a type. A card’s own style wins over it | cardTypeSchema.style |
Words we do not use
Section titled “Words we do not use”A card is never a node, a note or a document. A node is a React Flow node, a note is the built-in card type, and a document is the whole workspace document. A placement is never a deletion: say “remove from board”. Trash is never a delete: “delete forever” belongs to purging.
A board is not a canvas, and a workspace is not a file. The canvas is the surface that renders a board, and
a file is a .suite backup on disk.
Capitalisation follows the code: workspace, board, card, section and field are lower case in prose unless they start a sentence. Type names are capitalised when they name a user-defined type (“the Book type”), and lower case when they name the concept.