Glossary
- Vibe coding —development through “say → get code → check → repeat”, where the code is often done by an agent.
- LLM —a model that generates text/code based on context; "function text→text".
- Context window —how much text (in tokens) the model can take into account in one request, including input and response.
- Tokens —text units that the model considers context and cost.
- Prompt engineering - writing instructions that consistently give the desired result.
- Context engineering — management of what exactly gets into the context (rules, files, logs) so that the agent does not “drown” in tokens.
- API —a set of rules/protocols for program interaction.
- API key —secret for accessing the API; it cannot be illuminated.
- Webhook — HTTP request “by event” from the service to your URL.
- Deploy - turning the project into a working URL; in Vercel deployment = build result.
- Env vars —environment variables, config outside the code; often keep secrets.
- BOLA is a hole where you can replace the id and get someone else’s data.
- Git - distributed version control system: records every change in the code and allows you to roll back to any previous version.
- Commit (commit) - a committed change in Git - a “snapshot” of the state of the code with a description of what was done.
- Branch (branch) —parallel development line; allows you to experiment without affecting the main code.
- Merge (merge) —merging changes from one branch to another; may cause conflicts if both branches changed the same lines.
- Pull Request (PR) —a request to merge changes from one branch to another with the possibility of code review and discussion.
- Repository (repository) — repository of code and the entire history of project changes; can be local and remote.
- Clone (clone) - copying a remote repository to the local machine with the entire commit history.
- AGENTS.md / CLAUDE.md —files of permanent instructions for the agent (for Codex and Claude Code, respectively).
- Reasoning effort - setting the “depth of reflection” of the model - the higher, the longer and more expensive, but the answer is more accurate.
- MVP —Minimum Viable Product—minimum viable product; version with a minimum of features to test the idea.
- IDE — Integrated Development Environment—a program for writing code with highlighting, autocompletion and debugging (VS Code, Cursor, Windsurf).
- CI/CD - Continuous Integration / Continuous Deployment - automatic assembly, testing and rollout of code with every change.
- CRUD — Create, Read, Update, Delete — four basic operations with data; the basis of most applications.
- Frontend (frontend) —the client part of the application—what the user sees and interacts with in the browser.
- Backend (backend) —server part of the application—logic, database, authorization; something that the user does not see directly.
- CLI —Command Line Interface—working with the program via text commands in the terminal, without a graphical interface.
- Open-source is open source software that is free to use, study and modify.
- SaaS —Software as a Service—a program that runs in the cloud and is available through a browser with a subscription.
- Refactoring —improving the structure of the code without changing its behavior—“bring order without breaking functionality.”
- Diff —difference between two versions of the code; shows what exactly has changed.
- OWASP —Open Web Application Security Project is an organization that publishes web application security standards and checklists.
- BaaS — Backend as a Service — a ready-made backend “out of the box” (base, authorization, API) without its own server. Examples: Supabase, Firebase.
- Database —organized storage of application data (users, orders, content). Relational (SQL, tables) and document (NoSQL, JSON). Without a database, the application “forgets” everything.
- Framework is a ready-made development framework that defines the structure and rules of the project (React, Next.js, Django).
- Edge Functions —server functions that run “at the edge” of the network, closer to the user; used for secure handling of secrets.
- Hallucination (models) —When LLM generates a confident but factually incorrect answer—invents facts, APIs, or code.