Reference/Glossary

Glossary

Short definitions, in roughly the order you meet them. Each links to the page that explains the concept in full.

Data model

Term Definition
Space The unit of sharing and encryption: a set of objects with one ACL and one read key, replicated between the members' devices through sync nodes that never hold the key. — Spaces
Tech space The per-account private space that holds the account's own bookkeeping — the space list, profile, settings, devices, identities directory — synced only between your devices. — Space list
Object A CRDT tree inside a space: one row of property values in the space's objects storage collection plus any per-object datasets (blocks, messages, runtime records). Exactly one type, any number of collections. — Objects
Dataset A named storage collection of records that lives on an object — chat_messages, editor_blocks, or a runtime-defined one — read through /query and written through /modify or its module's routes. — Runtime datasets
Record One document in a dataset, addressed by id, mutated by per-path $set / $unset ops and tombstoned rather than erased. — Writing data
Change / ChangeId One signed, content-addressed entry in an object's DAG; every write returns its changeId, which doubles as a version handle on every peer. — Version history
Version A point in an object's causal history named by a ChangeId — "everything this change could see", not a wall-clock moment. — Version history
Head-sync The periodic diff round in which a device exchanges tree heads with the responsible nodes and pulls what it lacks; POST …/sync forces one now. — Sync status
CRDT The merge discipline that lets every device write offline and converge on the same state without a server deciding — per-path last-writer-wins on the DAG order. — CRDT and consistency
Derived object / space An object or space whose id is a pure function of a seed (and the space or account keys), so every device computes it offline and none can fork it — at the price of permanence. — Derived objects, Derived spaces
Bundle One installed thing in a space — a chat, an app's setup — registered under a permanent versioned id with a root object and deterministic children, so devices converge on one install. — Bundles
Usecase A set of well-known system: bundles from the server's embedded catalog, plus the usecases it requires; one setup call installs or adopts them all and returns the type, collection and property ids to write with. — Bundles
Type What an object is — one per object, in any.type: property definitions, parts and a layout; resolved by xKey, stored by id. — Types and properties
Collection What an object is filed under — any number per object, in any.collections: property definitions only, no parts and no layout. miniapp and bin are built in. — Collections
Storage collection The place records live in — objects, editor_blocks, chat_messages, <typeId>_<key> — and the dataset value on reads and writes. Not something an object is filed under. — Data model
Owner The type or collection whose namespace a property value lives in: record[ownerId][propId]. — Types and properties
Part A display unit of a type — a body, a transcript, a task list — owning the storage collections a module serves. Types only; collections have none. — Modules
Module The server code that serves a part's dataset: records (the generic schema handler), editor or chat; a shared dataset is the module's canonical storage collection, a namespaced one is <typeId>_<key>. — Modules
xKey A type's or collection's stable programmatic handle (book, wiki), unique per space across both surfaces, unaffected by display-name renames; a property's xKey is its handle within its owner. — Types and properties
propId The content-addressed id of a property definition; values are stored and validated at record[ownerId][propId], never by xKey. — Types and properties
Wiki tree The catalog usecase that gives a space its tree: a hidden wiki collection whose parentId / pos / folder columns place every object filed under it; pos is a client-allocated lexid. — Objects
Scope (field) Where a value lives and who sees it: synced (every member), account (your devices), local (this device), derived (computed by a handler). — System fields
Local store Device-local storage collections at /v1/local with the same query and aggregation power but no sync, no CRDT and no subscribe. — HTTP API
CRDT version The account-wide data-model version mark; a server older than the mark refuses to open the account, or turns read-only when another device raises it. — Versioning and re-index
Term Definition
Chunker A per-dataset adapter that turns records into index entries — editor blocks, chat text, property values, runtime-schema records — and streams deletions as tombstones. — Indexing
Scope (index) An open slug (basic, chat, props, agent, …) each index entry lands under, so a search can be narrowed to one kind of content. — Indexing
Embedder The model that turns text into vectors for semantic recall — local llama.cpp, Ollama, or an OpenAI-compatible API; optional, FTS works without it. — Embedders
Backlink An edge in the link index — a mention, link, card, embed or relation pointing at an object, record, value, identity or file — read from the target's side. — Links

Identity and network

Term Definition
Account / identity The key pair derived from a BIP-39 mnemonic; its public key is the identity that signs changes and appears in ACLs. — Accounts
Standalone / managed Who owns a server: standalone is the user's (keys on disk, no sign-out over HTTP); managed is a host app's (account supplied on every launch; sign-out, switching and shutdown behind the control token). — Accounts
Device One installation of an account, with its own device key and peerId; the tech-space devices dataset lists them. — Devices
peerId The network identity of one device, derived from its device key — what the sync nodes and LAN peers see. — Devices
Nodeconf The YAML describing a sync network — coordinator, sync and file nodes and the network id; the binary embeds production, and one setting points elsewhere. — Networks
Coordinator The network node that brokers space registration, deletion, invites and the inbox — it sees metadata, never content. — Networks
ACL A space's access-control log: a signed chain of records granting, changing and revoking member permissions and rotating the read key. — ACL
Invite / guest key A share token a joiner pastes back to request membership; a guest key is the same shape for public read-only access. — Invites
One-to-one space A direct space between exactly two identities, derived from both keys, with no invite handshake. — One-to-one

Programs and agents

Term Definition
Program A Python module (name@vN) run inside the anyrt sandbox; it reaches the world only through recorded effects. — Writing a program
Effect One host syscall a program makes — an HTTP call, time.now, config.get — recorded in the trace with its kind and capability. — Effects
Overlay A repo space that supplies programs and skills under an alias (agent:, std:), joined read-only; the working space can shadow any of them by name. — Modules and overlays
Trace The append-only record of one run — every effect, cell and model turn — from which the run replays bit-exactly. — Traces and replay
Cell One execution step inside a run — a unit of guest code the trace attributes effects and fuel to. — Traces and replay
Trigger A record that fires a program on a cron schedule, once at a time, or on a chat event, pinned to one of your devices. — Trigger schema
Process A live progress view over the event bus for long-running work, with heartbeat, staleness expiry and cancel. — Processes

Wire-level details for everything above: HTTP API, SSE streams, Errors.